42
7 July 1982]
MINUTES OF EVIDENCE TAKEN BEFORE
MR GT CHECKETTS, MR R T Fox, MR P J Goddard and MR A G B YOUNG
[Sir Peter Emery Contd.]
systems, and there it is quite easy to get by using a blend of sources; but in South East Asia where you have the secretive Chinese business community and all sorts of com- mercial pressures not to disclose informa- tion, the quality of your locally engaged officers in particular is very important and the time in office and general experience in the region of your senior expatriate British staff is important. One of the problems we have had is not just the number of expatriate Foreign Office people in post but the frequency of revolution and the syn- chronisation of that revolution. In Indone- sia, for example, the whole of the post changed in a very short space of time and there have been some complaints which have been passed on to the right quarter, because our communication is excellent, that the speed of service from the post has not been as one would have hoped. There have also been problems of illness which have compounded it. So I think that is the situation. I would not wish to comment on the technical expertise of ODA in relation to what is needed in the region. I think that may be one for you.
(Mr Checketts.) I would support the Minister in his statement that in every profession you will find good and bad, and why not good and bad in commercial counsellors, or some better than others perhaps good and bad is too strong. That is reasonably to be expected. We have just pulled out a superb commercial counsellor from Bangkok and have just pulled out a superb trade commissioner in Malaysia, both very good men, very experienced, who have been there long enough to contribute. They have gone. I think the Bangkok man has gone to KL as a sort of all-change situation there. That is a thing that disturbs us very much. The continuity that is pro- vided by having good men in the same area for a little longer time is very important to us. The locally employed staff are very important to us. They do provide continu- ity, of course, because they stay there.
150. Would you agree that the smaller the staff the greater is the importance of the person heading up that staff he must be
as near alpha as possible?
(Mr Checketts.) That must be so (Mr Young.) Incidentally, Chairman, you should be aware that our German competi- tors in particular do this in a different way in South East Asia. Their commerical thrust is through an export organisation which is independent of their Embassy and is much
[Continued
more of a long-term character in the coun- try concerned.
151. Is that financed partially then by industry?
(Mr Young.) Partially by industry, par- tially by governments.
152. Have you considered the possibil- ity of using this as an example and doing the same thing yourselves?
(Mr Checketts.) We actually lost a mem- ber of SEATAG to the Mexican Embassy on a seconded basis. Now, that was an example for me to examine and, in discuss- ing this in the BOTB, the answer came back that it was not just a question of saving the man's salary but if the industry finds a man it is whole costs which have to be supported by industry, which is a very difficult thing to administer.
153. Can I lastly go back to the com- mercial judgment and level of commercial experience of the people at ODA? You have rather left that one but it does seem to me that when one is looking for rapid response, which is what you want, a degree of intimate knowledge of industry and of export orders must greatly affect the speed with which people can respond. Would you therefore believe that I might be right in thinking that the delay in reponse may be because there is not as much commercial knowledge in that department as you would like to see there?
(Mr Checketts.) Could I say yes immedi- ately. When you refer to initimate knowl- edge, there is not very much intimate knowledge of industry within the ODA.
(Sir Peter Emery.) Thank you very much, that is helpful.
Mr Crowther
154. In the next part of your very helpful memorandum in 2.4 you say. “More could be done by industry and HMG to extract market information from the inter- national lending agencies by improving liaison with World Bank, Asian Develop- ment Bank and others." Could you give us an idea of how you think this improvement could be carried out?
(Mr Checketts.) I think this is the fastest ball of all, Chairman. I am not in any way going to duck it but I wonder whether this is the right place to do it. This discussion is published, I believe.
155. Indeed.
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