.. COLONY AND PROTECTORATE OF KBNY A Sessional Paper No. 1 of 1958/59 STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT POLICY Price: Sb. 1 / 50 0 [958 1'R1NTED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, NAJROBI COLONY AND PROTECTORATE OF KENYA Sessional Paper No. 1 of' 1958/ 59 • STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT POLICY .Price: Sh. l / 50 1958 PR1NTED BY THE GOVERNMENT PRINTER, NAIROBI SESSIONAL PAPER No. 1 OF 1958i 9 MINISTRY OF TIIE CIIlEF SECRETARY Electoral Law A General Election is due in 1960. In the course of the coming yea1· prepa rations will have to be made to ensure that it is conducted smoothly and efforts must be made to bring up-to-date and keep up-to-date the Registers of Voters. Experience has shown that there are certain defects in the existing Legislative Council Ordinance and in the Legislative Council (African Representa- tion) Ordinance. Leg islative Council will be asked to consider a Bill amending these Ordinances so as to ensure that the Elections are carried out efficiently. Broadcasting 2. On 30th April, 1958, the Legislative Council unanimously approved Sessional Paper No. 4 of 1957 / 58 entitled "Broadcasting Development". The Paper provided for the supersession by a new Government broadcasting service of the broadcasting as provided by Cable and Wireless Limited, towards the end of 1959, and the integration of the African Broadcasting Service into the new o rganization. 3. It is now possible to report that all work is up to schedule. The nucleus of the new service has a lready been establ ished as part of the Office of the C hief Secretary and a Director is about to be appointed on secondment from the British Broadcasting Corporation. The Chief Broadcasting Engineer appointed in February, 1958, arrived in the Colony in April and took charge of the technical aspects of the scheme. Building work· has begun on the new Nairobi transmitting station which will now for technical reasons be set up on a new ;;ite at Langata. ➔. The Regional installations at Mombasa and Kisumu are well advanced and the former are due to come into operation early this month; the latter will ,1perate on high power short-wave later th is month and the new medium-wave transmitter will be put into commission shortly after it arrives early in 1959. The new aeria l arrays will be completed this year. Studio and office accommoda- u0n has been obtained a nd is also due for insta llation and occupation this year. 5. 1l is too early to go into the precise details of the change-over from the current Cable and Wireless Limited broadcasting arrangements to the Kenya Broadcasting Service but a plan has been prepared which provides for a progressive transfer of responsibility over the period September to December. 1959. and this plan is now being discussed with the Company. Provision has been made for a network-by-network occupation of the new Nairobi Studio • Centre. covering English, Asian and African la nguage National programmes .ind a n African Regional programme, but the exact phasing of this move will Jepend on the completion o f the studio centre. plans for which are well advanced. 6. The Government is also paying close a ttention to the question of revenue ior the new service a nd is confident that it will be able to build up the resources necessary for the o rganization envisaged in its plans. Public Service 7. In order not to hamper a review of Government expenditure and in order to make easier any economies which might result, the Government announced at the end of August that it was placing an embargo on all recruitment to its. service both from local and overseas sources, except in a few exceptional cases in ~hich the public interest demanded that it should proceed. 2 8. It will be obvious that this .measure in itself will result in economy and it will also enable staff declared redundant in the public service as a result of any decisions to curtail services to be more easily absorbed elsewlwre in the employ- ment of the Government. ft will. be equally obvious. however, t.hat it . is. not a measure which can be maintained indefinitely, because a point will be reached sooner or later at which the efficiency of the public service will be threatened unless recruitment is reopened. It should be possible in the near future to decide the policy which will mould the future pattern of Government expenditure, thereby enabling the embargo to be lifted on recruitment within the new establishments of ministries and departments. 9. A review would not be complete unless it were to consider whether so.me part of the desired economies could not be achieved within the terms and conditions of the civil servant. This is being clone, but it must be stressed that the Government is unlikely to contemplate economies of this nature unless it is satisfied that they will not place the civil servant in Kenya at a disadvantage compared with his colleague in the other East African Governments and Administrations, they will not affect the loyalty and morale of the Service either from local or overseas sources with suitable and qualified personnel. l 0. The Government has under consideration two measures affecting retire- 0 ment and hopes shortly to place proposals concerning them before Central Whitley Council. 11. There are other important matters affecting the public service which should be referred to briefly. As Council is aware,· the Government has accepted the principle of a non-racial service. The Code of Regulations is now to all intenl, and purposes on a completely non-racial basis. There remains the question of the allocation of Government quarters. Here again the Government has agreed .in principle that for the future such quarters should be a!located according to status and salary of the officer concerned, and not according to race. Proposals on this basis placed before Central Whitley ~ouncil ·were rejected by the Stall Side, which undertook to submit counter-proposals. These counter-proposals are still awaited. Another important matter affecting housing is the Staff Side's recent request that the Government should consider ways and means of imple- menting the recommendation in paragraph 513 of the Lidbury Commission Report, which suggested that the Government should review its undertaking to provide housing for its officers except in certain specified categories, particularly in the light of its accepted policy of building up a local service. As a result of this re.quest, the Government is now engaged in working out proposals for consideration by Central Whitley Council. Finally in furtherance of its policy of encouraging officers to own their own houses, the Government has recently adjusted in favour of the owner-occupier the basis on which house allowance is calculated. ).