West Africa Hope and Ideals

By Hunter R. Clark

Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso (pop. 6.9 million), formerly Upper Volta, has lost little of its charm since the country gained independence from France in 1960. But the spacious avenues, bustling with mopeds and bicycles, belie the surrounding poverty. About 850 miles away in Accra, the capital of neighboring Ghana (pop. 14.3 million), where decrepit vehicles clog potholed streets, decay is all too evident. Yet despite the dilapidated economies of the two countries, they share a surprising amount of hope, largely because of the determination of their leaders. Once backed by extreme leftist elements, both men now appear committed to pursuing a pragmatic, less doctrinaire route out of poverty.

The two leaders, Ghana's Flight Lieut. Jerry Rawlings, 37, and Burkina Faso's Paratroop Captain Thomas Sankara, 35, are striving to reverse years of economic decline, corruption and injustice. In this, they represent a large improvement over men who have given black African leadership the image of brutality and profligacy. Idi Amin, for instance, ruled Uganda with blood and bluster from 1971 to 1979, and Jean-Bedel Bokassa, the self-proclaimed "Emperor" of the Central African Republic, held his country in terror between 1966 and 1979, flogging and mutilating his opponents.

In contrast, Rawlings and Sankara lead by example and exhortation. Says the Rev. Samuel Batsa, president of the Accra-based National Union of Catholic Diocesan Priests: "The smiles have come back here in Ghana after a long, long time." Rawlings, the Roman Catholic son of a Scottish father and Ghanaian mother, seized power in 1979, then relinquished it four months later to an elected government. He took control again in 1981, accusing the government of corruption: "There is no justice in this society, and so long as there is no justice, let there be no peace." Since then, Rawlings has moderated his rhetoric. He has imposed an austerity package prescribed by the International Monetary Fund, which has, among other things, eliminated government subsidies on oil products and devalued the cedi, Ghana's hyperinflated currency. Last year the country's gross national product rose for the first time in a decade. Says John Ijichi, Ghana's loan officer at the World Bank in Washington: "What is refreshing in Ghana is that people openly admit that the situation is their fault."

Burkina Faso's Sankara has also inherited a country in economic torpor, and one that because of a chronic drought has actually become poorer since he took over in a coup in August 1983. Sankara has cut civil servants' wages and raised taxes. One problem is that his regime's inflammatory rhetoric keeps bubbling to the surface, making some countries hesitant to offer economic aid. Last month, for example, a government-run newspaper compared President Reagan to Hitler, prompting the U.S. to cut back its commitment to two development projects in forestry and agriculture. France, which in 1984 contributed $43 million at current exchange rates, remains the country's main source of aid.

Despite his problems, Sankara is widely admired at home, in part because he has reformed the country's judicial system by introducing what he calls "people's courts." Says a Western diplomat in Ouagadougou: "He means it when he says he is for social justice for all." Sankara believes his goal of "two meals a day and safe drinking water" for all of Burkina Faso's people can be achieved. The main hope for economic development lies in the exploitation of natural resources, which include gold, copper and diamonds. One instance of Sankara's example-setting parsimony: when the electrical system at the presidential residence needed repairing, he paid for the work by selling the contents of the well-stocked wine cellar accumulated by his predecessors.

Inevitably, Rawlings and Sankara have acquired enemies. At the end of last year, Sankara antagonized Burkina Faso's landlords, many of whom are military officers, when he decided to aid the poor by decreeing a yearlong moratorium on the payment of rent. Rawlings has also been criticized, particularly by expatriate Ghanaians who have demanded free elections and a return to , civilian government. Nonetheless, Frances Ademola, who owns an art gallery in Accra, speaks for most middle-class Ghanaians when she says, "We have learned to love Jerry Rawlings. What we fear most is that he will be assassinated."

With reporting by James Wilde/Ouagadougou