-
75-On the other hand, there is a notioeable tendenoy to establish new autonomous bodies when the plan provj.des for new activi ties or structural reforma, e.go regional development boards, trade developJilent boards,
oommunity or rural development divisions, co-operative orga;niza.tio!ls, agricultural reform and irrigation boards, land development service, etc ••
. In auch cases, the co-ordination of such organe with the planning organ and with the existing miriistries must be reoonciled with the autonomy of management that governs their efficienoy. The State administrative machine
is a whole and the addition of new services necessitates reviewing the mutual relations of all its component parts.
CHAPTER II - THE EXECUTION PROCESS
Once the question of finance has been settled and the neoessary measures for application taken, the following factors are included in
the execution stage:
technical factors: the transfer of the plan to specifia projects involves clear-cut tasks, e.g. the compilation of specifications~ the offer of tenders or contracta, the supervision of work, etc. ;
administrative factors connected with programme management and the co-ordination of the activity of the various services involved.
A distinction must be made betweeu:
those aspects of conc9rn to central administrations;
- problems involved in execution on the regional or local levels •
,.,
-·
76-Seotion .I - Central administration~
The administrative UD.i t responsib1e for the pX'epa.ration of the plan at the central level is rarely charged with its execution, whioh is entrusted ei ther to the technical minist:r.ies conoernerl or to special:ized organe.·
This division of the tasks of preparation and administration·raises the problem of the relationship between the
:p :
.anning organ and the mini stries: . the specialization of the functions of execution must be reconciled with the unity of the planoAttempts have sometimcs been made to abolish this du.alism by entrust:i.ng both tasks to the s~~e oody~ In Burma, the administrative reorganization of the plan carried out in 1958 represen·~ed an attempt to combine the functions of preparation~ execution a!ld controL The Ministry of National Planning and the Economie and Social Bureau. were merged into a single National P.lanning Board under the direct Em.thorHy of the Pr~.me 1!::1•.:l_r~~, .. :-:?" In .~r.an, the office of the seven-year pl::m 1ras origj_nally responsibJ.c fOl' i ts execution.
Howeyer, this system has e m:mber of disadvantageg. ·In the f:irst place, the tasks involv8d in execution may homper the performance of preparation taskso · Fu!'"thermo::':'e~ t.here :i.s the probJ.ern of the relationship bet'Wêen the planning orc·an ;;mè. tho tecr.nioal minist!'i'3s -~rhich are already equipped for the performance of the tasks involved j_n execution in their relevant fields. The devel8:p:nent of new a.dministratj_ve actj.vi ties outside their terme of reference inevitably leads to confusion arid 1'ivalry with regard to the respective fields of competence of the two bodies.
Consequently, >iherovc::- this system has beon attempted, i t has generally been abandonedo Far f:;.,•om stren,3"thening the authori ty of the
·planning organ7 i t undermi~Jes the efficieucy of i ts execution operationso
•
•
.. 77
~-Even i~ the countries wi.th centralized economy, a growing ·trend is noticeable whereby the planning organ i.s relieved of its execution. re~.
ponsibilites. Since
1957,
the planning organ in Poland no longer carries out execution functions7 while in the USSR,recent reforma havecon-siderably reduced those fu~otions, although they have not been abolished entirely. It had bcen observed that the planning services could not pay
~~fficient attention to their tasks of preparation and forecasting,
beoause of the extent of the daily tasks involved in execution.· Further-more, the independe:rice of the economie units vis-~vis the planning organ
in deoision-making has been increased for reasons of efficienoy.