· 12. The expenses incurred by the Government in the overseas leave privileges enjoyed by civil servants have been the subject of considerable criticism at a time when the revenue of the Government is less buoyant than it was. Consider- able economies in this direction have already been made but until it is possible to staff the Service entirely from local sources some expenditure in this connexion must continue. Included in the recommendations of the Lidbury Report, which were accepted by the East African Governments and Administrations, was the proposal that officers on local terms and conditions of service on a certain salary should enjoy sabbatical or overseas leave once every five years. The Government considers that this expenditure is unnecessary and that the object of broadening the experience of the local . officer by sending him overseas could be achieved better and at less expense by sending selected officers on Courses. . lt has therefore been accepted by the Staff Side of Central Whitley Council that sabbatical leave privileges should not apply to new entrants to the Civil Service. At the same time additional measures have been proposed to Central Whitley Council designed to assist the overseas officer with housing, if he decides to spend his leave in East Africa. Also before Central Whitley Council are proposals to adjust the passage entitlements of officers travelling by air not only to take advantage of the economy class air services when they are introduced, but also in an endeavour to mould them more appropriately to the changing pattern of the times when a journey to the U.K. is likely before long to take only a day. 13. Another matter concerning the public service which is of general interest is the question of arbitration. The Agreement and Rules of Procedure necessary to set up an Arbitration Tribunal have been agreed by the Official and Staff Sides of the Central Whitley Council. The Government has retained to itself the right to refuse on grounds of public policy arbitration on any particular issue, but it is hoped that the staff in embarking upon arbitration will do so in a spirit of moderation and good sense and thereby make it necessary for the Government to exercise this right only in the most exceptional cases. TREASURY Kenya's Economic Position I 4. There are favourable and unfavourable features in Kenya's present economic position. The fall in the prices of a number of Kenya's agricultural exports must be balanced against the prospects of recovery following the end of the recession in America, the continued strength of sterling and the improvement in the London gilt-edged market, to which Kenya must continue to look for Development finance. 15. The Chancellor of the Exchequer's announcement in Montreal that, as a last resort, Colonial Governments would be able to obtain exchequer loans for essential development expenditure, is also encouraging. 16. The steady improvement in farming methods and the increase in the production of cash crops in African areas will inevitably lead to an increased local demand for consumer goods. 17. The establishment of a British Garrison in Kenya, the £4-million road project, and the high rate of new buildings in Nairobi also give grounds for confidence. [n spite of the competition which Kenya has to face in world markets, the volume and total value of our exports has so far been maintained, and the future can be faced with cautious optimism. J 8. The essential requirements for continued development are the availability of capital, the opening up of new markets and increased productivity. Eslimates 19. Estima tes for the public services will be laid before Council in due course. These estimates will reflect the Government's recognition that, as the revenues 0£ the Colony are no longer expanding as rapidly as in recent years, it is essential to make economies in public expenditure, and the Government is currently engaged in an investigation of the whole field of its activities to ascertain whether economies can most properly be effected, and certain steps have already been taken. Jt will again be necessary to seek assistance from Her Majesty's Government towards meeting expenditure in the l 959 /60 financial year. Undistributed Income Tax 20. A Bill will be introduced to fix the rates of Undistributed Income Tax after the passing of the new East African Income Tax (Management) Act by the Central Legislative Assembly. Insurance 21. Council will also be asked to consider a Bill designed to bring all assur- a0nce and insurance business in the Colony within the scope of one Ordinance. MINISTRY OF AFRICAN AFFAIRS Rehabilitation of Detainees 22. Progress in the rehabilitation and release to their homes of Mau Mau detainees has been maintained. Up to the end of August over 70,000 detainees out of 77,000 detained since the start of the Emergency have been released. Very few of them have come to unfavourable· notice since their release and it has si,lso been possible to extend the rehabilitation methods which have been so successful to the vast majority of the convicts sentenced for the less serious M au Mau offences. 23. A total of 55,000 ex-detainees have been placed in employment or resettled, and the Government intends to expand, within the limits of the money available, the irrigation scheme in the Embu District to provide land for the landless and work for the workless. 