HC Deb 01 April 1965 vol 709 cc1821-2
8. Dame Joan Vickers

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the danger of the extermination of the bushmen of the Kalahari district of Bechuanaland, what arrangements are being made to safeguard their livelihood and improve their living conditions.

Mrs. White

My information does not support the suggestion that the bush-men are in any danger of extermination.

The Bechuanaland Government has been conducting a survey of the bush-men problem over a number of years. The final report of the survey officer has new been submitted and is under consideration locally. Meanwhile, following an earlier interim report, an area in the central Kalahari has been set aside for the bushmen as a hunting reserve. Three boreholes have been provided by Government in this area for the use of the bushmen and the animals which provide their food, and a further five are at present being drilled with the generous assistance of Oxfam.

Dame John Vickers

Will the hon. Lady look at this matter again, because my information is that there are continual encroachments on to the grazing lands of the bushmen, that some have been made by poachers to trap leopards, and that the witnesses have been shot? The bushmen's life has been disrupted and there is not sufficient medical attention in that area.

Mrs. White

If the hon. Lady would be good enough to send me particulars of any instance which she has in mind, we will, of course, study them. On my recent visit to Bechuanaland I noticed that the Bechuanaland Democratic Party, which is now the Government there, made as one of its proposals during the election "fair treatment for the bushmen".

Mr. James Johnson

Since there is a lack of water over this area, has my hon. Friend considered any scheme for piping water from the Okovanga swamps?

Mrs. White

As I made clear, the immediate proposals are for boreholes which seem to be satisfactory and more economical.