2 - Exeoution entrusted to the speci~lized ministries
Any overlapping of ~notions may be avoided by entrusting execution to the specialized ministries. However, the water-tight independance of administrative units must be remedied. Most of the activities provided for in a plan concern several ministries and the stages of execution of the various projects must be synchronized. This implies inter-ministerial co-ordination ar..d the poss:Lbili ty for the planning organ to intervene in order to ensure the unity of the plano
(a) The use of the existing machinery often entails many difficulties due to the independance of the nifferent services and to the traditions handed down from the colonial c:;:-::.. H.K. Paranjape, an Indian author,
lays the blame for sorne of the c~stacles encountered in the implementation of .the Indian plan oa the fE>-ct t}.1.at the organization and a:Wninistriative procedures and personnel have not be3~ successfully adjusted to the performance of new tasks. According to him, the Indian civil serviqe is a closed hierarchi~al system. The procedures and methode used were devised by a foreign government and designed for the maintenance of order, and are quite unsuitable for .a d.eveJopment policy. Independance and
t.he introduction of parliamentary democracy contributed to aggravating. the situation. The administration of the plan necessitates the delegation
~~ Development Council, which includes the Prime Minister, the Chief
Ministers of the various States, the members of the Planning Commisëion and the ministers of the central government. •
·On the ~~J..nistrat:1.ve leveJ., <!_e fact..2_ co-ordination is ensured through the permanent liaison maintained by the Planning Commission with the Federal and State ministries with reference to the preparation of principal directors or planning units forming ,part of the ministries.
For èxample, ·the planning co!!'.:ni ttees set up in every ministry and publio .. board in the
·!!!!b
maintain J.iaison betwee11 the planning services and the tra.ditionai ministries. In the same way, each ministry and evèry publio or semi-publio administration in f)y~_ia. has a liaison committee to which the planning ministry tra~smits the final government decisions related to the achievement, postponement or rejection of the branch plans-
79-3 - Execution may also. be ëntrusted to autonomous or semi-autonotnous administrative uni ts. set up specially .to execute the plan in a gi ven sector or to implement a particular projeot.
In the UAR, an important fu~ction in the execution of the plan . has been entrusted to
39
public boards (the Petroleum Organization, the Sl,lez Canal Authority, the Farming Co-operative Organization, the MISR Organization, which is responsible especially for the impleme~tation' ' '
of industrial projeots, etc.). These boards exercise authority over the various national enterprises concerned in the execution of programmes and co-ordinate their activities. Reference has been made earlier to the fact that the Sudan has adopted this system which, although flexible, does not exclude control on the part of the central government.
A similar solution has been adopted in Morocco,where the exeoutio~
of specifie prcjects devclves on public agencies (the Land Boar4, the ' . . . . Nati~~al R~al ... Modernization Board, the National Irrigation Board, etc.), which have been allocated the functions previously distributed among several ministries.
In Senegal, the iulp_orta~t tasks of execution are also entr~sted t,C?
technical agencies whicJ:i' ·are bound· to trarisnii t the governmental directives to the various competent services and to the new socio-economic orgais, the establishment of which is provided for in the plan to cover the entire population. Consequently, the Agricultural Trade Board; under the joi~t con~rol of the Ministry of Rural Economy and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is managed by a Board of Directors which includes t:hë Minister of Planning and the Minister of Finance or their representatives' This Board is responsible for organizing the marketing of agricultural
product!3, although it is actually doing so only for peanuts • . On.the regional level, this Board is represented by the Regional Committees for Development Assistance.
80- '
)~el~t~o._ns- .between the :p~.an, the technic.al ministries .and the
various .boards r.aise different· problems, · depending en "!'heth_er the _boards .are under the jurisdiction of a ministry of or the planning organ.
(a) Boards ·depending .administratively on the Central Planning Organ
Although from the administrative point of view, these Boards depend on the central' plarinin:g organ, they may nevertheless follow a management polidy :~hich differa from the general policy outlined in the· plan, e~g. with regard to · imp·orts1 the fixing of selling priees, relations wi th other
sE:Ù:~tèrs <>f the ecori:omy, etc.
conciled, namely the autonomy po'licy ·of the plan.
Two contradictory requirments must be re~
these Boards require and the overall economie
The distribution of duties among these Boards and the technical
mlni'stries ·also rais'e-s:·probleuis of co-ordination. Administrative procedures to overcome them should be provided for either within the Boards theniselves ( thê par·Üc:l.pation of ministerial representatives in their managemëht·.
policy) or at the level of the planning organ, through associating the · ministries concerned in formulating the instructions given to the Boards.
(b) · The· attachuient of the Boards to the technical mini stries···
. : .·.
Even when they come under the jurisdiction of the technical ministries,
··':'"i.::··' '
a general tre~d towards the autonomy o:f .such Boards, set up :to. q{:l.rry out
sp_.~?~fic _func~ion~,, can be çbserved. Their own management nee~s do not au toma tically coincide wi th the po licy of th,e minis tries any more th;;~.» ..