24. There is still some unemployment in the Central Province as the released convicts and detainees return but many of these are being absorbed on the consolidated farms and in other schemes sponsored by the Government, which continues to do all it can to provide work for tbose who want it; it is hoped, for instance, to provide work for 2,000 people at the new barracks for British troops to be constructed at Kahawa. Subversive Societies 25. Turning to the security situation, Council will be aware of the emergence of a secret society called Kiama Kia Muingi in some districts of the Central .Province, in Nairobi, and in parts of the Rift Valley Province. The Ki(li}w Kia JV!uingi is nothing less than a revival of the Mau M.au passive wing in another form, employing the usual technique of intimidation and incitement to violence by means of oaths as degrading as any employed by the Mau lYfau. 26. Up to the end of September, 478 adherents, male and female, of this secret society have been prosecuted before the courts, and it has been necessary to detain 289 others. Good progress has been made, particularly in the Kanclara Division of Fort Hall D istrict and the Gatundu Division of Kiarnbu District. in uncovering the activities of Kiama Kia Muingi. 27. The Government has been greatly helped by chiefs, headmen and loyaiists ·who have come forward with information. Tn contrast to the investigations into ~.,fo,1 Ma1t in the early days of the Emergency the people in areas affected by Kiama Kia Muingi have been much more ready to assist the authorities. This is a hopeful sign and shows that many Kikuyu want no part of Kiama. Kia Aiuingi, and .realize the harm this society is doing to their future progress. Government will continue to exercise the utmost vigilance and will do all in its power to uncover and destroy Kiama K ia J'vfuingi wherever it is found and to prosecute all those people. who support it.• .. 5 28. It has been possible to relax certain of the restrictions imposed on the Kik'uyu. Embu and Meru peoples by the Emergency. Loyalist members of the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru tribes may now move freely within the Central Province and all members of those tribes, except certain persons specifically prohibited, holding Passbooks · and Jiving in the Kiambu and Thika Districts may make daily visits during the week to Nairobi; selected farmers have been allowed to leave their v illages to live on their consolidated holdings and the curfew is being progressively relaxed in the Central Province. 29. But so long as the Kia ma Kia M uingi presents a threat to security Government wi!l not be able to make further relaxations to the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru. The remedy is in their own hands and in the hands of their leaders. Unless this evil society is uprooted a nd destroyed peace and prosperity cannot return to the Kikuyu people. Land Consolidation 30. The progress of land consolidation in the Central Province has been cominued and even acce lerated in some areas , notably in the Kiambu District, where t he whole process. apart from tbe laying out of some house plots in town a nd villages. was completed on 28th August, when some of the Members of Legislative Council were present for the occasion. The consolidation of 238.000 acres of intensively fragmented land in less than three years is a notable achievement and reflects great credit on al.I concerned from the officers in charge down to Committee members who gave their services free and upon whom so much depended. 31. ln all 500,000 acres were consolidated in the Central Province by 31st August, and fees are being paid under the provisions of the Native Land Tenure Rules, J 956. The fact that £50,000 bad been collected by the end of August clearly shows that those who benefit are prepared to bear a large portion of the expense of the operation. 32. 0£ the three pilot schemes begun in the Central Nyanza District a t the end of I 956, one at Jsiandumba in the North Gem Location is complete and survey fot· registration is now taking place, whilst a second at Odiado and Wahungu in Samia Location is nearing completion. I t has been decided, however, not to start any further schemes on the Central Province pattern but to encourage instead conso.lidat ion by the iocal land elders on a clan and family basis. Considerable progress has been made by Lhis method in all except four locations of Central Nyanza. 33. This system has also been employed most successfully over large areas of Elgon-Nyanza, and in the Elgeyo-Marakwet and Nandi Dis tricts, where consolidation is not necessary, a great deal of work has been done oo enclosure and survey for the purpose of registration of individual title. 34. The Working Party which was appointed last year has now submitted its Report which was published on l 4th October, 1958. Two draft Bills are attached to the Report as Appendices B and D. This legislation is of such fundamental iii1p6rtance to African life that the Government wishes that everybody should have an opponunity of understanding it and criticizing it before it is put into effect. 6 Personal Tax 35. The Personal Tax Ordinance, 1957, was introduced on 1st January, 1958. T his Ordinance provides for a graduated tax· for all races and replaces the old Personal Tax Ordinance and the African Poll Tax Ordinance. Fm.: t he first time the income of African taxpayers was required to be assessed fo r taxation purposes and the number involved was about one million. In the six-month period ended 30th June, 1958, the revised estimate of £2,200,000 as the estimated revenue from tb.is tax was exceeded by £24,000. This could not have been achieved without the assistance of employers in the collection of this tax and the submission of returns of their employees for assessment purposes, and the Government is most grateful to them for their co-operation. In the light of experience certain amendments to the Ordinance have been shown to· be desirable, and legislation will be introduced into Legislative Council in due course .to make these amendments. 