Assembly, the! Economic and Social Council and the Conference of Ministers are described below:
Development issues and policies
5. The: secretariat completed the Survey of Economic and Social Conditions in Africa. 1985-1986 which covers developments in the African region during 1985-1986 and provides forecasts of the main macro-economic variables for 1987. The findings of the Survey still reveal a dismal performance of the region as a whole, recording only a meagre! growth of 1 ..2 par cent in 1986 in the overall regional output. While some recovery occurred in the agriCUltural sector due to improvements in weather conditions, adverse developments in the external sector culminating in depressed export commodity prices (in particular oil) and the debilitating burden of debt servicing, were the major impeding factors behind such sluggish performance.
6. In the field of planning and projections, the secretariat completed four studies on multisactoral planning models. These were the integration of the informal sector in multiscctoral development planning in Africa, the dynamization of input-output projections of economic growth in developing African countrios, the treatment of price and balance-af-payments variables in short-term forecasting models using social accounting matrices (SAMs).
and the elaborate modelling of the energy sector for improvecJ energy balance in Africa. These studies were examined by a workshop and various recommendations were made for developing their analytical aspects and upgrading sectoral planning capabilities at the national level. Preparations began on studies of sectoral planning within subregional co-operation arrangements, in particular the analysis of areas of co-operation in transport and trade.
Short-term forecasting systems based on social accounting matrices were established in some countries as early warning systems to signal domestic as well as cxternal vulne:rabili ty. Assistance: in planning was provided to some African countries.
7. The activities dealing with matters of interest to the African least developed countries varied between representation of the secretariat at Donor Round Tables organized between some countries and the donor community, on the one hand, and the preparation and servicing of the fifth and sixth meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts of African Least Developed Countries and the Conference of Ministers of African Least Developed Countries in April 1987 respectively.
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8. Among the Donor Round Tables at which the secretariat was represented were! the second Donor Round Table organi zed by the Government of Cape Verde as a means of ensuring an open dialogue and a better understanding between Cape Verde and its development partners and the Togo sectoral follow-up meeting to the Donor Round Table on the socia-cultural sector held at Lome, Togo, from 20 to 24 October 1986.
9. The secretariat responded to a questionnaire scnt by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) for assessing the specific training needs of officials responsible for managing pUblic foreign debt in the least developed countries (LDCs) in general. The response of the secretariat alluded to such factors as lack of effective co-ordination at the national level and inefficient monitoring of foreign commitments; poor project design, negotiation, implementation and monitoring which led to increased costs; weak capacity of African countries to handle complex international financing negotiationsa
Ln, Following a request of the Intergovernmental Authority on Drought and Development (IGADD) for the usc of data, information and other logistic facilities, the secretariat compiled a 50-page document on country notes and data for IGADD member States. These included five African LDCs and the document was used by the IGADO National Experts Committee at its five-week meeting which began on 16 June 1986 at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to prepare and finalize national and subregional programmes and projects for submission to donorsa
Ll , For the servicing of scheduled meetings in April 1987, the secretariat prepared, among other things, a number of outputs Lnc Lud i.nq e (i) Review of economic and social conditions in African Least Developed Countries, 1985-1986 (E/ECA/LDCs.7/EXP.6/2); (ii) Progress towards the implementation of the Substantial New Programme of Action in African Least Developed Ccountrics (E/ECA/LDCs.7/EXP.6.3); (iii) The implication of structural adjustment and stabilization programmes for long-term growth and development in African Least Developed Countries (E/ECA/LDCs.7/EXP.6/4); and (iv) Review of ECA activities from April 1986 to April 1987. those programmed for the remainder of 1987 and work programme for 1988-1989 in favour of African Least Developed Countries (E/ECA/LDCs.7/EXP.6/S).
Industrial development
review, the activities of the secretariat focused policy development, planning and institutian-basic industries, (c) development af
agro-(d) development of small-scale industriesa 12a During the period under
on four subprogrammes: (a) building, (b) development of and forest-basad industries, and
Policy development. planninq and institution-buildinq
l3a The main thrust of the activities of the secretariat in this sllbprogramme went towards the enhancement of policy formulation and planning capabilities.
To this end, advisory missions were undertaken to countries of the Lusaka, Gisenyi and Yaounde MULPOCs for the purpose of discussing modalities for re-focusing industrial policies and plans, laying sound foundations for industrial co-operation and developing indigenous capabilities and infrastructural capacitiesa Preliminary discussions were held in preparation for consultations among Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Congo,
Gabon and Zaire on the rehabilitation of the Maluku Steel Plant in Zaire.
Finally, substantive and technical support was provided to the African Regional Centre for Engineering Design and Manufacturing (ARCEDEM) including participation in a study tour in Hungary in September/October 1986 and the preparation of instructional materials for a seminar held in Arusha, the
Unit~d R~public of Tanzania in Nov~mb~r 1986.
Development of basic industries
14. In the metallurgical industries subscctor, the secretariat concentrated its activities on reviewing the status of supply and demand for iron and steel products in the West African sUbregion. A mission report on six countries (Senegal, Liberia, Cote d' Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana and Nigeria) made proposals for an integrated development strategy for iron and steel industries in the sUbregion.
15. In the field of engineering industries, a comprehensive report entitled
"Engineering industry development programme for selected Eastern and Southern African countries of the Preferential Trade Area" (Ethiopia, Kenya, Mauritius, the United RepUblic of Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe) which identified existing engineering industries that require upgrading was prepared. Missions were undertaken to Zambia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola and Ethiopia as well as to Zaire, the Congo, Gabon, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.
16. In the chemical industries subsector the activities of the secretariat aimed at strengthening subregional chemical industries such as the phosphoric acid plant located in Togo, the pharmaceutical products plant in Sierra Leone and the rehabilitation of a quinquina plant in Guinea. Field missions were
und~rtak~n to apprais~ th~ phytosanitary products plant for Burkina Faso and the Niger, the pharmaceutical plant in Nigeria and the subregional ammonia plant in Cote d'Ivoire.
Development of agro- and forest-based industries
17. Advisory services were provided to Guinea on the rehabilitation of the integrated Faranah Gari Complex. Profiles on proven industrial and small-scale cassava processing technology were prepared for meetings of the Councils of Ministers of the West, Central and Eastern and Southern African MULPOCs.
In a programme for technical co-operation among dcvaloping countries (TCDC), industrial cassava flour processing t.ochno Ioqy was succes sf'ul.Ly t.ransfe r red from Cote d'Ivoire to Zaire. A study on forest products was undertaken and presented to the Governments of Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire. Forest products from t.ho Rugazi plantation in Burundi and th~ Fanalaman~ga Plantation scheme in Madagascar were developed and scale drawings provided for the manufacture of low-cost furniture in Ethiopia.
Development of small-scale industries
18. Activities in the area of small-scale industries centred around the provision of advisory services on the formulation of policic s and on the strengthening of institutions for small-scale industries in Botswana, Kenya, Mauritius, Madagascar, the Comoros, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia.
This was for th~ purpos~ of ~nhancing capabiliti~s for pr~paring proj~ct profil~ portfolios on agricultural impl~m~nts. In C~ntral Africa, th~
secretariat organized, at Bujumbura, Burundi, from 14 to 16 January 1987,
a workshop on the preparation of project profile portfolios for promoters of small-scale industries and Government officials from Burundi, Rwanda and Zaire.
Statistics
19. As in the past, the work programme of the secretariat during the period