§ 24. Mr. JAMES HUDSONasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has now received any information from the Governor of Kenya regarding the allocation of the money 26 provided in the Estimates for 1928 for road making on land alienated to non-natives, roads connecting Government stations in native reserves, and roads in native reserves other than those in the first and second category, respectively?
§ Mr. AMERYYes, Sir; but as the statement which I wish to make on the subject is of considerable length, I will, with the hon. Member's permission, circulate the reply to his question in the OFFICIAL REPORT.
§ Following is the statement:
§ It is not possible to give any precise figures for the distribution of the sums provided for extraordinary and recurrent expenditure on the country roads under the desired categories, for the reason that the classification of the road system is not based on racial boundaries, except in respect of some of the minor roads, and then only with regard to some of the expenditure. The main country roads traverse native and non-native areas and areas which have not been established as either, passing from one to another. The main country road system is about 2,578 miles in length. It comprises approximately 746 miles in land alienated to non-natives; about 1,040 miles are in established native reserves, and 792 miles in areas which have not been established either as native or non-native. The minor, branch or district road system leads into these main rods or direct to railway stations or townships. In native reserves the position, character and mileage of most minor roads are uncertain, as they have not been surveyed, except in a few instances. There are roughly 1,633 miles in non-native areas, 2,866 miles in native areas, and 328 miles in areas which have not been established either as native or non-native. The last two figures include only those roads or tracks which have been sufficiently established to justify approximate delineation in respect of general direction on the road map. In addition, there are about 1,420 miles of road connecting Government stations in the northern areas of the Colony whose primary use is for the purpose of administration and defence. It will be seen, therefore, that the mileage of public country roads may be roughly divided in respect of locality as follows:
| (1) Within established non-native areas | 2,379 |
| (2) Within established native areas | 3,906 |
| (3) In neither | 1,120 |
| (4) Joining Government stations | 1,420 |
§ The expenditure, both capital and maintenance, on individual roads and parts of them is dependent on the traffic which is carried, not on their situation with respect to racial boundaries. In general, the traffic on roads in non-native areas is much greater than that in native areas, although many individual roads in native areas carry much greater traffic than many individual roads in non-native, areas. The majority, how ever, of the minor roads in native areas carry very little traffic. The public has the right of user, subject to law, of the public roads of the Colony, whether in native or non-native areas, and traffic from roads in native areas traverses roads in non-native areas and vice versa. A statement of the expenditure on roads within native and non-native areas is, therefore, not a true criterion of the benefit which each race derives from such expenditure.
§ The reference in the lion. Member's question of the 19th December was taken to be to the sum of £100,000 shown in the draft Colonial Estimtes as provided for the maintenance of roads and bridges. The amount eventually voted for this service was £92,664. The proposed expenditure of this amount includes a sum of £11,100 for township streets and a sum of £12,600 for bridge repairs; £1,000 is held in reserve. It cannot be foreseen how occasion will require the employment of the latter two sums. There remains the sum of £67,964, of which £35,500 is on account of main roads. This can only be divided in the manner desired on the assumption that the verage expenditure per mile throughout the country is constant. Assuming this, the proposed distribution in the following categories is arrived at:
| £ | |
| (1) Within established non-native | 34.250 |
| (2) Within established native areas | 19,900 |
| (3) In neither | 10,900 |
| (4) Joining Government Stations | 2,914 |
§ An additional sum of £49,050 is provided in the Estimates for construction of new roads and bridges and other purposes. This sum is roughly allotted as follows:
| £ | |
| (1) Within established non-native areas | 16,600 |
| (2) Within established native areas | 12,650 |
| (3 In neither | 15,800 |
| (4) Joining Government Stations | 4,000 |