PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL
2.
3. The TCI Ministers will also allege that the first sentence
6 is misleading. It implies that all the legitimate needs of dependencies have a first call on UK aid funds. That
of para
PAnlation size's not their experience: they are constantly being told that
No
there are insufficient funds to complete their own economic infrastructure, while vast sums are given to independent countries.
4. On the other hand, the Ministers would find the second sentence of para 6 to be accurate, but in a sense opposite to that intended. It is a lack of adequate aid which has created a climate of political dissatisfaction and economic weakness, which in turn has made "independence a realistic and attractive alternative to continuing colonial status." Longstanding and continuing neglect by the administering power of the Islands' legitimate need for a basic economic infrastructure is manifestly at variance with the impression sought to be created by the first two sentences of para 6. Moreover, this reality casts a shadow over the fourth sentence: "In the past, a generous allocation of development aid has often formed a vital ingredient in achieving a final independence agreement." Is this not too explicit a reference to the efficacy of bait in a document which is to be published?
5. The remaining dependencies have special problems and exceptional measures are needed if they are to be brought speedily to independence. As you know, the fundamental flaw in the Turks and Caicos Islands is a lack of natural resources; consequently exceptional amounts of aid are necessary to bring them to the point where they can be expected to survive econo- mically on their own. The memorandum implies that exceptional
PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL
/treatment