HC Deb 21 June 1960 vol 625 cc188-9
12. Colonel Beamish

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the widespread anxiety of administrative officers now serving in Kenya about their future careers both until Kenya achieves independence and afterwards; and if he will make a full statement in order to restore confidence.

Mr. Iain Macleod

I am well aware of the anxiety about their future felt by many members of the East African Public Services.

Constitutional changes are bound to affect officers' careers and it was because of this that in 1954 Her Majesty's Government gave in Colonial No. 306 certain undertakings to officers in territories moving towards self-government.

These undertakings, which mainly concern the protection of existing rights and conditions of service and the provision of compensation, have been fully observed in respect of territories which have already attained self-government, and they will be equally observed in the future.

But particular problems and uncertainties arise in the transitional years preceding self-government and these undertakings, which take effect only on self-government, may not in themselves be sufficient to retain the services of officers whose work will be vital for years to come. I am therefore considering urgently whether any further action by Her Majesty's Government is practicable to meet the anxieties of officers serving overseas; but I am not yet in a position to make a statement. Her Majesty's Government are fully aware of the importance of a contented overseas service.

Colonel Beamish

Is my right hon. Friend aware that at least one very able and greatly respected senior officer in Kenya has recently announced that he is going to retire because of these uncertainties? Is my right hon. Friend aware that others may well follow in this officer's footsteps unless an early statement is made? Can my right hon. Friend say whether he hopes to make a statement at any rate before the House rises before the Summer Recess?

Mr. Macleod

I will try to do that but this is an enormously difficult question, as the House will recognise. If hon. Members study what has been done recently, for example in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and British Somaliland, and all the White Papers laid before the House, they will see that in all these cases the undertakings which Her Majesty's Government gave to the public service were fully carried out.