HC Deb 27 November 1964 vol 702 c229W
Mr. Wall

asked the Minister of Overseas Development whether she will now make a statement on the result of the discussions which she has been holding with the Kenya Ministers of Finance and Agriculture.

Mrs. Castle

My right hon. Friend the Commonwealth Secretary and I have held discussions this week with the Kenya Ministers for Finance and Agriculture. We agreed upon the allocation to certain projects of the bulk of the development aid of £3 million which is part of the Independence settlement that the British Government offered to Kenya for 1964–65. We agreed to meet early next year to consider the question of development aid to Kenya in later years.

We also discussed the difficult problem of the mixed farms in the Ol Kalou salient of the Central Region of Kenya, for the purchase and re-settlement of which the British Government offered Keneya £1.5 million last August, and we agreed upon the procedure to be followed in the special circumstances of this area.

The future of the British mixed farmer in Kenya generally was also discussed and we undertook to consider Kenya's proposals for financial aid in this field. I will make a further statement on this aspect as soon as possible. Meanwhile we agreed to provide an appropriate sum to facilitate the purchase of farms belonging to British persons in Kenya who, for compassionate reasons, such as age or infirmity, are no longer able to continue farming there.

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