§ 76. Sir H. Oakshottasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement regarding the cancellation of the appointment of General Sir Geoffrey Bourne as Chairman of the Kenya Central Land Board.
§ 77. Sir A. Hurdasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the future of the Central Land Board in Kenya and the safeguards to ensure impartiality and a fair deal for Europeans and for Africans of all tribes under its administration.
§ Mr. Bottomleyasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the abolition of the post of full-time Chairman of the Kenya Central Land Board.
§ Mr. SandysI am circulating below the text of a statement published on 2nd March which describes the revised arrangements for the purchase of land in the Scheduled Areas and the resettlement of African farmers on such land.
The Central Land Board under these arrangements will be responsible for the selection of land to be purchased, for the arrangements for its valuation and for the payment of the agreed price to the owner. These comprise all the 138W matters of direct interest to the European farming community which will also now be directly represented on the Board.
The interests of African tribes are safeguarded by the fact that the regional authorities will be responsible for allocating the land purchased among the new settlers. The regional authorities will also share with the central government the task of preparing detailed settlement schemes and of helping the new farmers to develop their land.
I should like to take this opportunity to thank General Bourne for having been prepared to take on the duties of Chairman of the Central Land Board at some personal inconvenience; and to express my regret that changed circumstances should have made it necessary for the post as offered to him to lapse.
Following is the statement:
After discussions between the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Duncan Sandys) and the Kenya Council of Ministers, in which representatives of the Kenya Coalition Party took part, it has been decided to revise arrangements for the purchase of land in scheduled areas and the resettlement of African farmers on the land so purchased.In particular, it has been decided that when the land has been purchased for settlement, the decision as to who should be settled on the land purchased should, in the circumstances of the new constitution, rest with the regional authority of the region in which the land is situated, acting in consultation with the Central Government; and that the practical task of preparing detailed settlement schemes and of helping new farmers to develop their land should be the joint responsibility of central and regional authorities. The Central Government will be responsible for the implementation of settlement schemes in consultation with Regional Authorities.In view of its responsibility for repayment of external loans for land settlement, the Central Government will have the right, through the regional authorities, to insist upon maintenance by the new settlers of adequate standards of husbandry so as to ensure their ability to make the regular payments due to the Central Government in respect of monies advanced to them.It follows that the functions of the Central Land Board will comprise the selection of land to be Purchased, the valuation of such land and the payment of the purchase price to the owners.The Board will be composed as hitherto proposed (i.e. a Chairman, a Central Government representative and a representative of each Region) with the addition of a representative of the farming community of the scheduled areas.In view of the greatly reduced functions of the Board, the Chairmanship will no longer be a whole-time post. General Sir Geoffrey Bourne 139W had accepted the appointment as a whole-time Chairman on the basis of the much wider functions and responsibilities originally proposed for the Board. Under the revised arrangements, a part-time Chairman only will be needed and General Bourne's post therefore lapses.