Communists “Driving A Wedge” In Africa

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30886, 20 October 1965, Page 22

Communists “Driving A Wedge” In Africa

The influence of the British Commonwealth in Africa could be destroyed by communism, the chairman of the Parliamentary Association of the Commonwealth (Mr W. B. Tennent, M.P.) said in an address to the Christchurch Tin Hat Club last evening.

Mr Tennent said he believed that African members of the Commonwealth would fall prey to the Communists unless the more developed member nations poured in massive financial and technical aid.

He had found during his recent Commonwealth tour that the 1 African members regarded themselves as being left out in the cold by other members such as Australia. New Zealand, Canada, and Britain.

Already the Chinese Communists were exploiting the dissatisfaction of African countries with their allegiance to the Commonwealth. The Communists were driving a wedge between Tanzania. Kenya, Uganda and the rest of the Commonwealth by pointing to the vast imbalance between the prosperous members and the backward ones.

Mr Tennent said that if the African countries broke with the Commonwealth, the whole organisation would be in jeopardy. He urged a greater interest in the welfare of the developing countries in spite of the prospect of the white man being ultimately evicted from his land through the “Africa for the Africans” movement. “Unlimited” Potential

Mr Tennent described potential development in Africa as unlimited, though there was no evidence of any development, particularly of the rich farming lands. The great enemy of the emerging nations was ignorance among the people, 70 per cent of whom could not write their own names.

He had found a great reluctance to take advantage of scientific knowledge, which had resulted in a huge imbalance in trade between

Africa and the rest of the world.

Mr Tennent said that plans were now being prepared to advance big sums of money at low rates of interest to African countries. A special bank might be set up to ensure that money would be readily available for limitless projects requiring to be undertaken.