HC Deb 03 May 1988 vol 132 cc343-5W
Mr. Hunter

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list current development projects in Lesotho for which United Kingdom national, Commonwealth or European Community assistance is given and the value of that assistance.

Mr. Chris Patten

Under the bilateral aid programme to Lesotho, Britain is currently financing the following projects at a total cost of £8.078 million:

Projecl £ million
Village Water Supplies 1.475
Rural sanitation 0.223
Maseru sewerage 0.444
Maseru urban sanitation 0.588
Forestry 1.006
Government Computer Centre 0.530
National Development Corporation Line of Credit 1.126
Road Improvement Unit 2.624
Mabote Site and Services 0.034
Livestock Improvement Centres 0.028
In addition we expect to spend about £2.4 million in 1988–89 on technical co-operation activities. The Commonwealth fund for technical co-operation is currently funding with grants estimated at £153,000 a number of projects in Lesotho involving the provision of experts. Projects in Lesotho currently being financed by the European Community from the fifth and sixth European development funds are as follows:
Total cost £ million
(a) Grants
Mekaling-Quthing road 6.76
Mohale's Hoek-Mekaling road 3.65
Mphaki Area Development II 2.55
Asparagus expansion scheme 3.28
Highlands water scheme 6.55
Manpower development programme 5.31
Levotholi Polytechnic 0.41
Lesotho Airways Corporation 1.48
Lesotho Customs services 0.09
Institute of Public Administration 0.31
Studies (irrigation, agricultural water supply, health, finance, vet services) 0.43
(b) Special loans
Mohale's Hoek-Mekaling road 6.07
Mekaling-Quthing road 0.35
(c) Risk Capilal
Lesotho National Development Corporation 2.07
Highlands water scheme 2.41
41.72

Mr. Hunter

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will list the United Kingdom contributions to Lesotho through national, Commonwealth and European Community action in each year since 1983.

Mr. Chris Patten

United Kingdom bilateral aid expenditure and the estimated British share of Commonwealth and European Community aid expenditure to Lesotho since 1983 have been as follows:

£000s
1983 1984 1985 1986
United Kingdom bilateral aid 4,695 5,233 2,382 3,784
Estimated United Kingdom share of European Community aid 840 1,300 1,340 950
Estimated United Kingdom share of Commonwealth aid1 80 37 30 46
1 Figures cover the period June-July.

Mr. Hunter

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs (1) what measures he has taken, or proposes to take, to assist the Lesotho Government to strengthen their national economy and decrease their dependence on the economy of the Republic of South Africa;

(2) if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's policy on the role of the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference as an agency for diminishing Lesotho's economic dependence on the Republic of South Africa.

Mr. Chris Patten

All our bilateral aid to Lesotho aims to strengthen the national economy. In addition we support the Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference, of which Lesotho is a member.

Mr. Hunter

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment is available to him of Lesotho's repayment of foreign debt; and to which countries repayment has not been made.

Mr. Chris Patten

The figures in the table show the debt service payments which were due and estimates of the actual payments made on public and publicly guaranteed debt from 1984 to 1987. I am not aware of any countries which have failed to receive repayments due from Lesotho.

Debt Service Payments $US millions
Due Paid
1984 20 21
1985 18 18
1986 12 14
1987 13 13

Source: World Bank World Debt Tables and IMF Staff Papers.

Mr. Hunter

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment is available to him on the level of economic growth in Lesotho in each year since 1983.

Mr. Chris Patten

The rate of economic growth in Lesotho as measured by the estimated growth in the gross domestic product is as follows for each year since 1983.

Percentage growth rate of GDP
Per cent.
1984 9.4
1985 3.8
1986 2.2
1987 2.8

Source: IMF Staff Papers.

Mr. Hunter

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his assessment of the extent to which Lesotho has benefited from joining the Lomé convention and been given improved access to European Community markets.

Mr. Chris Patten

Over the five years to 1990 Lesotho will get 41 million ecu (about £28 million) in planned aid from the European development fund, in addition to benefiting from SADCC and other regional projects. Lesotho also receives lending from the European Investment Bank, finance under the Stabex scheme, and emergency aid.

Under the Lomé convention, Lesotho's exports of its industrial products and the great majority of its agricultural products enter the Community free of tariff or other restrictions.