§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any aid has been given by the Government to the relief of refugees within Namibia from the Angolan civil war.
§ Mr. RaisonNot directly. We contribute to the Africa Appeal of the International Committee of the Red Cross whose programme has included assistance to Angolan refugees in Ovamboland, especially in the 1970s. The committee's programme in Namibia, which is currently being reappraised, is now mainly concerned with tracing refugees on behalf of families.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether any of the additional £5 million aid pledged by the Government to be spent through the British and international nongovernmental organisations on refugees-related development will be allocated to refugees from the Angolan conflict living within Namibia.
§ Mr. RaisonThis money is intended for infrastructure projects, which require the approval of the overseas government. When Namibia has achieved internationally recognised independence in accordance with United Nations Security Council resolution No. 435 I would expect to treat projects submitted by non-Governmental organisations for expenditure in Namibia on the same Basis as those for other African countries who are either hosts to refugees or have former refugees returning to them.
§ Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs why the Government grant pre-independence aid in Namibia only in the field of education.
§ Mr. RaisonWe think the most effective contribution we can make is by providing training awards in the educational field with special emphasis on English language teaching.