' '
with planning P?licy.
Th.e recruitment policy· conducted .by the Boa.l:'ds, which are more interest.ed in .efficiency than in adhering ~to ·the civil service scale of salaries, may lead to salarydifferences influencing the attitudes of ministry. staff •. ·· Furthermore,· their policy. of= fixing selling priees or investments is often opposed to that of the.m:inistries u:nder which they serve. Consequently, administrative jurisdiction may be either non-existent or too restrioted.
81
-Even if the powers of decision and delegation of authority are defined in the beat possible way, and with a:n eye to efficiency,
~h~:.
human factor continues to. play a decisive part.
Organic links facili tate co-ordinati.on, but the personal relationf'hips between the Board Directors, the senior ministerial officials and the
..
officials of the planning organ are just as important a factor.
(o.) The Boards enjoy complete administrative autonomy
···This contributeei to efficiency. However, the administrative· reîa.tion-ship·s· :Of these Boards with the planning organ on the one hand· and the
te~hnioal· ministries on the other must be regulated.
In· rea.lity, the legal differences between autonomous boards and boards attached to the ministries are insignificant. Even when they are eritirely autonomous, there are always representatives of the administration among ·thèir di:;rectors, ·and even if they come under ·the jurisdiction of
~ ministry, they enjoy a wide degree of de facto autonomy.
Th~ question of the e.uthori.ty to which the Boards must sul:mit is of far lesa importance than.the institutional co-ordination e.:x:isting in fact. : The Boards are neither administrative services nor priva-te enter-prises but something of both. If they are to make a va.luable contribution to the achievement ofplannin~ objectives, they must be managed with
the same standards of efficiency of a private firm as wall as conform to th~ priorities of national.development. This difficult baJ,.a:p.ce can only be obtained by s~ecial solutions taking into acoount the oon.
di tions prevailing in the·· c'ountry concerned.
Pro·elems of co-ordination among central administrations, central planning organe and public or semi-public bodies are not limited only to the execution of the plan. Specialization tends towards the scaling-off of the various divisions concerned and hinders unified administrative action.
82
-In th~ Phili;ppinAs1 the Committee of Enquiry and Administrative Reorganization, .es.tablished in 1954,. noted · that .every administration attempta to be a complete government in itself inatead of co-operating
with other administratio~s, and thereby co-ordinating their activities. The
. ·.' . . .
same ia true for _other countries.
By th~ fact ·that it stresses the unity of development policy and extends the sphere of State economie interference, Planning makeE! all the more neoessary the methodiëalorganization of co-ordination of administrative activi ty, e.g. ordination between short anc1_ long-term measures,
co-ordination among the development operations conducted by different ministries and boards. Administrative procedures for liaison comply with this need, i.e. interministerial commi ttees, councils, working groups. or periodio meetings.
A spirit of co-operation, which can be developed through methode of edu-cation and training for civil servants, may also contribute to a marked
decrease in such prevailing sel-fish attitudes.
Finally, the personali ty of the Ministèr ·.'or the senior official responsible for the plan is an important factor, while the support of the chief executive is a vital condition for the effective execution of the plan.
Section II - Execution at the Regional and Local Levels
The execution of a plan involves co-ordination, not only between the
oentr.~1 administrations and the plapning organ; but also at the regional and local levels. The plan defines.only general guiding lines for publio and private investment except in the cases of the most important sing.J.e projects.
The transfer of these overall objectives to the implementation of indivi.dual action programmes and the regional allocation of such programmes necessitatea•the concerted action of st:veral administrative services.· ·Two categories of programme can be distinguished:
investments of a modern type, involving mainly technical problems;
-
83-programmes for the transformation of traditional environ-mental social institutions, e.g. agricultural reforma, the promotion of co-operatives, changes in cultivation methode, community development, social health and education equip-ment, eto.
The most difficult administrative problems arising in the developing countries result from this category of operations.
The execution of the plan is subject to several conditions:
The directives of the central administrations must be communicated to regional and local authorities and the means of execution put at their disposal in good time;
The agents of execution must have the necessary power of initiative to adapt programmes to local conditions;
The action of local administrators and technicians must be co-ordinated with that of elected local autb~rities;
The active support of the public must be encouraged and the efforts of the population supported by the representatives of the administration.
