to
According to Mr Fish's original list, HMG pay HMOCS pensions
in Sri Lanka BW2413 (But Sri Lanka became incky! before 1954. So no need to luk.)
Mr Stone
Der 4/4 Minute
Mass Williams
Crate hil if
CONFIDENTIAL
you
разие
would pursue
Reference.
with the ODA. Alan Mc Donald HKA 233/1 (7243 3576) seems pretty clived up.
HMOCS: STERLING SAFEGUARDS
1.
B
2573
At the same time as pressing on with consultations on the compensation/incentive scheme, we need to prepare for the next round on sterling safeguards.
2.
Mr Mortimer (Treasury) admitted to me that he thought that our strongest argument was our assertion, if true, that HMG had ensured the protection of the sterling value of HMOCS pensions in all territories which have ceased to be dependent territories since the formation of HMOCS in 1954. I know that you had pressed ODA in the past for chapter and verse on this, but it is only now that they have provided the useful material which you sent to Mr Mortimer last week. However there would be advantage, I think, in our recasting this so as to make the central message clearer to future readers eg Ministers. I attach a draft and would be grateful both for your comments and for clarification, in liaison with ODA, of the following factual points:
(a) What is the position in Zimbabwe?
(b) Have I given the right reason for the exclusion of Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the Maldives? (I have drawn up my list of territories attaining independence since 1954 from the list of Commonwealth states plus Fiji; of these Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and Sri Lanka attained independence before the formation of HMOCS in 1954; Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Western Samoa were not British dependent territories.)
(c) What is the status of the loan-advances paid in respect of Somali and Aden pensions? Do they amount to the full value of the pensions? In what circumstances are they repayable? Why have HMG not actually taken over the pensions? The Treasury might argue that these offer the nearest precedent to the Hong Kong situation: ie if HKG ultimately fail to offer a sterling safeguard and after 1997 there is collapse in the value of the Hong Kong dollar, HMG might need to contemplate loan-advances.
(d) Is it correct to say that the East African Community was "wound up"?
P
(e) Why did HMG take over payment of pensions in respect of Singapore? Do ODA regard all the other countries on the list as aid-worthy - eg Cyprus, Malta? I believe we cut offμall aid to Uganda during the Amin years, but presumably HKG continued to pay HMOCs pensions then? These points may also offer ammunition with the Treasury to support our argument that in the last resort HMG must itself provide the protection of HMOCS officers' pensions.
vs.
N J Cox
ASHAIH
156
(f) is the wording right on the string safeguard in Bahamas, Bermuda, Brunes?
floor-value set for local currency?
Or is there
a
25 March 1992
CODE 18-77
CONFIDENTIAL
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