CONFIDENTIAL
{
aid system may have got off on the wrong foot. The first year of the three-year period under the new system has coincided with a new toughness in assessing revenue and expenditure in particular in calling for more local revenue. This means that the advantages of the new system are lost sight of locally in the general smart at the new pressures. I also see difficulty in sticking during the whole three-year period to those figures fixed at the start. For example, we have already decided that Anguilla should be allowed to recruit extra police and we have undertaken to take this into account if necessary in calculating budgetary aid. This sort of decision will
be seen by some eg in Montserrat as a one-sided interpretation by HMG of an agreement which allows us to change the rules to enable money to be spent on things we want while resisting local Ministers' proposals to amend agreed budgets so as to improve social conditions.
Independence
5.
Local attitudes were very mixed, ranging from the ostrich-like refusal in the Cayman Islands to think of independence for a 1,000 years to a surprisingly mature discussion among Anguillan Ministers (see record of Anguilla visit). It was suggested to us by some fairly sophisticated St Lucians that our strictly impartial attitude we won't keep you if you want to go, nor will we force you out if you don't was in some subtle way downgrading the relationship between Britain and her dependencies. We ought, they argued, to take a more positive line and make it clear that we would like to see dependencies move on to a more adult status with a more mature relationship with us. It would therefore be helpful if there could be a formal statement by Ministers and other positive action to establish this new line of thinking.
-
Constitutional Advance
6. Until we can see more clearly than at present a timetable for dependencies to reach independence we should be more cautious of allowing minor constitutional advance. For in each step we take we are gradually handing over the Governors' powers, such as they are, to administer properly and to maintain law and order. This is why we are resisting (so far confidentially only) the Governor, Grand Cayman's proposals for what would otherwise be regarded as a normal constitutional step forward from a Member to a Ministerial system.
Development Division
7.
There was evidence of an edgy relationship between Ministers and DevDiv over the way project proposals are handled and the delays which are said to follow. At the OAGs' Conference new procedures were proposed which ought to make things better. contact between Governors and their Financial Secretaries with staff in DevDiv should enable project assessment to go more smoothly.
Cypher Traffic
More
8. In Anguilla, Tortola, Grand Turk and Grand Cayman the handling of cypher traffic causes no undue problem. In Montserrat the Governor has no DS P/A and no cypher machine. All decyphering has
/to be
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.