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Governor's function and the obligations on the United Kingdom which
Dependency imposes differentiates his post sharply from that of the
Diplomatic norm.
4. To build mutual trust between Governor and the people of a territory
requires time, particularly in a small remote community where there is
naturally suspicion of newcomers who must gradually establish themselves.
Time is also needed for the Governor to get to know the people and learn
something of their needs and wishes. Only then is he able to formulate
plans and policies of his own to meet them.
5. A three year tour is too short to allow this process to take place.
The plans of action laid by his predecessor, or predecessors, are still
in force when he arrives and will continue for some time: the first
year or eighteen months must be spent in obtaining the local feel of
things: by the time new plans are made or needed alterations made to
existing programmes and by the time approvals have been given, at least
another year will have passed and the Governor is likely to finish his
tour of duty unfulfilled and without any significant sense of achievement.
This is wasteful to himself, to his employer and to the territory he
serves.
6. There is a further factor to be considered. Small remote
territories, which are innately conservative, traditional and slow to
accept new things are bemused by the frequent changes of expatriate
personnel whose tours range between two or three years. Each successive
Head of Department, whether of Agriculture and Forestry, or of the
Public Works, will have different ideas:
generally local people are
chut
shy of contesting publicly the brain children/innovations of these
expatriate experts and a sad legacy is left behind of half implemented
ideas or in the case of Agriculture for example in the many different
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