§ 132. Mr. Sorensenasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is the effect of the re-arrangement of the duties of district officers in the Gold Coast; and to what extent these offices are now being filled by the appointment of Africans.
§ Mr. LytteltonDistrict commissioners, renamed Government agents, will act as local agents of the central Government, and in particular will represent the Minister of Local Government in connection with local government reform and administration.
Recruitment to the Gold Coast Administrative Service has, since the summer of 1951, been confined to Africans. Five out of the 98 administrative officers in the field are Africans, and four more Africans have recently been selected. There are also eight African administrative officers serving in Ministries in Accra. The rate of future African recruitment to this service depends on the availability of suitable candidates.
In addition a new cadre of African executive officers is being created to relieve district commissioners of many of their routine duties.