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CHAPTER 2
SYSTEM OF ADMINISTRATION
2.1-2.2
2.1
2.1.1
2.1.2
2.1.3
2.1.4
ORGANISATION
A list of West Indies Associated States and UK Dependent Territories (DTs), including details of size, population and estimated per capita income is given at Annex 1.
The Secretary of State is responsible for the good government of the DTs. Each Officer Administering the Government (OAG) ie Governor, Governor and Commander-in-Chief, High Commissioner, Commissioner and Administrator, is responsible to the Secretary of State, and through him to The Queen, the Government and Parliament of the United Kingdom for the Government of his Territory. The administration of DTs is complex and very different to handling affairs with foreign and Commonwealth countries. Desk officers should consult as appropriate the reference works listed in Annex 2.
The Office of an OAG is not a 'Post'. Sometimes the OAG is a member of the Diplomatic Service (DS), but more often he is an officer of Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS). His staff may consist of one or more DS officers, but they tend to be mainly members of HMOCS. Thus there could be differences of attitude among OAGs towards questions relating to DTs (eg the pace of progress towards independence). The desk officer needs to be aware of these possibilities.
The DTs themselves are very different from one another, each with its own special problems and its own rate of political and economic growth. They have scarcely any relationship or direct links with one another, although they all stand in a relationship of dependence to the UK. Some have a special political relationship with foreign countries (eg Hong Kong China, Belize - Guatemala, Gibraltar - Spain and Falkland Islands - Argentina).
2.2
2.2.1
2.2.2
2.2.3
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE OAG
The OAG represents The Queen in a DT and is responsible to The Queen through the Secretary of State.
The OAG's responsibilities vary from Territory to Territory depending on the degree of self- government (ic constitutional development) achieved. However, the OAG is always responsible for External Affairs, Defence and Internal Security. Certain responsibilities which are related to External Affairs are delegated to locally elected Ministers eg shipping, air services, but the ultimate responsibility for all government affairs rests with the OAG and through him with the Secretary of State.
The OAG stands at the apex of the Administration of his Territory. In constitutional terms, his position is complex. He has to serve both The Queen who appoints him and to whom he is responsible through the Secretary of State, and the Representatives of his Territory who advise him and serve in his Administration. His salary and the cost of his government are for the most part met by the Territory itself, which underlines the dual nature of his responsibilities (see Chapter 3).
September 1980
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