The Civilized Way

Ghana's President Kwame Nkrumah presents two faces when he deals with foreign investors. With one face he encourages them to come in and help Ghana grow; with the other he winks at his trusted lieutenants, who talk darkly of nationalizing foreign enterprises. A favorite target has been the seven British-owned gold mines. From exports of $28 million in gold a year, the country gets a tenth of its income.

Last summer Nkrumah's government passed a law granting a 14-c--a-day wage increase to gold miners. This wiped out the benefits of a subsidy the government was giving the shakier mines. The British owners threatened to close two of the mines, wiping out 2,000 jobs. Nkrumah countered last month by announcing a new bill, not yet passed, that called for a heavy fine and imprisonment on any mine operator who closed down without his permission. To mine owners, this looked like the first step toward nationalization and brought an immediate outcry. Major General Sir Edward L. Spears, chairman of Ashanti Goldfields Corp., Ltd., one of Ghana's prosperous mines, and also chairman of Bibiani ( 1927 ) Ltd., one of the marginal mines, warned Nkrumah that if he does not make it clear that he was not trying "to seize the mines without adequate compensation, no more outside capital will come into Ghana for mining or anything else."

Last week Nkrumah changed his tack, decided that necessity is sometimes the mother of investment. To calm the fears of potential investors and save the miners' jobs, he offered to buy the stock in five marginal mines for $14.7 million, almost twice its value on the London Stock Exchange, presumably to make certain that the offer would be accepted. Within 24 hours, the value of the stocks jumped over 100%. The relieved companies hailed the offer as a uniquely civilized way to nationalize industry, were certain that their 40,000 stockholders would grab the offer.

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