Overseas Development Mozambique 55. Mr. Tom Clarke asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will state the level of emergency support being provided by Her Majesy's Government to assist with the present crisis in Mozambique. The Minister for Overseas Development (Mr. Chris Patten) We have committed nearly £14 million in emergency aid for Mozambique so far this year, including a pledge of up to 30,000 tonnes of cereals. In addition, our share of emergency and food-aid provided by the European Community this year amounts to nearly £3 million. Mr. Clarke Is the Minister aware that the consequences for Mozambique of war and drought are defence expenditure of 42 per cent. of the annual budget and, among other things, the highest rate of infant mortality in the world? What steps are the Government taking to end South African destabilisation in this region? As we now know that the Government's commitment to overseas aid has been reduced to the disgraceful figure of 0·32 per cent. of gross national product, will the Minister assure the House that that essential aid for Mozambique will not be taken from another part of the overseas aid programme; in other words, that the poor will not be asked to feed the poor? Mr. Patten In response to the last part of that rather long question, our major contribution to Mozambique comes out of the growing aid programme, for which I am pleased to be still responsible. On the first part of the hon. Gentleman's question, we endorse the Nkomati accord and, with other European Community Governments, have consistently pressed the South African Government to stand by it. Mr. Wells I congratulate my hon. Friend on providing emergency support for the starving people in Mozambique, on which I am sure the whole House will congratulate him, but can he assure the House and the country that, in the chaos in Mozambique, the assistance will reach the right quarters and feed starving women and children? Mr. Patten I very much hope so. My hon. Friend makes an extremely important point. The most recent aid package that we announced of £2 million will largely go towards precisely the priority that he has identified. Part of it will go towards improving facilities at Maputo port and part will go to the Save the Children Fund to help to improve its food distribution organisation in Zambezia, which is the province probably most affected in the current emergency. Mr. Tony Lloyd In response to my hon. Friend the Member for Monklands, West (Mr. Clarke) the Minister told the House of the Government's attitude towards South Africa, but the reality is that South Africa continues to be the major determinant of the crisis in Mozambique and continues to fund the terrorists fighting in that country. What practical steps will the Government now take to put realistic pressure on South Africa to stop this funding of terrorism? Mr. Patten I should have thought that the hon. Gentleman would know about the help that we are giving to Mozambique in the training facilities at Nyanga. Mr. Fairbairn Given the fact that, prospectively, Mozambique is the most prosperous country in southern Africa, that it has a minute population compared to this country and is seven times the size of France, given that it has a fence erected by the Marxist Government to prevent its people from getting out, and that they choose to go, not to any of the five African countries to the north, but to South Africa, can my hon. Friend explain why we should be concerned about helping the victims of a Marxist Government? Mr. Patten The economic policies now being pursued by Mozambique, after its agreement with the IMF and the World Bank, certainly do not seem terribly Marxist to much of the outside world. The reason why we are giving so much emergency relief to Mozambique is that there is such a sizeable and unattractive emergency there. Developing Countries (Debt Repayment) 56. Mr. Alton asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy towards the imposition of debt repayment ceilings by developing countries. Mr. Chris Patten The unilateral imposition by debtors of repayment ceilings risks damage to their long-term creditworthiness and can hinder their development. I would prefer to see the genuine problems of the poorest and most indebted countries settled by joint action on the part of creditors. Proposals made by the Government for easing the debt burden of certain sub-Saharan African countries received broad support at the Venice summit. Mr. Alton Notwithstanding the Minister's reply, is he aware that in Peru, which had the fastest economic growth in Latin America in 1986, there was an 8 per cent. growth rate because it linked its repayment of loans to 10 per cent. of all export earnings? Is that not an approach that the Minister would welcome and commend to other impoverished countries? Does he not accept that many Third world countries are in great poverty because they are now paying back more in loan repayments than they are receiving in aid? Mr. Patten The first part of the hon. Gentleman's question showed that he had thought up his supplementary question before listening to my answer. I am delighted that the debt of the poorest countries in the world was put firmly on the political agenda by the Venice summit, and I am pleased that the summit called for a solution to those problems by the end of the year. Mr. Stanbrook What is the advantage