§ 28. Mr. C. Johnsonasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent Her Majesty's Government have now implemented the recommendations of the Morse Commission on the High Commission Territories in Southern Africa.
§ Mr. SandysAs the House has already been informed, additional amounts of about £1 million and £180,000 have been made available for carrying out proposals made in the Morse Report. A further sum of £1 million has been provided for road improvements in Swaziland by the International Development Association, which also has under consideration similar applications from the other two Territories. In preparing their development plans, the Governments of the three territories are, of course, taking full account of the recommendations of the Commission.
§ Mr. JohnsonIs the right ban. Gentleman satisfied that enough is being done to help these territories? With regard to the amount of capital and the time in which it is to be spent, did not the Morse Commission emphasise that large-scale development would be required quickly, and is it not doubly important now that South Africa has left the Commonwealth that these territories should not be so dependent upon that country but should move quickly forward to an independent economic basis of their own?
§ Mr. SandysYes, Sir; we fully recognise the importance of this matter. Naturally, we should like to do more, and that applies to many other countries which seek assistance from us, but there are limits to the amount of money which we can make available. I would draw attention to the fact that the Morse Commission itself fully recognised that its recommendations could not be put into effect overnight and would have to be introduced over a period of years.
§ Mr. StracheyDoes not the right hon. Gentleman agree that one thing that he could do with Swaziland at any rate is to bring its sugar fully back into the Commonwealth Sugar Agreement and not buy it at a cut price, as it is being bought today?