303. Telegram From the Embassy in Ghana to the Department of State0
418. Deptel 348.1 President Nkrumah returned late yesterday and early this morning called me to his office for talk lasting one hour.
At outset he praised PAA charter and said he had decided purchase two DC–8’s and two Boeing 702–s. Waldorf Hotel was excellent and New York police wonderful.
President then named all prominent persons he saw which to me seemed effort to dilute significance his meetings with Khrushchev. He felt both USA and USSR genuinely desired disarmament and said problem was “the chicken and egg question of which comes first:
Controls or disarmament.” He had been unable to get very far on this subject with Khrushchev in New York but Khrushchev had promised send him letter to Accra within next few days. President indicated he hoped he could be helpful in resolving this problem.
I replied there was no question in USG mind about which must come first; that the American people were in no mood to let their government expose them to another Pearl Harbor; that USSR talks a lot but always backs off when its bluff is called by our honest proposals. I thought best way President could be helpful was to get USSR to agree to open inspections by competent observers.
Turning to Congo, President said he had heard about the public exhibition of a letter he had written to Lumumba and was thinking of releasing all his letters to Lumumba which would set things in proper light. He then read me extracts from several which advise Lumumba on administrative problems. President told me his advice to Lumumba [Page 666] to get UN out of Congo meant he should remove need for UN troops before attempting other things. President still regarded Kasavubu and Lumumba as legitimate government which should be supported by UN until Parliament might decide otherwise.
I questioned Lumumba’s suitability as Prime Minister on basis his past showing and also wondered if Nkrumah really was getting true picture of Lumumba’s behavior. President replied he (1) thought Lumumba adequate and (2) believed he was getting complete and correct reports from Congo. I pressed my two questions several times in modified form and believe they made President begin to wonder.
President referred to Secretary Herter’s comments on his speech at UN. He regretted Secretary’s misunderstanding but had not wanted to make issue of it and had let it pass without great public protest.
I replied that had not been case here where his party papers had kept up vicious drum fire against Secretary. I thought calmness and restraint would assist President in correcting any misunderstanding his speech may have created and I was sure Secretary Herter would be most attentive to any further public pronouncements President might make that would clarify his position on subjects covered in UN speech. President remarked he would be broadcasting to nation in next few days.
President then turned to Volta River project and said Kaiser people will visit Ghana next week for final discussions now that power rate has been agreed. There were two or three minor questions remaining but he thought project now fully assured.
I expressed pleasure at outcome of long negotiations on Volta project but said I thought there was one remaining big question that did not directly involve USG willingness to help finance. In my view it involved wisdom of consortium putting its stockholders money into a private enterprise here when CCP newspapers, certain influential party men such as Tettegah and even some Cabinet Ministers are in full cry against the evils of capitalism and economic exploitation by the imperialist including US. I thought the President had to declare himself. If he and his supporters did not want private enterprise to undertake the Volta or some other project for the purpose of making a profit he should say so at this time and the American companies would go elsewhere; but if the President wanted the consortium to proceed under conditions mutually agreed upon, then it was the President’s responsibility to stop some of his supporters from their campaign of hate against American and other “economic imperialists.” I assured the President that I myself would advise Kaiser when he is here next week to get this question settled clearly before signing any final agreement. I said that quite frankly I was getting a bit weary of all the double talk among some of his supporters who think they can have things both ways.
[Page 667]President was clearly taken aback by my remarks but after I documented them he agreed I was justified in my views. He declared he wanted the private enterprise consortium to proceed and that he would take steps immediately to bring all his supporters into line on his “four stream development” plans. First stream was socialist type cooperatives and fourth steam was private enterprise which if invited into Ghana would be fully protected by Government of Ghana and hecklers silenced.
I said I was glad to have President’s assurance and wondered if he would consider something else I recalled that when I arrived in Ghana three years ago he had told me he would never permit Ghana soil to be used as base for one outside country to attack another verbally. I had lived up to this in supervising our information program here but now I find the USSR and ChiCom Embassies here are distributing publications containing anti-American material and in addition the ChiComs were running a propaganda factory here to feed the press with hate American stories. I wondered how this stacked up against the President’s wish that Ghana not be used as base for hate campaigns.
President expressed surprise which I feel was partially feigned but after I documented my assertions he declared emphatically he would put a stop to it as he would not permit Ghana being used as cockpit to fight cold war.
Conversation was friendly from start to finish and President followed me to steps to express his thanks for “this good talk.”