HC Deb 30 May 1963 vol 678 cc1511-2
3. Mr. Wall

asked the First Secretary of State whether he will now state the estimated cost to the British taxpayer of the secession of Nyasaland, both at the time of secession and in each of the five subsequent years.

Mr. R. A. Butler

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to the hon. Member for Barnsley (Mr. Mason) on 30th April. It is too early to estimate these costs and Her Majesty's Government cannot be committed in advance.

Mr. Wall

Will my right hon. Friend soon be in a position to say what is the capital cost as well as the budgetary annual subvention which will be required to preserve the present standard of living in Nyasaland? Is it not clear that it is considerably more than the figure mentioned here before?

Mr. Butler

There is the question of the development programme, to which the Nyasaland Government attach great importance, and the annual current Budget. We are, of course, attempting to assess, although we are not in a position yet to give the final figures, the two different costs of the deficit in the current Budget and what is necessary to buttress the development fund.

Mr. Mason

Will the right hon. Gentleman not agree that the Federal Government have subsidised Nyasaland to the tune of about £5 million a year in recent years, that this is due to end at the end of June next and that Her Majesty's Government will be faced with the decision of paying this subsidy? Has the right hon. Gentleman yet made up his mind? Are the Government going to pay it or not?

Mr. Butler

It is not quite as simple as that, because the Nyasaland Finance Minister and his deputy, who have seen me in London, have indicated that what Dr. Banda told me is correct, namely, that they are themselves proposing to impose charges and to institute cuts in order to try to reduce the deficit in the Budget. This will still leave a deficit in the Budget, and it is consequently natural that Her Majesty's Government should be considered as a possible source of future help.

Mr. Mason

Yes, but is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that a serious situation is developing here, that this is a protectorate of Her Majesty's Government and that the Americans are starting to move in with token forces of young pioneers who are taking over teaching, doctoring, and so on? To what extent do Her Majesty's Government view this intrusion?

Mr. Butler

If the hon. Member will give me some particulars of these forces coming in, I shall be glad to give him an answer.

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