Mr. Webb and Groundnuts
Periodically some vigilant member of the House of Commons elicits from the Minister of Food information as to-the expenditure on the groundnuts scheme to date. On Monday Mr. Hurd was told that the latest figure is £32,458,680, of which £1,745,328 is recoverable from the East African Railways and Harbour Adminis- tration. This means that roughly £1,000,000 a month is being taken from the taxpayers' pockets to finance this possibly well-conceived but manifestly ill-managed project. It is for the new Minister of Food to decide how. Jong this lamentable outflow is to- continue. Mr. Webb has inherited the scheme, but cannot be held to be in any way committed to it ; and he has no reason for any special tender- ness towards the Chairman of the Overseas Food Corporation, Sir Leslie Plummer, against whom so mud' criticism- has been directed. It is satisfactory to learn that the Minister is making a close examina- tion of the corporation's activities. Nothing is more necessary, and Mr. Webb's general attitude since he took office s,uggests that he will approach this and similar subjects without preconceptions. It by no means follows that the scheme should be abandoned ; some of its most vehement critics are convinced that in different con- ditions and in different hands it still has considerable possibilities. It is for Mr. Webb to secure all the relevant facts and then take any necessary decisions with courage.
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