§ Mr. Goodhewasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the British Government have agreed to finance the Kenya Government's one-million-acre scheme for the settlement of Africans on European farming land.
§ Mr. FisherYes. Subject to the necessary Parliamentary authority, the British Government have agreed to provide additional grants and loans up to £12.8 million.
166WThis scheme operates as from the 1st July, 1962 and provides for the settlement over five years of African smallholders on 200,000 acres a year of predominantly mixed farming land in the European farming areas of the Kenya Highlands. This includes the acreage not settled at the 1st July, 1962 under the existing high density settlement schemes. The 1 million acre scheme is, however, additional to the settlement schemes in which the International Bank and the Colonial Development Corporation have agreed to participate.
The total acreage planned to be settled under these various schemes in the five year period will be 1.n acres and it is expected that up to 70,000 families will be settled. The total cost of these schemes over the five years is estimated at £27½ million, towards which the British Government have undertaken to contribute up to about £19½ million including this latest £12.8 million. The balance of the funds will be found from Kenya's other development resources, including the loans promised for the settlement schemes by the International Bank, Colonial Development Corporation and the Federal German Government.
We have agreed that land bought for these schemes after the 30th June, 1962 shall be paid for in full in cash, but the instalment system will be continued on contracts completed and signed before the 1st July, 1962.
During the period of the settlement schemes the Land Bank may need extra finance to facilitate transfers outside the settlement areas over and above what is available in its ordinary operations, including premature repayments arising from these transfers themselves. To the extent that this need arises, the Kenya Government will allocate for this purpose up to £200,000 a year from development funds available to them and for their part the British Government will be willing to agree to the use for this purpose of any British development funds made available to Kenya. In the current year, to the extent that it is not feasible to divert existing development funds to this purpose, the British Government will provide additional Exchequer loans up to £200,000 to be drawn at need.