§ 24. Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he will make a statement on the arrangements for the sale of Crown land at Mafeking, South Africa.
§ Mr. FoleyThe sale of the former Crown land at Mafeking, on which the headquarters of the Bechuanaland Protectorate used to be situated, is now a matter for the Botswana Government. As my right hon. Friend the Minister of Overseas Development told my hon. Friend on 21st January, there was an agreement under which the proceeds from the sale were to be applied to offset budgetary aid which we gave towards the 31 cost of the new capital at Gaberones. This is still operative.—[Vol. 776, c. 222.]
§ Mr. JuddDoes my hon. Friend not agree that the full cost of the transfer of the administrative capital from Mafeking to Gaberones has not yet been covered? Is not there a way of making sure that this extra financial asset can be added to our grant to the Botswana Government, since the need to transfer the administrative capital results from our administering Botswana from inside South Africa for many years?
§ Mr. FoleyThis stems from an agreement made in 1963 with the Government of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. My right hon. Friend the Minister of Overseas Development has indicated that the proceeds of the sale of this land would be treated as additional Botswana revenue which would be taken into account in determining the deficit on the Botswana budget.