THE EARL OF SELKIRKasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they can state the amount (a) of grants, (b) of loans, which have been made available to members of the Commonwealth at the time of independence and what grants and loans have subsequently been made.
§ LORD WALSTONThe table below shows commitments in respect of grants and loans to member countries of the Commonwealth which have become independent in recent years, starting with the Federation of Malaya in 1957. Certain grants and loans very recently agreed in principle, but still the subject of detailed negotiation, have not been included.
In some cases grants and loans have been made some time after the date of independence but have either been regarded as a part of the independence settlement or connected with it but generally those grants and loans made available in the financial year of independence have been shown separately from those made subsequently.
The figures are for money committed, which does not necessarily coincide with money disbursed. In many instances, especially in the case of loans made under Section 3 of the Export Guarantees Act, 1949, disbursement is made over a period of years following the commitment of funds.
Loans made to the East African Common Services Organisation have been classified as made subsequent to independence as the organisation serves a number of Governments which achieved independence at different times.
521WAGrants and loans made for defence purposes or grants to meet the cost of various forms of technical assistance provided by Her Majesty's Government have not been included in the table.
Grants and loans in the financial year of independence Grants and loans made subsequently Country Grants £'000 Loans £'000 Grants £'000 Loans £'000 Federation of Malaya 22,608 — 8,127 2,250 Ghana 350 — — 7,164 Nigeria 2,154 — 5,039 30,100 Cyprus 15,000 — — 2,000 Sierra Leone 3,000 — — 4,800 Tanganyika now Tanzania) 8,600 — 1,653 18,550 Uganda 1,977 6,000 744 14,400 East African Common Services Organisation — — — 8,050 Jamaica 850 — — — Malaysia 12,312 — — — Kenya 555 300 9,915 29,761 Malawi 8,141 2,750 7,000 — Trinidad and Tobago 974 581 — — Zanzibar (now Tanzania) 225 — — — Malta 6,000 1,700 6,150 1,500 Zambia 2,750 3,000 1,000 — Gambia 1,377 512 — 400 86,873 14,843 39,628 118,975