RICHVED IN
REGISTRY No.51 20MAR 1972
HAR SIN
Mr E C Burr Finance Department, ODA.
CATEGORISATION OF AID FOR DEPENDENT TERRITORIES
1.
Mr Consox
1.entery
20/3
see.
(27)
Bamber
"Blank / 20-3-72.
Following the reorganisation of Dependent Territory work, we have been looking again at the method of presentation of figures in the Aid framework and related aid papers. As you know, under present arrangements, no distinction is drawn in the framework between Dependent Territories and Associated States, either in the summary where both are included under the global heading "Dependencies" or in the accompanying tables where the heading is "East Caribbean" (only British Honduras being shown separately).
2. The lumping together of the Associated States and Dependent Territories in this way has caused problems for the Geographical Departments who are dealing with them as separate entities and are operating from different stand- points in the political sense. It has hampered the ready identification of total aid figures for the Dependent Territories and made it difficult for Departments to offer sensible comments or proposals about forward planning. It may also have hampered local planning efforts in territories where we are trying to associate Ministers more closely with the process of allocating aid resources. Attention was drawn to this situation last year in the context of the despatches which we had proposed to issue to the West Indian territories about their aid allocations for the period 1972-75. The point was also mentioned in the Annex to Mr Turpin's minute of 1 September to Mr M G Smith.
3. In his letter AMP 442/222/02 of 2 September to Mr Posnett, Mr Moisley confirmed that it was deliberate policy to subsume the "base" territorial allocations within the single East Caribbean figure, and defended the existing arrangement on the grounds that it provided flexibility to the Caribbean Development Division, who had discretion to approve worthwhile projects well in excess of individual allocations. Mr Bell supported this in his, letter to Mr Posnett of 22 October (copied to Mr Kisch), pointing out that the figures were planning targets and not allocations. In the light of these comments, our proposed despatches were not issued. 4. However since then the new joint Dependent Territories Administration Division has come into being and the issue has, inevitably, come up again. It has already been agreed that the Dependent Territories should have an individual Technical Assistance allocation within which Departments will have room for manoeuvre (your letter CF 258/239/01 of 3 February refers). I note from Mr Bell's letter FIN/CRB/1402/32 of 28 January to Mr Turner and Mr Huijsman, copied to you, that the Development Division now strongly support the provision of separate framework figures for the Dependent Territories, Associated States and Caribbean Regional Services. All Departments in the' Dependent Territories Division, including the Economists Unit, are in favour of such an arrangements, which would remove a source of
/confusion
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.