§ Mr. Harveyasked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he will give particulars of the progress of the irrigation work and the provision of water supply in Bechuanaland.
§ Mr. Emrys-EvansLast year work was begun on a comprehensive Survey of the water resources of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. £23,000 has been provided for this work under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act for a period of three years. From the information collected by the Survey, plans will be prepared for the post-war development of underground waters in the territory and the conservation, diversion and economic use of surface and storm waters. The Survey continues the work of prewar schemes financed from the Colonial Development Fund which were largely concerned with the development of water supplies by means of boreholes. Irrigation areas are being developed at the two dams built at Kenya and Mogobane under the pre-war programme. This work is the first of its kind attempted in the Protectorate. Applications are under consideration for further assistance under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act to finance experiments in basin irrigation and to explore the possibility of increasing water supplies for stock by means of deep water tanks similar to those built in Australia.