§ Dr. Grayasked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Affairs what steps have been taken by Her Majesty's Government to co-operate in the further development of hydro-electricity schemes at Kariba.
§ Mr. BowdenThe present installations at Kariba represent only the first stage of the hydro-electric complex which the Central African Power Corporation planned to construct there on both sides of the Zambesi. Under stage two of the plan a second power station would be constructed on the north bank.
Since the illegal declaration of independence by Rhodesia, the Higher Authority for Power, whose approval is required for all capital expenditure by the Corporation, has been unable to function because there are no lawful Ministers of the Government of Rhodesia. 57W Her Majesty's Government recognises that there is a genuine need in these circumstances to find some way of authorising the Corporation to proceed with capital expenditure on stage II of the Kariba project. We, and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, who have an active interest in the project, have been pursuing the question. Her Majesty's Government is ready, subject to certain assurances, to assist in reconstituting the Higher Authority for Power as quickly as possible.