Situation

HC Deb 26 June 1962 vol 661 cc947-8

36. Mr. Healey

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the situation in Grenada.

Mr. Maudling

I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement issued by the Colonial Office on the 18th June.

I have taken this action with very great regret and only because the Chief Minister of Grenada left me with no alternative. Not only did he do all in his power to prevent the inquiry being held; but his comments on the Report also showed that he completely failed to appreciate the seriousness of its findings. The only conclusion I could draw, therefore, was that if he remained in office under the constitution then in force, the same financial malpractices and the same threats against the Civil Service would continue. This is a situation which I cannot accept as long as I am responsible for good government in Grenada and for the proper expenditure of United Kingdom moneys provided for the territory.

I very much hope, however, that it will be possible to hold fresh elections in Grenada in the fairly near future and that the normal course of constitutional development can shortly be resumed.

Mr. Healey

While deeply regretting the circumstances which have made the Colonial Secretary feel it necessary to take this action, may I ask what representations he has heard from other Governments of the projected Little Eight Federation concerning the action he has taken? Is he yet in a position to say when the elections may be held so that Grenada can revert to some form of constitutional government?

Mr. Maudling

I have had protests from a number of Governments in the area. On the whole, I think that public opinion as reflected in the Press respects and understands the action we have taken. As to future elections, there will be no unreasonable delay.

Sir J. Vaughan-Morgan

Can my right hon. Friend confirm whether or not the courts in the West Indies have yet decided on the legality or not of the original inquiry, which I believe was under consideration? Secondly, can he say whether or not it is intended to take any form of legal proceedings against any of those who have been implicated in these matters?

Mr. Maudling

On the first point, we had a clear indication from the courts that we should proceed with the holding of this commission of inquiry. On the second point, I do not intend to take any other proceedings. I think that what we have done was both necessary and adequate.

Mr. C. Royle

In view of the drastic steps the Minister has taken, the seriousness of the position and the difficulty of dealing with it by Question and Answer, will he talk to the Leader of the House to see if time can be devoted to a short debate on this matter so that there may be some real clarification?

Mr. Maudling

Of course, I will talk to my right hon. Friend about that, but I thought the position was on the whole fairly clear.

Following is the statement: The Grenada (Constitution) Order in Council, 1962, provides, with effect from today and until the next General Election is held in the territory, for the dissolution of the Legislative and Executive Councils and for the suspension of those provisions of the existing constitution relating to the Executive Council and to the functions of Ministers. During this period the Administrator will have the sole responsibility for the government of the territory. The Order in Council also provides that after the next General Election the constitution which came into effect on the 1st January, 1960 (the Grenada (Constitution) Order in Council, 1959) will be re-introduced subject to a number of changes. The main changes will be to give the Administrator wider reserved powers to act contrary to the advice of his Ministers than he possessed under the former constitution; and to empower the Administrator, acting in his discretion, to appoint an official Minister of Finance. It is hoped, subject to future developments, to arrange for a general election to be held within the reasonably near future. The Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Control of Public Expenditure in Grenada During 1961 and Subsequently was published as a White Paper on 22nd May. 1962 (Cmnd. 1735). This was an independent Commission. of which the Chairman was a West Indian Judge. Its main findings were as follows:—

1. (1) The Minister of Finance (Mr. E. M. Gairy who is also Chief Minister) had disregarded and contravened the laws and regulations governing the control of expediture;
2. (2) Expenditure had been incurred wastefully or unnecessarily through failure by Ministers to seek or refusal to accept the advice of the civil servants;
3. (3) The Executive had deliberately destroyed the morale of the civil service by an undesirable interference with administrative duties and by improper threats against the security of office;
4. (4) The Civil Service had been induced by this interference and these threats to commit or condone improprieties or irregularities in the expenditure of public funds.

After considering Mr. Gairy's comments on the Report, the Secretary of State has decided that firm measures must be taken to remedy the situation. As a first step the Ministers concerned will be relieved of their offices and the existing constitution will be temporarily suspended. From now and until a new general election can be held the Administrator will have the sole responsibility for the government of the territory. It clearly will not be possible immediately after the next general election to restore the same constitution as existed before and under which these disturbing events occurred. There must for a trial period be adequate safeguards to prevent any future recurrence of the malpractices revealed by the Commission of Inquiry, in particular in regard to the expenditure of public funds. In the constitution which will take effect after the next general election, therefore, the Administrator will have a wider reserved executive power than he has possessed in the immediate past: he will be empowered to act contrary to the advice of his Ministers if he considers it necessary to do so in the interests of public order, public faith or good government. He will also be given a reserved power enabling him to ensure the enactment of legislation which the Legislative Council has failed to pass if he considers that its enactment is necessary in the interests of public order, public faith or good government. As already stated he will also be empowered to appoint an official Minister of Finance. On receipt of the Report, the Secretary of State found it necessary, as he had already announced in Parliament, to suspend any further issues of grant-in-aid or Colonial Development and Welfare funds for the time being. Now that the necessary constitutional safeguards have been introduced to ensure that proper control is exercised over the expenditure of public money, the issue of United Kingdom funds to the territory on the normal basis will be resumed. The Secretary of State regrets the necessity to take these measures, and he hopes that it will be possible to hold a new General Election in the island within a short time.