36. Another Ordinance which requires some amendment in view ol' changed circumstances is that governing the manufacture and sale of native liquor, and the necessary legislation will be introduced a t an early date. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND WATER RESOURCES Legislation 37. The Minister for Agriculture expects to present several new Bills. 38. On Agriculture, the most important of these will be a Bill to set up a Kenya Maize Board to be responsible for the efficient marketing of the maize crop in the best interests of producers and consumers. It is also intended to introduce a Bill to replace the Fencing Ordinance of 1929, which was never brought into operation, and to institute legislation to provide for amendments to the Agriculture Ordinance, the Marketing of African Produce Ordinance, the Coffee Industry Ordinance and the Coffee Marketing Ordinance. 39. On Veterinary matters, the Bill to amend the Kenya Meat Commission Ordinance to implement the pol-icy outlined in Sessional Paper No. 90 of 1956/57 will be introduced together with amendments to the Pig Industry Ordinance and to the Animals (Prevention of Cruelty) Ordinance. 40. In connexion with Water policy, it is expected to present a Bill to amend the Water Ordinance in the light of further experience since the passing of the Water (Amendment) Ordinance of 1957. Development 41. The general a im of the Government continues to be the encouragement of sound and economic farming in all areas. The work of the Farm Planning and Soil C onservation Services and of the D am Construction Units of the Department of Agriculture will be directed to this end. 42. The livestock population in European areas has continued to increase. With prevailing fluctuations in world prices, it is important that farmers should adopt well-balanced and flexible systems of farming in which livestock should play a large part. · 7 43. lo the African areas of high potential, land consolidation, wbich has made good progress, particularly in the Central Province, will be followed by advice on farm planning, varying in detail according •to the capacity of the individual farmer from detailed plans to rough layouts. Cash crops and livestock will have an important place in this development. The artificial insemination schemes promoted by the Veterinary Department represent an economic means of achieving the necessary improvement in the quality of cattle; and the existing schemes in Central and Nyanza Provinces will continue ;n operation and new schemes will be established in areas where the level of stock management is sufficiently high. The Veterinary Department's Livestock and Animal ]ndustry Centres will continue to make available improved Zebu and Zebu-cross-Sahiwal cattle to suitable smallholders, and, as ranching and grazing schemes become increasingly well established, more bulls of improved types will be issued from the Centres. Development Finance 44. The Colonial Development and Welfare grant of £St-million towards the Swynnerton Plan, 1954/ 59, and the greater part of the generous contribution given by the U.S.A. from International Co-operation Administration funds, will be exhausted during the coming year. Thus, in 1959/60 agricultural development will require to be financed from the Colony's own Development Funds, with little assistance from outside; this may well have the effect of reducing the tempo of development. Marketing 45. The greatly intensified compet1t1on facing Kenya produce overseas is a matter of anxiety and the initiative shown by producer organizations and marketing boards in their efforts to strengthen the position at borne and overseas is hearten- ing. The rapid build-up of stocks and the increasing momentum of production over the past two-to three years have coincided with the contraction of the export markets and resulting falling prices; this is a situation which is expected to persist for some while. In particular, the future of coffee gives some cause for disquiet . owing to the probability that very large stocks of coffee will be built up in the next year or two in Latin America as the result of recen t international agree- ments. The Government is fully aware of the gravity of this situation and will assist and encourage the efficient marketing of the country's produce and the better co-ordination of productive effort in relation to world and local markets. 46. The East African import tariff system already affords a fair ·measure of protection in East African markets. Kenya's interests in the important Central African market will be closely watched and, to this end, a Kenya Trade Represen- tative will shortly be appointed to the Central African Federation. Government bas also been concerned lest the European Common Market and Free Trade Area should militate against Kenya's interes ts especially in the field of agricultural exports. Scheduled Areas 47. The Government is no less disappointed than the farmers that prevailing financial difficulties have necessitated •the curtailment of the granting of Develop- ment Loans. 48. The Government desires to place on record its appreciation of the extremely large volume of work undertaken voluntarily by the Chairman and Members of the various Agricultural Committees and Sub-Committees in further- ing _the objects of the Agriculture Ordinance, and of the care they have always exercised in the handling and dispensation of large sums of public money. 8 European Agricultural Settlement 49. The European Agricultural Settlement Board -will continue to pursue the policy of attracting sound agriculturists with capital to this country. Recently, the Government has again evidenced its full confidence in the future of European settlement by guaranteeing borrowings by the Board's subsidiary, Lands Limited, from insurance companies and other sources to the extent of half a miHion pounds. African Areas 50. With the advance in the consolidation of holdings, it is proving possible to progress with greater assurance with the developmer:t of cash crops. A steady growth in the acreage of coffee is planned, and tea development will continue in the Central and Nyanza Provinces and in the Nandi District o f the Rift Valley Province. 