of a loan, as opposed to a grant, to a developing country? After all, a loan only imposes further burdens on the developing country to repay the money, which is precisely what the original money was intended to assist it with. Mr. Patten There is a great deal of wisdom in my hon. Friend's question. That is one reason why we have a record on retrospective terms adjustment that is pretty well second to none. Mr. Holland I congratulate the Minister on his reappointment and commiserate with him over the constraints that he will find on funding for his portfolio. Surely the reality is that, in relation to sub-Saharan Africa, the Venice summit delivered nothing at all. It is imperative to write down and write off a major share of the debt of the sub-Saharan African countries, especially at a time when the most recent OECD report shows that the total resource flow to those countries has fallen by nearly a half since 1981. The Minister says that he will do something about debt, but what is he doing on aid? We are discussing grants, the issue raised by the hon. Member for Orpington (Mr. Stanbrook). The British overseas aid programme has now fallen to 0·32 per cent. of gross national product, despite the assurances given by the Minister to Tory candidates only last month that the real value of the aid programme would be preserved. Mr. Patten First, I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's kind words. Secondly, I am sure that my right hon. Friend the Chancellor will be pleased with the hon. Gentleman's endorsement of his sub-Saharan African debt initiative. Thirdly, our aid programme has increased in real terms since 1983. Bilateral Aid 57. Mr. Corbyn asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what amount of bilateral aid is being made available to each Central American country in the current year. Mr. Chris Patten British bilateral aid to the five Central American republics, Belize and Panama during 1986 totalled £16·4 million, which includes £11·6 million Commonwealth Development Corporation finance. I shall publish details of our aid to individual countries in the Official Report. Figures for the current year are not yet available, but they are likely to be similar. Mr. Corbyn Is the Minister aware that since 1979 the Government's record of aid to Central America has been one of continually decreasing aid to Nicaragua, and increasing aid to neighbouring countries such as E1 Salvador and Honduras? Does he not think that it is time that British aid to Nicaragua was increased in line with the development of that country and the improvements in the living standards of its people? Will he take this opportunity to condemn American-organised and inspired terrorist violence against the Government of Nicaragua, which leads to the death of so many innocent people in that country? Mr. Patten I am interested in, but not surprised by, the Left-wing fixation with Nicaragua, often to the exclusion of much poorer countries. We are constantly being pressed by Opposition Members to ensure that more of our aid programme goes to the poorest countries in the world. As I have had to tell the hon. Member for Vauxhall (Mr. Holland) from time to time, there are 50 countries that are poorer than Nicaragua. Mr. Key Does my hon. Friend agree that, rather than sloganising politically about the virtues of the Government of Nicaragua, those who are genuinely interested in solving the plight of the people there would do much better to invite the Government to do all that they can to encourage the Central American states to come to some agreement about coffee prices, because they are at the heart of Nicaragua's exchange problem? Mr. Patten I bow to my hon. Friend's knowledge of coffee. The following is the information: ------------- | | ------------- | | ------------- |Belize | ------------- |Costa Rica | ------------- |El Salvador| ------------- |Guatemala | ------------- |Honduras | ------------- |Nicaragua | ------------- |Panama | ------------- | | ------------- Bilateral Aid 58. Mr. Spearing asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he expects to make a response to the report of the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Commons, HC 32, 1986–87, concerning "Bilateral Aid : Country Programmes." Mr. Chris Patten I expect to present the Government's detailed observations on the report to the House after the summer recess. Mr. Spearing Does the Minister recall that paragraph 141 of this report says that the last Government White Paper on aid policy appeared about 12 years ago? Does he not agree that the majority of British taxpayers would be quite happy with overseas aid, provided it followed the lines of the White Paper produced by Dame Judith Hart in 1975, entitled "More Help for the Poorest"? Is he aware that the evidence produced to the Select Committee shows that that is not now the policy being pursued? Will he now revert to those policies, which the House and the nation endorsed in 1975? Mr. Patten Quite a few things have happened since 1975. The Labour party has lost three general elections since then. I am not convinced that the electorate is as familiar with Dame Judith Hart's White Paper as is the hon. Gentleman. I can assure him that we shall deal with whether to publish a White Paper in our response to the extremely interesting report from the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs.