Letter to the Parliamentary Relations
and Devolution Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, from
the Second Clerk of the Committee, 17 March 2004
HIGH COMMISSIONER'S
RESIDENCE IN
CAPE TOWN
You may have seen the following exchange in
the Committee's recent evidence session with Mr Mullin, during
its inquiry into "South Africa":
Q224 Mr Hamilton: I hope that in considering
our work in South Africa that you do not consider selling off
the residence in Cape Town.
Mr Mullin: It is funny that you should
mention that. We have actually been awaiting the recommendation
of our High Commissioner on that issue and she has recommended
that the Cape Town residence to be sold. We have not made a decision
about that, but we are thinking about it.
Q225 Mr Hamilton: Obviously I cannot
speak for the entire Committee, but certainly my view is that
it should not be sold. It is a huge asset to us there. We saw
it ourselves and we saw just what extraordinary good effect it
had and how we were able to entertain virtually half the parliament
there as well as half the government.
Mr Mullin: I think the Foreign Office
would be very interested to hear the Committee's views on that
issue.
The Committee have asked me to seek clarification
from you as to the exact status of the Residence at this time,
in relation to the asset recycling programme, and the timescale
for any decisions on its future retention or sale. It also wishes
to know how the proceeds of any sale of this property would be
used by the Department. I look forward to receiving your reply
in due course.
Geoffrey Farrar
Second Clerk of the Committee
17 March 2004
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