Jackson advocate., 1962-12-22
Banda -.

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Continued From Page One)
for example, at "imperialist"'
newspapers in Britain who
printed "lies, lies, lies" about
Nyasaland. ~
But the general theme Of his
speech showed a realization
that the days of opposition, OF
destructive criticism, of at
tacking an omnipotent Them"
in Britain's Colonial Office and
pinning all Nyasaland's troubles
on that source were over.
Historic Moment
For the crowd it was the
most tremendous moment In
Nyasaland's history; their hero
had returned with self-gov-
ernment only months away and
independence really just q mat
ter of getting the organization
sorted out.
They showed their apprecia-
ton by repeating a ceremony
which started on the same air
port on a crisp July day in
1858.
On that occasion the big
crowd gathered at the airport
to wait for a man most OF them
had never seen. DR.. Banda was
returning from a self-imposed
overseas exile of 40 years. He
had been away so long that he
could not even speak the local
language, Chinyanja.
On that occasion in 1858, DR..
Banda was garlanded as he left
he plane with a leopard skin
20 signify that he was a man
destined to do great things.
On his return here from Lon
don this. year DR.. Banda was
garlanded with a fresh lion
skin-showing that he was a
man who had done great
things. Admittedly helped on
by the wind of change in Al
rica, DR.. Banda has pressured
the British Government
through an emergency, through
two constitutional cries, to the
point where he will be made
Prime Minister within two
months. .
Just when independence will
come.has not been made clear
but it cannot be very long
delayed. Since independence, II
Nyasaland terms, also means
complete break from the Fed
Grafton of Rhodesia and NY
ashland, DR.. Banda has som'
hard work ahead of him.
The basic problem is tha
Nyasaland has virtually NJ
money of is own. A long, thin
banana-shaped country locke
in the heart of Central Africa
its biggest export is manpowel
Some Exports
Nyasas by the thousand ar
flown out of the territory ever
year to work in the mines @
South Africa and the tobacc
lands of Southern Rhodesia. /
big proportion of the none,
they earn is sent home to thei
families and forms an appreci
able part of Nyasaland's rev
eaue, :
There are some agricultura
products - notably tea, coffee
and rice-which bring in a Ger
tain amount of mohey. But
is not enough to keep a countr,
with :, ,09o, 600 inhabitants. Il
AS part of the Federation o
Rhodesia and Nyasaland, it i
estimated that Nyasaland ha
benefited by about 43,0OO,OOl
.($S,400, ,000) a year in one form
or another. Even so, Britain hae
to disburse f2,500,O00 last yeal
Just to meet the budget deficit.
If - as seems almost inevi.
table - the federation in it:
present form disappears, the
three partners are going tc
have to assume responsibility
for the national debt of G316,-
100000.
Nyasaland's portion of this
total will probably be rela-
lively small, and large
amount of that portion will be
owed to the British Govern
ment, which is unlikely to be
pressing in its demands.
But even so, Nyasaland will
achieve independence not only
as an undeveloped country
without ready sources of in
come, but with a very large
national debt before it even
starts on her own.
DR.. Banda's Dilemma
Basically, that is DR.. Banda's
dilemma.
One long-term possibility is
confederation of Central AZ
rican states, including Tangan-
yika, Nyasaland, Northern Rho
desia, Katanga, and the Congo
"a state in which Katanga and
Northern Rhodesia would pro-
vide mineral wealth, the Congo
the main agricultural and small
industrial development, and
Tanganyika the chief port and
transport facilities for, at any
rate, Nyasaland, and the over
flow from Northern Rhodesia.
But officials in Zomba, the
Nyasaland capital, are just be-
ginning to hope that Nyasaland
may have another card up its
sleeve.
For years it has been as
sumed that Nyasaland, unlike
almost all its African neigh
bors, had no mineral deposits
worth exploiting. Tanganyika
has diamonds, Northern Rho
desia has copper, Southern
Rhodesia has asbestos, iron
coal, and copper-but Nyasa.
land, apparently nothing.
But a recently published re.
view of Nyasaland's minera
raco,irces carried nlIt on q Sleu.