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African Colonies

Volume 437: debated on Wednesday 7 May 1947

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British Somaliland

11.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies when he proposes to reassume responsibility for the administration of Somaliland.

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War and I recently agreed that the time had not yet come for the Colonial Office to resume responsibility for British Somaliland. The matter is, however, being kept under constant review by the two Departments.

Can the Secretary of State say whether he has any plans for the future of this very difficult country?

Yes, Sir. There has been a considerable amount of thought given to the future development and governmental planning of Somaliland.

Cocoa (Produce Board's Surplus)

12.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what is his estimate of the surplus funds of the West African Produce Board at the end of this season; and whether he intends to increase the price paid to African producers of cocoa or to reduce the price charged to manufacturers.

I estimate that the surplus funds which will accrue from the current crop are likely to exceed £10,000,000. The producers' price is fixed for the present season, which will shortly be completed. The determination of next season's producer price will be a matter for the new cocoa boards in West Africa. The price charged by the board to buyers of British West Africa cocoas is determined in the free market.

The first part of my Question was not intended to ask about the surplus of this season's working, but what the total surplus would be at the end of the season. Can the right hon. Gentleman give us that figure?

I cannot be too accurate, but I imagine that it will be in the neighbourhood of, probably, £22 million.

Can the right hon. Gentleman say what he proposes to do with that £22 million?

In view of this large surplus, can the Minister say why the price has been put up to home manufacturers?

I think that this House is entitled to know what the Government propose to do with this huge surplus which has been obtained at the cost of either the producers or the consumers.

The answer has appeared in a White Paper which has had very considerable publicity in the Press, and which has frequently been noted in this House.

If that is so, is there any objection to the right hon. Gentleman saying, briefly, what it is?

It is another question, and I am not anxious to exhaust the patience of the House.

Nyasaland Legislative Council

15.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement on the reconstitution of the Legislative Council in Nyasaland.

Local opinion is being consulted in regard to certain proposed changes in the constitution of the Legislative Council of Nyasaland, but I am not yet in a position to make any statement on this subject. I shall hope to do so in due course.

Tea Planting

16.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether, in view of the possible shortage of tea, it is proposed to remove the present limitation of acreage now in force so as to permit increased acreages to be planted with tea in the East African territories and Nyasaland.

Yes, Sir. File East African governments arc taking steps to amend existing legislation, where that is necessary, to permit increased acreages to be planted.

Food Imports (East Africa)

17.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what tonnages of foodstuffs have been imported into Kenya and Tanganyika, respectively, in the last three years; from where have these foodstuffs been obtained; what was the cost to each territory in each of the three years; and if the East African Governments have examined the question and cost of modern methods of storage for locally-produced foodstuffs.

I have asked the Governors of Kenya and Tanganyika for supplementary information on the points raised in the Question, and will communicate with the hon. Member as early as possible.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that in Nigeria, Rhodesia and East Africa this question of the conservation and preservation of food by methods of cold storage is totally inadequate, due to private enterprise ruining the whole issue; and, further, that this is a very serious matter, and will he look into the whole range of the Colonies on this issue?

The question of cold storage is receiving the attention of the local Government.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that private enterprise is holding it up?

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that biscuits and jams are being exported from this country to Kenya and are being sent back in food parcels to people in this country, and will he look into the matter?

Transport Situation

26.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he intends to take to alleviate the transport situation revealed in the Oil Seeds Mission Report, Colonial 211; and what priority he will secure for locomotives and rolling stock for the Nigerian railways.

As the reply is rather long and contains figures, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

I think it is quite comprehensive.

Following is the reply:

The question of alleviating the transport situation in West Africa has received, and is receiving, my personal attention, and I have, in conjunction with Ministers concerned, done everything possible to speed up delivery of the large and various requirements.. As the hon. Member is, no doubt, aware, demands on manufacturers for the production of railway materials have, since the end of the war, been extremely heavy. No system of priorities, as understood during the war years, is now in operation; but close contact is being kept with firms concerned in the manufacture of all kinds of materials required by the Nigerian Railways, including locomotives, and wagons, track laying material and spare parts, and every effort is being made to get supplies out to the Colony with the least possible delay.

As regards the important question of locomotives, I am glad to say that the 14 locomotives ordered from Canada have now been completed, and it is expected that shipment of these will commence this month. The delivery of the 20 locomotives on order from the United Kingdom, which was scheduled to begin in August, has, I regret to say, been set back owing to the fuel crisis, and may not now be possible before the end of the year. On the question of the future requirements of the Nigerian Railways, orders have been placed for 42 locomotives and some 1,400 wagons for delivery between 1947 and 1952. It has been requested that equal consideration may be given to these requirements with those accorded to British Railways.

Nigeria (Development)

37.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that the central board for the administration of Nigeria's development plan is composed entirely of European officials; and what steps it is proposed to take to associate the people of Nigeria with its work.

The members of the Central Development Board have until now been European officers, but the Governor is adding two Africans to the Central Board. African interests are already represented on the Provincial Development Committees, and decisions of the Central Board concerning the allocation of development funds are subject to approval of the Legislative Council, on which there is now an African majority. Publicity has been given to the proposals and the local government is improving public relation facilities: It is alive to the importance of associating the people of Nigeria with the programme, and the recent constitutional changes will contribute to that end.

Eur-African Children, Nyasaland

43.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what separate educational provision is made for EuroAfrican children in Nyasaland; and why these children are not educated in African schools.

After careful consideration by the Nyasaland Government of the educational needs of the Eur-African community a small day school for Eur-African children at Blantyre was started last year on an experimental basis. Elsewhere Eur-African children attend African schools.

While realising the difficulty of this problem, may I ask if my right hon. Friend is aware of the representations made about it by Africans, and of the danger of building up, not merely one kind of racial prejudice, but a whole hierarchy of castes based on colour?

As my hon. Friend knows, my effort is directed towards eliminating discrimination altogether.

Approximately, over the whole of Nyasaland, I believe 1,800 such children. In this school, I think, there are about 100 of them.

Is not the asking of 43 Questions today of the Secretary of State for the Colonies sufficient evidence that the statement sometimes made in the Colonies that this House takes no interest in the Colonies is quite untrue?