aluminium oonsumption',,!!-ssuming the projections for the rest 'of the world materialize, by 1,970 at shown in Chapter I, paragraph 14. But the possibilities for aluminium in Afrioa may be'much brighter, and may lie in the inherent values,of this metal as a material under African conditions and in the opportunities for African governments
to encourage, the useef aluminium as a matter of, na,t.iona:j. pcU.c:y,,·
,
.
10/
CN .14/AS/n/2/
jPage 41
20. This is. evident by referring to the preceding paragraph
5
where the per capita consumption of aluminium in recent years was shown for various African countries. In 1962, when all Africa used bet"een three-tenths and four-tenths of a pound of aluminium per capita, Ghana used more than four times as much and South Africa more than six times as much per capita. But Ghana's income per capita was not four times greater than Africa as a ~hole. It was roughly two times greater.Likewi~e, South Africa's income per capita was not six times greater
than'~fTica
as a whole 'but roughly three times greater.lI
Ghana and South Africa made 'greater use of aluminium per capita than the incomes 'would have 'suggested because of two oircumstances. In Ghana thegovern-ment-adopted the ~olicy-to promote the use of aluminium in buildings andt6 discourage the use of galvanized iron. In South Africa, the relatively high rate of income and economic development enjoyed by the minority white population favoured the use of aluminium through the sales efforts of private enterprise. Whereas in Ghana the government acted to increase the' use of aluminium, the same results were achieved in South Africa Where private enterprise sold aluminium on its merits
to people who could afford it.
21, Both forces of government policy ahd private enterprise are
workihg'side-by-side in most of Africa and can achieve similar results.
In so far as incomes per capita do increase throughout Africa by 1980 the presumption is that private enterprise, if allowed freedom to demonstrate the advantages of aluminium, is likely to increase the per oapita consumption proportionately more than the per capita
incomes will increase. And the same result can take place if African governments foster policies under which aluminium will be proven more Economic Commission for Africa, lndustrialGrowth in Afrioa,
1963,
p. 83, showing Ghana, US$243 per oapita, South Africa $360 per oapita, and Africa as a Whole, $112 ~~ oapita.
Jo/ CN .14/AS/II/2/::
Page 42
economical aiid"'aesirable than some other mater:l.al,Such'speeialJ
opportunities for 'aluminium to serve African conditions havee-c:t~Lb:~L',';
demonstrated, and in this report they can onl'Ybe discussed in ai pre...
liminaryway. . ,.' ..'
Special opportunities.for-!~~iuminAfrioa.
2~. African governments should be interested especiallY in enoourag-ing the uses of materials tha~.do.certainessentialjops at lowe.r co",t, than other materials, or do essential jobs tha~ other materials cannot do at any c ost , Economies of these types help r-educe imports of less, ....~ ..• ' . . ' . -, - ' , essential gocda, conserve on foreign excb.ange,;~daake the most effeQtive use"oflimited domestic capital :resources.. Aluminium. has won its place in many applinations in developed c~unt:ries'"be.cause it does serve auch purposes. But a:t the same time aluminium has. peen regarded in some quar-t ez-s us more.of. a luxury rr.e.tal, " ••• essentially a. metal relateli to a high s~and<.C'd of living., Its ~oapita ucage .follows the same general trend as the per 9~~i~ application of eleotrio power, the adoption of modern forms o.f transportation, the ready availability of oonsumers goods and the sophistication of. packages used for fOod.
,,11 .
23.
It is a'Lso aCCU",2.··" to state that even in the developed Qountries aluminium has wen poc Ltions whe",e it has raised agricultural pr-oduotd.vf,ty, increased worker cf'f'Lci.ency , improved the health of men and animals1reduced the costs ofmQ'<ing .or preserving essential pr,Oducts such aa food and f'Lbr co , and lowered the costs of .transporting Peo,ple,and things.
In Afrioa,. preoisely the same needs exist. The goverr,lllents, therefore, have the oppo::-tunity to lookcri tically at ways that alumi'1,i,um might be highly desira'ole, and to encourage some of these a.pplications.
