Who could have foreseen, a few years ago, for example, the
spectacular growth of mass tourism and the increasing demand for
homes for holidays and for retirement? Whis has opened up exciting prospects, particularly for the Seychelles and the Caribbean
dependencies, enabling them to turn to economic advantage their
resources of sun, sand and sea. Commercial exploitation of the
mineral deposits in the Solomon Islands is now beginning and the markets for their timber and copra seem likely to expand. We
confidently expect that over the next decade these developments will
gradually reduce and eventually eliminate the territories' dependence
on HMG for budgetary support. We recognise, however, that we may
need temporarily to increase the level of our support during the first
critical years when the costs of development are high but results
have not yet begun to appear in the form of increased revenues.
24.
Some grant-aided territories, notably St. Helena, are
singularly lacking in commercially exploitable resources. We shall
give them every assistance to exploit such resources as they do possess
and to maximise their revenues, but we recognise that they are likely
to require budgetary aid indefinitely. Moreover, there are two territories, namely the Falkland Islands and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony which are not at present on budgetary aid, but whose economic prospects are declining instead of improving. In the case
of the Falkland Islands the terms of trade have turned against them in that the price of their staple export, wool, has not increased in step with the cost of their imports. The Gilbert and Ellice Islands face the loss of the revenue from the phosphate deposits on Ocean Island which will be exhausted in about six years time. We are making every effort to assist these territories to develop alternative sources of income. But should they, despite their best endeavours, need budgetary aid in due course we shall not shrink from providing it.
10.
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