CONFIDENTIAL! CONF
RECEIVED IN
REGISTRY No. 74
- 4 MAY 1977
HKG 025/1
See ant den. Jasper
GENERAL NOTE ON A VISIT TO THE CARIBBEAN DEPENDENCIES BY H STANLEY AND P DUFF - FEBRUARY 1977
Dependent Territories Division
Dru
3
JPLY.
These
My chief impression was of the importance of providing proper support in London for our Governors and their administrations. dependencies give us much trouble, few rewards and little thanks but while we remain responsible we must try to see that they are governed wisely and well. This will mean that the Dependent Territories Division may at times find itself in some kind of organisational or policy conflict with other parts of the Office. If so, we must not be deflected from proposing policies which we know are right for our own clients. On the face of it there could also be a conflict of priorities between ODM's new aid strategy and what is needed in practice in the dependencies. For various reasons (including perhaps the fact that there are still senior staff in the ODM with Colonial Office experience) this conflict is not in practice likely to be a serious handicap.
Internal Security
2. British overseas government has always been largely one of bluff but in the sub-continent and in Africa there were always trained troops within call. Now that SNOWI has been disbanded, the dependencies are completely on their own for the first few days of any internal disorder. Furthermore procedural and political obstacles to the reinforcement of local security forces, whether by police from other territories in the region or by police or troops from Britain, will at best cause delay and could prove insurmountable. It follows that local police forces must be strengthened; action never welcome to local politicians and bitterly resisted by Ministers in Montserrat.
Governors
The
3. We are therefore very lucky in the quality of our Governors/ Commissioners and their wives. Their styles are different but their energy, devotion and imagination are enormous. They are at times under heavy pressure of work and always psychologically isolated from the sort of society which enables people in larger stations to unwind. Commissioner in Anguilla is appointed for three tours of 12 months. The Governors in Montserrat and Turks and Caicos, however, have a three- year appointment with a mid-tour leave. 18 months in Montserrat and Grand Turk is too long (even experienced, relaxed and balanced officers like Derek Matthews and Arthur Watson have shown signs of wear before 18 months were up). We should take up with GGD the need to reduce their periods of résidence to 12 months. We should also take up the issue of leave passage costs since it is becoming increasingly difficult for Governors to ensure that provision is made by local legislatures for their own travelling.
New Budgetary Aid procedure
4.
This is going to have a difficult birth. Apart from local confusion over inflation rates there is a chance that the new budgetary
/aid system
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