Aluminium ut~nsilsL-Zuel eoonomY..L.£eforestation and soil erosiQXL...
24; ~l',he'use of a,iUiidrlium in ut ens.i Ls is one of the origiJ:)al markets that supported the ind~stryin its early years in the United States.
In India, the gove=mcnt favours the use of aluminium to displace
y'
Dr. E. G. West quot cd in Meta:, Bulletin, London,16
November1962.
. .
•
EVeN .lA/AS/Il/ 21
jPage 4}
imported copper for cooking aljd otherpU:rpoees. As a resultJ alum:i.lti.un{' for utensils has led all Dthel' uses unti1, recent years when the Indian electrif'icationprogrammepuehed aluminium for eleotrical conduotor (instead of copper) into first place •• IncJ\.:frica also, the most popular use of aluminium is in utensilsy'made in'
aU:
but one of the African countries hava.ng fabricating pla.nts.- 'l'lut, the amount of aluminium Used annually for utensils is eVidently much less than would be the oas.if governments and individuals unll-erstood more widely the, l;loonomies of aluminium in cooking.;!. \., ,,: : ,', '. > . ,'"
25. The"aluminium utensil is the'most ee'oooinical',ofoommon llIateriala uaed- an COoking in Africa. It cooks much- fa-Mer) and lmiforml:Y' than
other utensils and saves on fueLdu<l' t'o 'lihe", thermal eohductivi ty being":' three ,times' greater than Lron, Unlike
the
ceramic utensile, thealuminium-product does nrrt break,UsHke: iron, i t dces not rust. I t is unaffeot'i'd' by most foodstuffs' whei-'",.as'Lthe iron utensil willaffeoi;' a.cid foods, and. also the enamelware.wh~ll'the enamel, has been ,.hipped '-.
away, exp<'lsing the ,iron.: 'The alURlihium utensil does not affef't the taste of foods oookedor 'stored:in 111', I't doesc'nM have t ... be' dried after' oooking like irotl"to 'prl'lvent rust,::(!lr',ele'a.nee. to remeve rust, although it is stained'Ughtly by certainfooas. But the ability c£"
aluminiJ.llll' u:tenllils tc>,heat foods three times faster than ironware' shouldbllr,<tf the greatest interest to African governments in ccunt:des where thll problem of fuelwood is most important.
26. ~any African countries inoluding much of East Afrioa ar~ experiene-' ing large ilc<llElsoi1 erosion from the cutting of ''wood for fuel, I1sed in heating and:cooldne!"" In
1959-1961, 8.8
per,;cent of all :t'$lIlo#il.ls l'I'f'woM .:in::,"i,frioa Wl!ro "fClr,fuel wend in theru:ral.,subsistence seljtbri,"lmis'IIOns1llllptionnf :j;uelwQod is very great 'per 1,000 populatiol]r~l)5m3 cOlJlpared,wijhj~ a.verage ,'World,Hlonsumpi;ion, .£:335, lll)'per'l"OOO.'I. In Eas t j'.4,:€.z>iC1aif the fuel,wood ,reiliovad in 19 59-19611i'ss .
'89.
6rilillion m3 out of95.9
m3 of all wood removed.1I
11
FAO and ECA, Timber Trends and Prospects in Africa, Rome; J1D:y'1965, Pp. 2, 40._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .10,... ••
27-.,
:\l)lt ~lle)'eis a va;::y great. w"s~ag.e in t];leUEll' of fualw<;>od., IJIueh.of i t i,s' not Seasoneel <>.pd;, ,is,bllrnejl"in WJ;>;:!;oondition, losing heak to,' drive off., mois t 11)'6.• ' T·heih e·§t;Lng, of',rural, h,Qooesi s inatfi,oi en t,J:'ana:' cooking at oves are poorly designe9. • . Finany~ much wood i1\'.wtl.sted'.in the prooe"s of,..cooking ·it<l.elf;. lOsing; b.ea~. to ;the utensil,as compared . "
to the .. more:rapid heat ,conduotivi:ty or. 'tJ).e.: al\.l,l1)iniWllutensil.in cooki.ng..'.
