§ Mr. Keelingasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the estimated profit of £22,000,000 obtained by the West African Produce Board from the sale of cocoa, produced chiefly in the Gold Coast, he proposes to revise the allocation to the Gold Coast of £3,500,000 to be provided by the British taxpayer under the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts
Mr. Creech JonesI should like to correct the estimated figure I gave the House on Wednesday, 7th May, from £22,000,000 to £20,000,000. Of this the share capital to the Gold Coast will be between £12,000,000 and £13,000,000. These accumulated trading profits are not available for the general purposes of the territories concerned but are held in trust for the producers and are intended to be used for purposes of benefit to them, especially price stabilisation, as set out in the recent White Paper on West African Cocoa Marketing I have no intention of revising the Gold Coast's allocation of the funds available under the Colonial Development and Welfare Acts.