§ 42. Mr. Skinnardasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies which of the ten-year development plans for the West Indian Colonies have so far been approved; how much of the necessary finance is being drawn from the Colonial Development and Welfare Fund, and how much from local sources; and to what extent unofficial members of the various legislatures are being associated with this work.
Mr. Creech JonesTen-year development plans have been approved for Barbados, Jamaica and St. Vincent. I attach to this reply a statement showing the proposed sources of finance in detail, but approximately £7,500,000 out of a total of £27,500,000 is to be found from Colonial Development and Welfare money. I have also received plans for British Guiana and British Honduras which will be considered in the light of the recommendations made by the Settlement Commission which has recently been investigating the economic potentialities of these two Colonies. Plans for the other West Indian Colonies are under urgent consideration locally. As regards the last part of the Question, these plans have been or are being prepared by local development committees of which the majority of the members are unofficial.
Following is the statement:
from designated countries which include Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia, but not including South Africa.
Mr. Creech JonesGold Coast Open Import Licence No. G.L.or authorised the import under open general licence of various goods from the United Kingdom, the Colonies and the "war-shattered" 331W European countries. If any other country had been included in such an open licence, there would have been discrimination against the countries not included and this would have been contrary to our obligations. The question of the extent to which it is still appropriate for open general licences to be issued in favour of war-shattered countries is under review.