51. The Farm Insti tutes set up to train African farmers in improved practices of crop and animal husbandry, show every indication of success, and these trained farmers will provide the focus needed to achieve better farming standards in. their own areas. Land Development (Non-Scheduled Areas) 52. The Government will continue to provide capital for the agricultural development -0f these areas. All the African lands at present come within the scope of the Land Development Board (Non-Scheduled Areas), but the Government looks forward to the time when some areas will qualify for transfer to the jurisdiction of_ the Board of -Agriculture (Scheduled Areas). 53. Special attention will be given to the development of cash crops, especially tea, coffee and sugar and to loans to individual African farmers, within the limits of the financial reS-Ources available. 54. Less expenditure will be devoted to the Agricultural Settlement Schemes. The lack of applicants for schemes at Lambwe Valley in South Nyanza and at Shimba Hills in the K wale District seems to indicate that relatively few Luo and K amba require agricu\tural holdings. 55. Work will continue on the protection of the River Perkerra catchment area in Baringo District, with special emphasis -on protective forestry in t he hills, pianned individual farms -011 the· lower slopes and correct grazing manage- ment on the drier lands. Veterinary Department ... i 56. It is hoped that the Wellcome Institute for Research in to Foot-and-Mouth Disease will be completed during the coming year. This Institute, built with a very ge:nerous grant by the Wellcome Trust, will be an in tegral part of the D epartment of Veterinary Services, and will be under the direction of a senior Research Officer who has a(ready been appointed after an extensive study tour in the United States. T he Government wishes to place on record its appreciation of the assistance-both personal and financial- so generously given by the Government of the Uni ted States towards this tour. 57. The work on the construction and improvement of stock routes to allow freer movement of slaughter stock from African Areas to the factories without danger to European Areas, will continue. · 9 Research 58. Soil science research will be extended, assisted by streamlined modem techniques of rapid soil analysis. 59. Work on the preparation of readily marketable products from horti- cultural crops will also be expanded. Particular attention will be paid to citrus products, for which there is the prospect of good long-term markets. 60. Research on soft fibre production will continue, and it is hoped that a start wi ll be made on commercial production based on research over recent years. Research with Kenaf fibre bas been promising, but difficulties over yields and processing still remains to be solved. 61. Research will be intensified in the ranching and pastoral areas on grazing management, bush control and related stocking problems with the object of attaining a higher level of productivity. Ecological surveys of the arid grassland areas will be undertaken and the results should contribute to the better use of natura l grassland generally. 62. It is also proposed to start a long-term programme of investigations on mechanization problems of a local nature, and, in this connexion, the needs of peasant farmers will be borne in mind. 63 . The Veterinary Research Laboratories will direct special attention to the solut ion of problems connected with Lumpy Skin Disease, which first appeared in Kenya at the end of 1957, and to the production of a protective vaccine. 64. The Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis Division of the Veterinary Department will expand its present successful operations against the vector of sleeping sickness in the Nyanza Lake Shore area. Irrigation Schemes and Water Development 65. The irrigation schemes at Mwea/Tebere and Perkerra will continue to be developed for the benefit of local tribes and the Hola Scheme on the River Tana will be developed for K·ikuyu detainees and their families. 66. A number of public water supplies now operated by the Ministry of Works are being offered to local authorities. 67. Owing to the restriction on capital funds, no new public water supplies can at present be undertaken but substantial augmentations of some existing works are projected, of which a new gravity main at Nyeri and new storage reservoirs at Kitui and Machakos are examples. 68. A new rural pipeline to supply farms on the Kinangop will be completed during the year and should provide the water essential to mixed farming in an area where other sources of water are limited. MINISTRY OF INTERNAL SECURITY AND D~FENCE The Emergency 69. The task of bringing to book the diminishing number of Mau Mau terrorists still in the forest will be continued. Although they now number only a few score, their skill in bushcraft and concealment will inevitably make their final elimination by the specialist forces employed against them a lengthy process. 70. The uncovering of the proscribed secret society called Kiama Kia M11i11gi is an unhappy reminder that the evil of the Mau Mau doctrine, and of secret societies. lingers on amongst some Kikuyu, and that some members of that tribe are not yet proof against the horror and debasement of these evil creeds. This s·ociety, · although contained and diminished by the activities of the Administration and the Police, has necessitated measures which. have delayed the restoration of ·normal conditions in the areas which have been affected. Fight Against Crime 71. Despite an increasing readiness on the part of the criminal to use violence in the commission of offences and in resisting arrest, a tendency which is most marked in the city of Nairobi, the general level of crime throughout the Colony in 1958 has been kept slightly below that of last year. Police preventive and investigation methods ~ontinue to improve and there have recently been some notable successes in arresting gangs of armed criminals and in bringing them speedily