§ Sir W. de FRECEasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the official announcement that the efforts which are being made in Kenya to stimulate the technical training of Africans have not yet progressed so far as to 6upply a sufficient number of Africans with such posts on the railways or elsewhere, he will state how long this training has been undertaken; whether it started with the construction of the Uganda railway in 1896; and why, presuming that the authorities have carried out the only obvious policy under the circumstances, the results have been so consistently unsatisfactory?
§ Captain HACKINGAt short notice, and without reference to the Colony, it is not possible to answer my hon. Friend's question fully. I can say with confidence that no attempt to train Africans in Kenya for skilled labour was begun in 1896, when it was necessary to import even unskilled labour for the construction of the Uganda Railway. Financial conditions impeded progress until the native industrial school at Machakos was instituted in 1913–14. In the meantime, missionary effort and contact with European life had helped to fit the natives for skilled work, but it is possible that even now the number suited for such work is relatively small. During the War little could be done, though I understand that the training of Africans in Uganda railway workshops was not overlooked, but I believe that the vigorous efforts now being made are due largely to the initiation of the present general manager. Where economy in superior staff is essential, there has been a natural conservatism in preferring skilled artisans from India to Africans who, even after training, need a greater degree of supervision, but I am not prepared to agree that the results of the efforts made in the past have been consistently unsatisfactory.