- 5-
C
-Discussion
In discussion it was thought unrealistic to expect progress through trying to involve the EEC in sharing administration responsibilities for our remaining dependent territories although pressure stemming from the Common Market could just possibly result in Guadeloupe and Martinique seeking independence.
Although there was no obvious relevance for us in these three countries' colonial policies there could be useful lessons to be learned from their, and other metropolitan powers, economic and administrative procedures.
SESSION 5: ROUND UP AND CONCLUSIONS
The Chairman suggested that in trying to draw conclusions from the previous day's discussions, answers should be sought to three questions:
(i) Whether we should be seeking to decolonise?
(ii) If so, how should we be doing it?
(iii) What role should the aid programme play?
On the first point, there was a clear consensus that we should be seeking to decolonise, even in those territories that have not so far shown any inclination to seek independence.
On the second point, fears were expressed that we had allowed our- selves to become too bound by an established formula that had been developed originally to deal with much bigger territories. For small territories we must be prepared to be much more flexible. In particular, in deciding how independence is to be achieved, we should seek to involve more than just the established political organisations (whose main concern is likely to be to preserve their power after independence).
On aid, it was pointed out that most of the necessary infrastructure projects had now been completed. The need that remained was not for capital aid but for management expertise and aid administrators. The aim should be to encourage investment aimed at achieving economic viability, which means investing in the private sector and, in particular (in the Caribbean territories at least) in tourism.
We should not however overlook the need to ensure that any investment should be in projects which would make the most use of local labour and of technology that was appropriate to the circumstances of small, underdeveloped territories.
It was suggested that, for the Caribbean territories, we should explore the possibility of a development consortium consisting of the UK, Canada, Trinidad and Barbados. Any such scheme should however be complementary to, not a replacement for, the UK bilateral programme.
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