to justice. Police. Training 72. A high priority will continue to be given to the training and re-training of the Police Force, upon which the task of preventing and detecting crime depends. Prisons 73. The burden on the Prisons Department contique,s to ease with the remark- able success of the rehabilita tion processes applied ·to Mau Mau detainees and, latterly, to Mau Mau convicts. There has been a spectacular reduction in the Mau Mau population of the prisons and detention camps from a peak of 18, 1 l O con- victs and 53,500 detainees in 1955, to some· 4,250 convicts and 13,000 detainees in 1957, until, at the end of September th is year, only some 900 convicts and 5,830 detainees remained in custody. This reduction has been achieved by the tried processes of rehabilitation which over the last few months have been applied with equal success to convicts. It is hoped that by about March of 1959, there will be less than 2,000 Mau Mau convicts and detainees left in custody. These will be men whose minds have been so corrupted by Mau Mau that they have not yet been successfully reformed, or those whose known crimes render them ,unacceptable as inhabitants of th,e areas from which they come. It is intended that persons who fall into either of these two categories shall be settled on an irrigation scheme at Rola in the Coast Province, under such security conditions as are necessary and where concentrated efforts at their reformation will continue to be made. 74. The reduction in the prisons population wi ll enable increased attention to be given to the treatment -0f offenders, and to the training of Prisons officers in the routine duties of custodianship which is the basis of the proper administration of established prisons. MINISTRY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT, HEALTH AND TOWN PLANNING Local Government 75. Amendments to the Municipalities Ordinance to implement the Sessional Paper No. 118 of 1956 have been under consideration for some time. Completion of the draft legislation was held up owing to the need to include provision for the proposed new constitution for the Mombasa Municipal Board. Agreement bas how been reached on an acceptable constitution, the detai ls of which will be incorporated in a Bill which will -shortly be laid before Council. The Municipali- ties Ordinance will provide for the _ne,w constitution for Mombasa with enabling 11 powers to constitute parishes within the area admi.nistered by the Municipal Council. Other amendments are those foreshadowed by Sessional Paper No. 118 of 1956 on the repor t of the enquiry into the affairs of the Nairobi City Council, in which it was suggested that the Government proposed to take more effective measures to control local authorities; local authorities have been empowered to prepare selected lists of contractors with a view to their contracting only with persons admitted to the list; provisions designed to give elected representatives of local authorities closer control of the finances and particularly the payments made by those authorities; the extension of the power to levy a poll rate to enable such a rate to be levied for education purposes. 76. Bills to amend the Local Government (County Councils) Ordinance and also the Municipalities and Townships (Private Streets) Ordinance will be intro- duced during the Session. The various a mendments proposed to the Local Government (County Councils) Ordinance are mainly matters of administrative detail, but a corresponding power to that referred to in the above s ub-paragraph under the Municipali ties Ordinance will be taken to enable counties to levy a poll rate to be applied both to schemes of social welfare and education purposes. 77. A n amendment will be in troduced to the Municipali ties and Townships (Private Streets) Ordinance, which will have the effect of authorizing private street works expenses to be apportioned against frontages according to the acreages of their proper ties. 78. It is Government's policy to continue seconding qualified fi nancial advisers to African District Councils, with the object of training local staff to assume in. due course full responsibility for the management of the finances of those Councils. E ight financial advisers have already been seconded to the African District Councils of Elgon Nyanza, Nor th Nyanza, Central Nyanza, South Nyanza, Meru, K iambu, Fort Hall a nd Machakos. It is won hy of record that the revenue of one of the larger African Dis trict Councils benefi ted in 1957 to the tune of £46,000 as a direct result of the work and advice of the financial adviser seconded to that Council. Proposals are also being wor ked out for the secondment of staff for the training by other African D istrict Councils with financial advisers and for training schemes o rganized by the Ins titute of Municipal T reasurers and Accoun tants. 79. In an attempt to provide additional finance for allocation by the Local Government Loans Authority for local government development, encouragement will be given to local authorities to invest surplus funds in th-= Loans Author ity whereby the Authority will be able to make shor t-, medium- and long-term loans. Health 80. Government's policy for a number of years has been to maintain p:iblic health al the highest level possible within the limits of available finance, while such funds as have been allocated for development have been devoted in the main to the improvement of existing medical institutions rather than their expansion. Proposals for effecting cer tain economies in the health services, mainly of a curative nature, will be placed before the House in connexion with the draft estimates for 1959 / 60. These economies wi ll be effected in such a way as lo ensure, as far as possible, that curative a nd preventive standards will not be lowered; it may not, however. be possible to rnaintain the coverage of curative facilities at the present level. f 12 81. The maintenance of the standard of a public health service is dependent upon a steady flow of adequately trained recruits; for this reason, although there may well have to be a limitation on the numerical through-put of medical trainees, every effort will be made to ensure that the s tandard of personnel trained in the various branches of the medical and health services will be of the highest quality. 