§ 24. Mr. R. Edwardsasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what was the amount of the grant for the year 1957–58 on road communications in the British Cameroons.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe Southern Cameroons Government have been granted £659,000 from Colonial Development and Welfare funds for road development during 1955–60. The budget provision for road development in 1957–58 was £213,000, of which £174,000 was eligible for reimbursement under the terms of the grant.
In addition, a sum of £3.3 million has been granted to the Federal Government in Nigeria towards a programme for the development of trunk roads costing £20 million in the period 1955–62. Part of this expenditure will be devoted to trunk roads serving the Southern Cameroons.
§ Mr. EdwardsAlthough the amounts seem enormous, does the right hon. Gentleman believe that they are really adequate to the task they are intended to perform, as the whole economy of the Colony is dependent upon roads? Will he not agree that the expenditure on the new bridge over the Mungo River is being minimised because of the dreadful state of the roads leading to and from the new bridge?
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydI think that they are pretty sizeable sums.