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went to Duf Bir
по
commento
wwws
EL.
CODE 18-77
Mr RJ T McLaren
нка 364/1
RECEIVED IN PURSTRY NO. 51
3 1 JUL 1978
DESK GAFICER MIDEX
BNISTRY
PA
crop Taken
MAINTENANCE OF GOVERNMENT HOUSES IN
CERTAIN DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
CC.
28
Reference...........
Mr Fogarty
Mr Kirkness
Mr Duff
Mr Pennock
I
I am sorry to have taken a little while to answer your minutes of 13 and 29 June proposing that the upkeep and maintenance of Government Houses in certain dependent territories should be regarded as a charge on the aid programme. wanted to look into this particularly carefully since you and your predecessor had been gathering together views from some of the OAGS concerned over several
months.
2. I must say that I see objection in principle to this proposition. It is of course true that where a dependent territory is grant-aided it can be argued that there is an element of aid funds being used in support of all local government services including the maintenance of Government Houses. But that, I think, is very different from your proposal that money should be specifically provided from the aid programme for the maintenance of Government Houses and for ensuring that they are kept to a reasonable standard. Recurrent expenditure of this kind can hardly be regarded as "developmental"; and neither does it seem to me appropriate to look to aid funds for bringing the properties in the territories listed in your minute up to a reasonable standard: as recognised in your minute of 13 June, this has always been regarded as a proper responsibility of dependent territories under Colonial Regulation 281.
3. It seems to me that the "right" course is to do our best to ensure that appropriate provision for maintenance is made through the normal budgetary process. In this connection it would be helpful to have the views of the Development Division in Barbados since, so far as the Caribbean territories are concerned, they might be asked to make a specific point of looking at the needs of Government Houses during annual budgetary reviews. If Development Division should then make a specific recommendation in the context of grant-in-aid provision we would certainly be ready to consider any essential increase in budgetary aid figures. St Helena would need to be dealt with slightly differently: any need for improvement there would have to be fed into the St Helena draft estimates by WIAD.
4. I would of course be very ready to discuss with you and Patrick Duff if you wish.
haf
K G Fry
Finance Department ODM
27 July 1978
LAPET
27
23
(29
(31)
Is Gregors - where do we go next on this? I
agree with No fry that this is really not a "development" matter, what we really want is a political
a
decision that the FCO should
accept responsibility for ensuing the Governors are properly paid, housed and looked after, not some device for achinson, this though the back door. I know Ŵ Stratton favours such an idea, how can we set albout achieving it?
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