82. The Government gratefully acknowledges the valuable contribution from sources outside Kenya to the development of the health services of the Colony. It is sincerely hoped that this form of assistance will be continued. The new Infectious Diseases Hospital and the rebuild ing of all except the last phase 0£ the Coast Province General H ospi tal, now nearing completion, have been accomplished with Colonial Development and Welfare F unds. The construction of a new Medical Training Centre, now in its fi rst year· of operation, was made possible by the reallocation of funds released for this purpose by a grant towards the recurrent cost of training from the International Co-operation Administration. 83. One of the major problems has been ·the increasing prevalence of. tuber- culosis amongs t the African community. A Colony-wide programme for the treatment of this disease is already under way; but further planning is dependent on an accura te assessment of the extent of the disease. The World Health Organization has already begun a survey of this disease as it affects ·the rural population. The survey is planned to be completed by the end of July, 1959. The high s tandard of co-operation by those already examined has been remarked upon. Much publicity· has been given recently to the start of a similar but more comprehensive survey in Nairobi. During this year and the next, it is planned to examine all Africans r esident in Nairobi and to bring under treatment all those found to be infected. We hope by this means to bring under control one of the main centres of infection. A certain political significance has been given to this survey. The Government wishes to make it clear tha t this is quite without justification. 84. The United Nations Childrens F und is to continue to provide equipment not only for the further development of a Colony-wide maternity and child welfare service, but also for training schools whether operated by Government or voluntary agencies. · 8:S. The Government is negotiating with ye t another overseas agency for the expansion of the training of health visitors and other aides required to foster the improvement of child health. 86. His Highness the Aga Khan Platin um Jubilee Hospital has recently been opened. This hospital will supply a comprehensive service for all races a t a flat daily charge. This new venture will be watched wi th interest. 87. The original Nurses and Midwives Registration Ordinance has now been in operation for nine years. Experience has shown that it requires considerable amendment, and it is proposed to introduce a new Bill. which will repeal ·the existing Ordinance. lt is also proposed to introduce a Bill to make legal the surgical procedure of corneal grafting. Social Welfare 88. The need to relieve those of all races in financial distress is a growmg commitment. The responsibility for meeting this commitment rests primarily on voluntary effort. The G overnment is glad to pay tribute to the valuable work being performed by various welfare societies. H owever, much remains to be done 13 to stimulate the public conscience in this direction, and the Government will therefore continue to give positive encouragement by supplementing the work of the voluntary societies with contributions from central revenue as far as is practical within the limitations of the finance available. The time will come when part, at least, of this problem might best be met by the introduction of a social security scheme for old age pensions; but at the present time the cost of such a scheme would be beyond the capacity of the Colony to pay. 89. The Government will continue to encourage local authorities to accept direct responsibility for all aspects of social welfare and, to that end, will assist, again within the limits of the finance available. on a grant-aid basis those local authorities which are prepared to accept that responsibility. In particular, local authorities, both urban and rural, will be encouraged to set up tbe necessary organizations for the care and protection of children under the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to and Neglect of Children Ordinance, or alternatively to make use, on an agency basis; of the services of approved societies set up under the Ordinance, within the framework of grant-aid. 90. l t is the Government's intention to examine the Emergency legislation as it applies to the care and protection of children and young persons with the object of incorporating as many of its provisions as possible into the statutory legislation of the Colony. 91. New legislation to be introduced as a result of recommendations of the Slade Committee Report will be the Affiliation Bill and the Guardianship of Jnfants Bil l. The Government is considering the desirability of combining in one O rdinance the provisions of the Juvenile Offenders Ordinance and the Prevention of Cruelty to and Neglect of Children Ordinance. Encouragement will be given to the formation of Approved Adoption Societies under the provisions of the new Adoption Ordinance. 