Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1A 2AH
2.
Pl pa
Telephone 01-
A Collaco Esq
Technical Education & Training
Organisation for Overseas Countries
Your reference
"
on
69
HK' Poly tile
НК
vw. Bun
A/HK/14
Our reference
HKK 9/3
Date
31/x/75
Grosvenor Gardens House
35-37 Grosvenor Gardens
LONDON SW1W OBS
nát,
HONGKONG POLYTECHNIC
(68
31 October 1975
RECEIVED IN
REGISTRY No.51
- 3 NOV 1975
HKK913
Thank you for your letter of 28 October enclosing two copies of the third part of Mr Hunting's report on his visit to Hong Kong.
We have read the report with interest, and may I say that if we had had such a report two or three years' ago, by now the grants would have been well on the way to being fully dispersed.I am sorry we have not responded on the debriefing question, out Mr O'Keeffe is currently in Hong Kong; he is returning to the United Kingdom in just over a week's time, but is dashing almost straight off to Washington.
It will be of interest to TETCC to know the latest position on the Polytechnic grant. Subsequent to our abortive attempt to get a second paner through the ODM Projects Committee, I minuted to ODM Finance Department to seek approval to commit further funds on books for the Library in advance of the Project being approved by the Projects Committee and the Minister for Overseas Development. In doing so I explained that the Assistant Secretary of the Projects Committee had virtually taken our second submission apart, and on the basis of his comments it would be necessary to draft a third paner from scratch. Incidentally, Mr Hunting was happy with the second maner! Mr Stickels, to whom my minute was addressed, took it on himself to contact Mr Ridgwell, the Secretary of the Projects Committee. The upshot of their discussion was that however many times a marer was drafted for the Projects Committes. there was no way in which the project could be justified on aid grounds. It was, the refcre, considered to be a waste of time, energy and money to begin to draft a third paper. They agreed that the best course of action was for Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department to minute to Mr Williams, the Chairman of the Frojects Committee, explaining the difficulties being experienced in justifying the project and suggesting that it be considered on the basis of HMG honouring a Ministerial commitment made verbally in Hong Kong, rather than on the usual criteria. This we did and the result has been that r Burr has drafted a very short submission appending paragraphs 30-33 of Mr Hunting's report. This is currently
/with
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.