British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume II - Page 862

CHAPTER XX.

and ultimately form part of its general system of road communications, the final incidence of cost as between the War Department and the Government of Palestine has been held over for post-war settlement.

31. The expenditure on the maintenance of roads from 1921 to date, in groups of five years, is as shown hereunder; the figures include an allowance to cover a share of Public Works Department overhead expenditure :

Period

1921•1925 1926•1980 1931-1935 1936-1940 1941-1945

Expenditure~ £P. 147,000 366,000 567,000 755,000

1,181,000

3,016,000

The progressive increase in the expenditure on road maintenance is attributable to :

(a) the corresponding progressive increase in the mileage of roads to be maintained,

(b) the heavier wear of road surfaces due to the increase of traffic, as shown later in paragraph 33 below, and, during the war, to the abnormally heavy military traffic, and

(c) the increased cost of labour and materials as a result of the war.

FINANCING OF ROADS EXPENDITURE.

32. No direct relation or co-ordination exists between revenue accruing from the motor transport industry and expenditure sanctioned by Government annually for roads, and there is no special source of revenue or taxation assigned to the construction and maintenance of roads. The payment to His Majesty's Government of the capital cost of roads was under a definite valuation, and was met from loan funds. The cost of new road construction-other than security or military roads-has almost exclusively been met from provision made in the estimates under "Public Works Extraordinary", the only exceptions being a number of cases where local inhabitants or other bodies concerned provided part of the cost involved as an inducement to Government to proceed with the project. Funds for the maintenance of roads are provided in the annual budget of Government under the head "Public Works Recurrent" and the amount voted yearly is based on detailed estimates of cost prepared by

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