92. The success of the Red Cross Field Organization in the Central Province during the Emergency years has led to the formation, at Nyeri, of a Training School for Red Cross workers. It is hoped that trainees from that school will go ou t to the various rural areas to supplement at first the duties of health visitors, working in close conjunction with Medical Department and Community Development staff. Their ultimate role will be to maintain direct contact with the villages within the framework of the district health organization. The development must of necessity be gradual, and the Government considers that the Red Cross Organization will have to be maintained at full strength, or even expanded, until at least the end of 1961 when it is hoped sufficient local staff will have been adequately trained. Town Planning 93. Negotiations arc in progress between the Government and the Municipal Board of Mombasa for the Ministry of Town Planning to undertake, on behalf of the Municipal Board, the preparation of a planning survey and master plan for Mombasa and district. The Government hopes that the negotiations will permit of this very necessary work, which is long overdue, being started within the course of the next few months. MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, LABOUR AND LANDS Labour 94. In the field of Labour, the question of unemployment will continue to receive the Government's close attention. To a very large extent, particularly among African, unemployment is an aftermath of the Emergency. The possibility I 14 o.f an African · labour surplus has always been present in Kenya. Before the Emergency, this surplus exis,ed in the form of a reservoir of labour. in the African land units, b ut at that time supply tended to lag behind demand and the sur plus was not as evident as it is now. To-day, a large part of the _labour surplus circulates outside the African land units, while others within the land units are also desirous of obtaining wage-earning employment. The Emergency disturbed the balance of labour between the settled areas and the African land units and the return of the Kikuyu, Embu and Meru tribes is upsetting the pattern once more, This situation will inevitably take some time to adjust itself and is complicated firs tly by the more economic deployment of labour to · which employers had resort during the Emergency period of labour shortage, and secondly, by trade recession. There are obvious limits set not only by the Government's financial resources b ut also by the long-term implications to the extent to which Government can in tervene directly to absor b the present labour surplus. The Government will continue to ensure, through its employment services, that the demand for labour is fully and fairly met and that no genuine work-seeker suffers unnecessarily through being denied the opportunity of obtain- ing such suitable employment as is available. 95. I t remains the policy of the Government to encourage the development of machinery fo r joint consul tation and collective bargaining in industry and as a corollary to this, the development of a sound trade union movement. Progress has been made during the past year in which the joint efforts of the Kenya Federation of Labour and the Association of Commercial and Industrial Employers were significant. The Government will_- continue to assist this develop- ment. Legislation dealing with the settlement of industrial disputes is under review in the light of experience and changing conditions and proposed amend- ments will be brought before this Council in due course. 96. A Bill proposing amendments· to the Essential Services (Arbitration) Ordinance has already been published. I ts main aim is. to reduce the Schedule of services covered by this legislation. 97. As r~_gards rural wages, it is Government's intention to introduce legislation to set up suitable machinery through which statutory minimum wages in agriculture may be determined. The policy envisaged tor· .the present phase does not aim at the establishment of a Colony-wide minimum wage structure in agricultural undertakings but rather to approach the problem on a selective basis. Bodies will be set up to consider rural Wages in particular localities, their composi tion reflect ing local . interes ts and experience. Those· areas where the level of wages in agriculture seems ·to be unduly low will have priority in a ttention. 98. Shor t residential courses for the training of workers at the lower super- visory levels have recently been started by the Labour Department ·arid will be ♦ developed further. Continual encouragement is to be given to the attainment of occupational skill in which the Labour Department's trade-testing arrangements will p lay a full part. 99. It was not possible during the last session of Council to present the promised Industrial Training Bill, a measure designed to encoi.irage and regulate the employment and training of apprentices. Progress upon the prepara tion of this Bill has, however, been made and it is Government's intention to bring it before the Council during the coming session. Education 100. In spite of the present financial situation, every effort will be made to maintain and improve the standard and scope 0£ education for all r aces. 15 JO!. 1n African education, the policy o( expanding teacher t ra111111g and secondary education will continue. The new Boys' Secondary School at Kericho will open in 1959, and the African Women.'s Training College at Machakos, com- pleted this year, will have 180 students in residence next year. l 02. fn Asian education, the first stage of -the secondary school buildings al Thika is near completion and the building of new primary schools in Nairobi and Mombasa is planned this year. It is also hoped to start work on a hostel for the Duke of Gloucester Sch ool soon. Extensions to both the Women's and Men's Teacher Training Colleges are nearing completion. In addition to the increasing output of primary teachers from these Colleges, Asian teachers with Uni ted K ingdom qualifications, obtained under the Government's T eacher Scholarship Scheme, will be returning in increasing numbers to take up specia iis, posts in Asian Secondary Schools. !C3. Earlier this year, two senior members of the United Kingdum Education Service visited Kenya to examine our policy and method in the selection of pupils for Asian Secondary Schools and to advise on the scope and content of secondary modern courses in both Asian and European schools. Their report has already been published and the Government 's comments thereon will be made known after consultation with Advisory Councils. 104. The addit ions proposed fo r the Arab Girls' Primary School, Mombasa, have been partially completed, and the building of extra boarding accommodation at the boys' secondary school is starting this year. 105. An [nterterritorial Conference on Muslim Education, which wi ll hav