TNAG-0429-FCO40-494-Programme-Analysis-and-Review-(PAR)-Future-of-Dependent-Terr-1974 — Page 32

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the UK, the question of standards of service to be maintained may be more relevant than economic viability.

14. The political and economic circumstances of the dependent territories differ widely, and it is not possible to lay down universally applicable principles on aid policy: this has to be considered separately for each territory. In doing so the choice in practice lies between two options. The first is to seek to help those territories which can do so to achieve self-sustaining growth as quickly as possible, by building up and making the maximum use of local resources, so that they can increasingly from their own funds choose and finance

their own social and economic priorities. This is generally speaking our present objective. Although it implies continuing aid at least for some time, it is consistent with the political objective of independence; in practice the aim is to establish a sensible balance between infrastructure and productive investment, and between economic and social expenditure; but to tend to concentrate our aid on projects which will assist further

growth. Improvement of social services under this optior is likely to be gradual rather than rapid, because there

is usually a limit on the capacity of any territory to adopt rapid social and economic change without financial problems, or even severe cultural reactions, which contain the seeds of political instability. This

objective does not in itself imply a definition of the

standards to be achieved before independence; that remains primarily a matter for political decision.

16.

a.

In economic terms an objective as defined above implies a level of service of the following order;-

educational investment would be limited by employment prospects, (the alternative may be to produce educated but discontented unemployed; the probability that this discontent will find an outlet in political agitation for early independence would not justify creating it in the first place);

b.

health services would be improved to cover

prevention of major local diseases, and to

encourage family planning and permit of a

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