This is the culmination of the decision process, for which the way has been prepared during the preceding stages, and which randers the plan ready for execution. This approval procedure can be examined with a view to determining the authority making the decision and the legal ecope of the decision. l t also involves a wider poli ti_cal signi:ti-•ance.
l. The ~pproviss authority
The plan is neither a mere forecast survey, an .administrative act, nor an ordinary act of goV'e'.t'llment. As a lon·&-term ente~"f)rise, i t raises problems of ~ new type and. the decision-making authority must be defined.
(a) Where there is no parliament, the plan is usually approved by the government or the Chief Executive, -as in the case of Sudan and Pakistan. In the UAR, the approval takes the form of a decree issued by the President of the Republic. In Morocco, the sovereign approves the plan submitted to him by the Higher Planning Council •
. (b) Where there is a parliament, the government generally submits the plan for its approval. Where parliamentary regimes exist, the legislature may overthrow the government and thus instigate a change in economie policy. The continuity of the plan can only be guaranteed if parliament is associated ~n the defini-tion of long-term policy. Even in countries with a
presidential system, parliament has the power of decisiOn with
-58·-regard to the annual budget. It alone has the power of
· granting the investment credits covering several years, necessary for the execution of the plan.
However, parliamentary approval may raise·diffioulties, for althougb.
parliament may amend or reject a bill or the budget, it is diffioult tc oonsider amending the plan at i ts final stat:,e, without harming i ts uni ty.
In Senegal, the parliamentary procedure for amendments has a~ven rise to serious adjustment problems. In ether oountries, parliament has expressed :i:.ts>regret·· at 'being unable to acoept or rejeot the plan as a whole, a responsible for deciding on the detailed objectives and specifie projects through reaular channels.
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-for execution and the parliamentary undertaking to make the means of execution available.
In reality, it is often difficult to define the legal scope of the plan as it is not always clear whether the plan is merely a study
published by the government (as is the case in several Latin American countries), or a stateinent of intentions, or '"hether i t is a positive undertaking. In France, the Government undertakes to take the plan
into account only in connexfon with the preparation of annual investment budgets or projects for programmes covering several years, but i t does · not consider itself absolutely bound by the public investment ai~s detailed in the plan. In countries with centralized economy, approval pinds all economie organs to implement the plans,
In the developing countries, uncertainty on the amounts to be provided throu5h foreign aièl. and foreign trao e make approval purely indicative in scope, i.e. an undertaking to make available the puhlic funds that may exist in conformity with the plan.
Neither the government nor parliament are empowered to bind the private sector through their decisions. In countries of the free
enter-. . .
prise system, the approval of the plan involves only an undertaking t&
take the legislative or regulation s'teps necessary to promote, either
d~rectly or indirect.ly, the channelling of private investment along the lines .of 'the priorities set out in the pl~.·
Therefore, goy,ernmental and parliamentary approval constitutes a new type of legal act, the scope of which must be defined explicitly.
If the plan is to. he more tb.an a mere forecast survey, and if i t is to be capable of orienting short and long-term _economie policy effectively, approval must involve definite undertakings:
- on the part of the-government, i.e. an undertaking to allocate .public investments (whether of domestic or foreign origin) for
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the planning targets; an undertaking to orient economie, · financial and monetary policy in accordance with the pian;
an undertaking to take steps to encourage or control the channelling of private investment towards the priority sectors of the plan;
On the part of parliament, i.e. an undertaking to approve the investment credits provided for in the plan and the measures necessa.ry for i ts execution.
3. Publicizing the plan
Once approved, the plan must be disseminated and publicized. To have it implemented, the plan must be made kno-wn to the administrative departments which will have to app)y it; to the independant organs of decision which will have to contribute to its execution, and to the public_ which will have to co-operate actively.
· The tdsk of information can be entrusted to the central planning organ, whioh sometimes contains a unit for publicizing the plan. This is the case in ·runisia, where a recent ~dition of the plan is sold at bookstalls. In Madagascar, an illustrated pamphlet bas been distributed in,,rural centres. In India, informatinn meetings are held in most
villages.
In Africa, liaison with the public is often maintained by the single party, e.g. Mali, Guinea, etc •• The radio and press also help to.publieize the plan.
This communication process might be considered from the point of view of the extent to which plans are disseminated, i.e. hovt many
organizations help to publicize the plan and in what manner? What.
proportion of the public is familiar with the plan and to what extent?
However, information about the plan is not enough to arouse popular enthusiasm and the active participation of the public as a whole. If the
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plan is to gain sorne significance for the entire community, its general objectives must be appreciated and above all, everyone must be able to assess how his activi ti es can be adjusted to conform l'Ti th the plan and to appreciate the improvements it might contribute to his standard of living.
This .task requires intensive efforts which can only be undertaken. in co-operation with all social and profe~sional organizations, e.g. trade unions, youth movements, political parties, co-operatives, etc •• Any
study of the ·methode of dissemination must take into account this vital aspect by a.ttempting to define the methods used to present the plan to the various classes of the population, the positive meaning it may have for them and the way in which this information procèss al ters the.ir behaviour. and contributes to the moulding of national consciousness with regard to a collective project •
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