HC Deb 18 January 1968 vol 756 c1927
7. Mr. Wall

asked the Minister of Overseas Development if he will make a further statement on the progress of the 400,000-acre resettlement scheme in Kenya.

Mr. Prentice

As the reply is lengthy and contains a number of figures, I will, with permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

Mr. Wall

Could the Minister at least confirm that the valuations of the farms will not be cut because of devaluation, and also that the full programme of 100,000 acres a year will be continued for the duration of the scheme?

Mr. Prentice

A Question about devaluation was answered by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Secretary a few weeks ago. I cannot carry the matter further now. We are still studying the effects of that, and, indeed, other aspects of the scheme, on which I wrote to the hon. Member recently.

Following is the reply: I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the Answer I gave in reply to his Question on 9th November, 1967. The final figure for the first year of the Kenya Agricultural Development Corporation's purchase programme was 27 acceptances out of a total of 40 offers made. Since then, under the second year purchase programme, 48 out of 67 farmers to whom letters of intent were sent by the Agricultural Development Corporation have said that they wish to have their farms valued, 15 have withdrawn from the programme because they wish to stay or have sold privately, and, in regard to the remaining 4, enquiries are not yet completed. Meanwhile, the Agricultural Development Corporation are pressing forward with plans for the disposal of 13 of the farms purchased in the first year programme so that these can pass to African possession.—[Vol. 753; c. 1221–22.]