Reflections; the Komla Gbedemah story from an alternative lens (part 2)

Business Again

The people of the Gold Coast have passed their own judgement, however. The people demanded that Nkrumah be set free. Unrest spread throughout the entire country. It was in Nkrumah, and not in Gbedemah, that they saw their leader and the triumph at the elections gave them new strength in their struggle for the liberation of the leader of the victorious party.

Having no wish to make a martyr of Nkrumah, the British thought it best to set him free and even reconcile themselves to his appointment to the Cabinet as the chief spokesman for government affairs. Gbedemah had no other choice, but to be satisfied with a seat in the Legislative Assembly and the post of Minister of Health and Labour.

In 1952 when Nkrumah succeeded in securing British consent to introduce the post of Prime Minister instead of the vague title of the chief spokesman for government affairs, Gbedemah became Minister of Trade and Industry and, following the 1954 elections, received the portfolio of Minister of Finance.

It should be mentioned here that since the time of Nkrumah’s release from prison, Gbedemah’s promotion was hampered. He did not succeed in becoming either the first man among the nationalists of the Gold Coast or even Nkrumah’s closest associate.

In the following years Gbedemah always occupied ministerial posts, but he never played the role of the second man in the Republic, except during a very short period in the summer of 1961, when Nkrumah and his closest followers made their trip abroad.

The British still persisted in supporting Gbedennah’s ambitious plans and mercenary schemes. But eventually they no longer pinned their main hopes on him in their struggle against Nkrumah. London was more impressed by the leader of the opposition, Dr. Busia who seemed to the British more significant a figure than ” the prison graduate”.

Gbedemah was afraid that he would lose political weight and would be reduced to an ordinary, though well-versed, informant. Incidentally, as a Minister of Trade and Finance he was in a position to do much more. And indeed he did everything the British authorities asked him to. He did his best, of course, under all kinds of pretexts to prevent the Africanisation of the state apparatus and arranged deals profitable for foreign businessmen but ruinous to the Gold Coast.

He did not forget his own business and deposited large sums of money in his accounts whenever transactions were profitable. Just one ” operation ” of buying 24 locomotives from the Swiss businessman Johann Bernard Litscher brought him 10,000 Ghanaian pounds transferred to his account by the Henschel Firm in one of the Swiss banks. And yet the future worried Gbedemah. He did not share Nkrumah’s socialist ideas although he had some vague notion about sociology and particularly (about) socialism. But being a businessman by BEd 1964 nature he believed in capitalism, in a society based on private initiative.

While clearing his way for attaining the ministerial post in Accra he thought that his qualities of an adroit businessman and his connections in the British business circles would prove useful to him in the future capitalist Ghana. He saw very quickly, however, that Nkrumah tried to create welfare for all and not just for a handful of the government elite. He understood then that their roads diverge.

By 1957, when Ghana declared its independence, he lost all hope of finding any political contacts with Nkrumah and noticing a lack of interest on the part of the British in himself began to think of additional sources of increasing his personal wealth.

In 1957 Gbedemah established his own private business in Ghana-a poultry farm at which he employed over 50 Ghanaian labourers. The farm brought annually 5 million eggs and 300 tons of fresh-frozen chicken meat. The Finance Minister obtained over 40,000 Ghanaian pounds a year by selling eggs alone. Gbedemah became partner in the Mallam Issa Transport Company and a number of smaller enterprises. Using his ministerial post, he became the initiator and participant of puzzling financial machinations, both in Ghana and abroad. Notwithstanding considerable profits Gbedemah received through his business, his thirst for money was not fully satisfied.

The New Patron

In 1958 Gbedemah went to the U.S. where he negotiated with the American Government on some aspects of technical assistance to Ghana and a loan for the Volta River Project. It should be pointed out that by that time the Americans took very great interest in the young Republic and Gbedemah’s arrival, whose leanings towards the West were well known, proved quite an asset for Washington.

Negotiations ended successfully, not for Ghana naturally, but for the U.S. and Gbedemah. The latter understood that apart from the British, there were other generous supporters with their hand-outs. Besides, certain conditions of carrying through the Volta project spelled very great opportunities for Gbedemah’s personal enrichment. American businessmen, in turn, were very pleased with Gbedemah. Ghana’s Finance Minister demonstrated a rare understanding of their interests, and agreed to defend in the Cabinet a number of terms favourable for American business circles, such as the joint construction project of an Aluminium plant in the vicinity of the Volta river with subsequent transfer of the controlling interest to the Americans, granting the ” Star Kissed ” Co. a monopoly on catching the tuna-fish in Ghana’s territorial waters, the use of the local, in other words, cheap labour, etc.

In general, the Ghanaian Minister proved quite a tractable man who agreed to meet in Accra with Allan Dulles’s agent as a confirmation of his loyalty to the U.S. Great was the astonishment of Gbedemah when several days after his return from the U.S. his personal assistant, Victor de Grand Brempong, entered his study and gave him the first instructions on behalf of his overseas boss. Under these instructions Gbedemah was to compromise Nkrumah and ensure conditions for his overthrow.

Servant of Two Masters

The crisp dollar notes released a new wave of energy in Gbedemah. He remembered very well the words of farewell in Washington: ” We know how to show our appreciation of the people who are sympathetic towards U.S. interests “. And Gbedemah spared no effort so as to prove to his new patron that it was he, Gbedemah, and no one else in Ghana, who could understand these interests.

Through Brempong and other people with whom he established connections, Gbedemah started hectic activities aimed at over-throwing Nkrumah and seizing power. These activities were carried out along several lines. Gbedemah’s agents tried to create an atmosphere in the Covention People’s Party completely intolerable for Dr. Nkrumah, by spreading slanderous rumours and artificially created an atmosphere of squabbles, mutual suspicion and slander. Simultaneously Gbedemah’s henchmen started subversive activities among the population, trade unions and the army. Brempong established contacts with the opposition centre in Ashanti, in particular with Bishop Andrew van den Bronk.

Gbedemah himself preferred to remain in the shade as is becoming a real conspirator. He planned to use for launching a coup d’ etat Busia’s United Party, hoping to emerge on the scene at the decisive moment in the chief role. All instructions and recommendations of his patrons Gbedemah received through Brempong and only at the height of the preparations for the coup did Gbedemah meet personally several times with U.S. representatives, in particular with the labour DEC 1964 attache of the U.S. Embassy in Accra, Mr. Dint.

True, he had to see other people from time to time who reminded him that he was still ” the prison graduate “. But here the instructions were of a different sort. Apparently by that time London no longer considered Gbedemah as the main trump card in Ghana and their assignments had smacked of plain espionage. Apart from providing information, Gbedemah had to organise the smuggling of gold, diamonds, and foreign currency as well as arrange profitable deals for six British gold mining companies.