TNAG-0699-FCO40-850-Maintenance-of-Government-Houses-in-Dependent-Territories-1978 — Page 36

CODE 18-77

Ĉ

Woladl

10

LAST

NEX

RCF.

47

Reference ERA 364/1

HKA

RECEIV

2 7 OCT 1978

51

(4.5

ADMINISTRATION IN CONFIDENCE

DESK .CER

Y

INDEX

PA

Aci

Mr McLaren

MAINTENANCE OF GOVERNMENT HOUSES

1.

وحد

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In your minute of 22 September at folio 43 below you asked to see proposals for getting out of the impasse that we have reached over the maintenance of Governors' ́official residences. The problem boils down to the following:-

2.

i.

Governors in certain Dependent Territories are being forced to put up with dilapidated official

accommodation because they do not feel able to ask their local governments to provide adequate funds for maintenance, even though CR 281 plainly states that this is the territory's responsibility;

ii. The ODM are quite willing to make more than enough money available to cover the maintenance costs, but are unwilling to agree to do this by means of a direct payment from the aid programme;

iii.

ODM's preferred solution of providing the finance through the budgets of the territories concerned would not answer the objection which is creating the problem in the first place: it would still look as if money for the Governors' personal comforts was being provided at the expense of the needs of the people;

iv. Although the ODM have suggested simply switching funds to the FCO and leaving us to make the payment, this has so far been thought to be impracticable because our sub head for Governors' expenses has not hitherto been used to cover expenditure on accommodation (and there would be other complications if we were to transfer the funds to the FCO's accommodation sub heads).

In her minute of 10 August at folio 33 below, Mrs Gregory suggested a meeting between us, WIAD and ODM's Finance Department to discuss how we get out of this dilemma. In your minute of the same date at folio 34 you suggested that before trying a meeting, we should consider whether the question could not be better solved in the context of a comprehensive scheme nder which the FCO would take over responsibility for all aspects of Governors' terms of service. Now that we have decided to abandon the idea of such a comprehensive scheme, Mrs Gregory has again suggested a meeting as the best way to move forward. I agree. The meeting should, I suggest, consider the following possible ways out of the impasse:-

i.

ODM change their mind about allowing the expenditure to appear as a direct charge on the aid programme (I must confess that I can see the logic of Mr Fry's argument on this, as set out in his minute of

ADMINISTRATION IN CONFIDENCE

/27 July