These requirements are often contradictory. They go far beyond the question ofdecentralization (or deconcentration) and run into obstacles related to the shortage of skilled personnel, the sealing-off of adminis-trative services and the resistance of social institutions threatened by the changes involved.
However, even where it is competent, the administration may be hampered by political obstacles. For example, in many Latin Amerioan and Asian countries, the large landowners were able to block agrarian reform programmes, as a result of the support of central or local authorities.
JI" '/
84
-A plan cannet be implemented without the active participation of the public. In many countries, efforts have been made to associate the public in development operations by allowing it the initiative for local
prOjects intended to improve the economie,· socialand cultural situation.
In auch cases, the authorities supply only limited technical and financial assistance.
In many countries, efforts have been made to overcome administrative inadequacy and the resistance of traditional local communities by entrusting an important role to the single or predominant political party. Its
function is to explain the plan, issue orders and ~o stimulate enthusiasm for development.
Trade unions, youth movements and voluntary organizations are soma-times used as liais,n bodies for the execution of the plan.· The sucoess of their action obviously depends on the enthusiasm of their local branches and the competence of their officials. This may also lead to the overlapping of functions, while the action of local party representatives or the
re-presentatives of social or economie organizations may in soma cases lead to hindering the .efficient operation of the administration.
The execution of the plan by administrative organs and the parti-cipation of the public will now 1)e considered in turn.
On the regional and local levels, the problem of knowing which
1
administrative authority is responsible for the execution of the plan is complicated through the super-imposition of interested organs, e.g. the decentralized units of the technical ministries, the local representative of the central .government, and elected local authorities.
This leads to problems related to the definition of functions and co-ordination that can be resolved in different ways. However, whichever
•
•
- 85 -
-administrative authori ty is entrl,lst.ed wi th the principal ·responsibili ty for execution on the local level, the sealing-off of different services must be avod.ded •.
Integrated regional devëlopment progralllmes, which include a large number of differez:!:t activities, often necessitate the establishment of administrative organe to ,co-ordinate such activities (SUD~ in Brazil, the Damodar Valley Authority in India, the Rio Balsas Co!llmission.in Mexico, etc.).
. .
In some countries, regional planning commissions includihg the repre-sentati~es of the various administrations concerned have been established (India). In others -: Senegal and Madagascar - this co-ordinating function · has been entrusted to the head of the regional administration (Prefeot).
In Senegal, systematic efforts have been made to adjust regional and local instituions to the needs of plan execution. In 1961, the boundaries of the different regions were al tered to correspond wi th the uni t'ary
..
economie zones.
The Governor, .who is the official actually responsible for the re-gional .execution of·the plan, exercises authority over the heads of the ministerial technical units. He ·is ohairman of the Regional Development
Committee~ and co-ordinates the activity of the technicians composing t.hat Committee. He receives instructions from the Prime Minister on the implement-ation of government economie policy, and from every minister on the execution of regional p~ogrammes. . r:rhe development deputy who assista him is
res-ponsible for putting into effect the programmes of the Rural Expansion Centres (CÈR), to which he issues directives through the 'agency of èirole Commandera.
The Regional Development Committee, an advisory. body, prepares the
regional programme for ~e utilization of the overall investment credits
allocated.and may decide on certain specifically regional operations. Its members include technicians and individuals elected by the public.
- 86
The Regional Development Aid Committees (CRAD) pro.v:i.de technical . assiétancê'for peasants working in co~~peratives (farming equipment .and
~ ... : ·-: .. credits) and encourage the mobilization of savings. While they reoeive their instructions from the Minister of Rural Ecoriomy.and the Minister of Planning, they are under the jurisdiction of the Governor and must accept the .opinion of the Regional Development Conimittee.
'The ·Rural Expansion ceritres.(CER) are the basic unit of developnent,
more particularl;y in agricultural mattersJ and must work direotl;y with the
inhabitant~ of the villages, although they are installed at district leval.
These cent~es
are.
staffed by team_fL:9.f technical offi.cials, who are ·axp·er·tsThese cent~es