,-·'i .«.;i
28. How much 'of 'theanhU'al:l:Ullh166d cuir'in id"ric!i,c that:
'ocula
'be~a;fedfrom more efficient uses of the wood is not yet dH\'6t:~B-ed Ln
EeA" '
pUbl;i,plI-~io!lj3" "w,kewis,e,
,.W!lat·
""",,<ing; '>,QulQ. resu,!:kifrgll)! the. OOIl of",alumin~Wll,7u~e.llili·lll.,j,s nQt'skno.rro. ,,~t,the<;1erecol'l0miee.aJ;'e needed •. ,The·', cuty;i,j'lg of, f.uelwpod eSPIl-0;i.allYf):'O!ll' hiJ-iy: sl9I\eS is,responsibl-e foJ;' ' j "
soil er-osi cn \lll9.er t,,;01':i£al rains~i'.Qr"th6 10"sof"land productivity ,'J!::
and ,;fpr ?ontributing;t;o t'Locdd.ng.
ofr
i!:owef''';J.a~ds.~, Mucl'l of AfJ;'icall1l41y" ", needs_1?etter'j;cr~!lt,illapagement, in ol:'4-er· to, pl:'oteot walellsheds,i to ,'.":preverrt nOli'd~Di', to res:l<ore fe;rti).,i'tY" to· e;x1law;ted Land.s , .and t o , , ' obtain.the mi!'1dJ1lUljl'[aIue i'r()m"j;J1e *<md~. ,:J:n.partio.ul~r, some, !l.flused, '.,' forest lands may be US",ble to:,prQdupe' PWpwood tOfme.$.t ,the growi~
deficiencies~ ~ , il:l.:pul" and..:paper'can, devel\lped<:<:,oUl'ltries ,According .' to', . the Flt0/'fCA,i}.;I'rical s for('stS'l-re:,m",,,,,aced by indUclliminate cutting:
and
°
the:\"'.J?:p'p!:ct;i.CeElJ . and. need lUcre progl'amIlles of controL.inoluding.·. '", thetakiI)g~~f
.JueJ."ood.¥oTh'llilen",ed",will inoreasewith the growthof population. .'. . ... . '-"'
29.· The;lleelh;€oll.afi'Qreetation 'M.d refO:t'lIlStiltion,has ·been rec~i"ed
in difie;ren:kdegrees 'in·East.Ai'ri.ca• .;So.uthernRhodesiabegan a forestllY"
prggr<lollll!lQ VfHh~illlPO:r;'ted,llucalyptus in 1922.-~d:enlargedthe forestry:';
schemee;Wfte:r:~~ltld War II. ::.Plantation :forestsowere started in Nyasal;>tld..
Kenya has ;a.;Ii';I'o:restat:i,(ln ang'reforestation schemes bas ed OIl the ..extreme' ..~
deficiency. qf. commercia,Vjl.ootl••, Tanganyikastarted"ai'forestationabout 15 year",ag",[~:did.tl1e?,llelgiaC\!-,g()v~rnment':'in'Ruanda~Urundi, the: most
,....!
.-~.
.
~FICN.14/ ,Af>/II/2/
jPage 45
•
badly deforested area in tropical Africa. Ethiopia lacks. trees despi t"" :the great demandfor, fuelwood and the, limit",d spread of the eucaLyptaas
in
th?/;li!?h Plati,aUS. The forests of tropical Africa a;r~.perhaps ,.i.tll#,reatest .wilaltih, ,and their protection and improvement axe indispensable to major tree protected crops such as cocoa, tea, eoff~e
and banana, to the preservation of soil, the sustaining of ground water
reservo~rs, and t9 supporting the entire agricultural and domestic ec6n~~;6i'Af~ii;,a')j· . . . • - .
30. Like so many other problems' in Africa, more than one method of
-._.~.~-_.- -"._"-..--_.
attack is reqUired to deal with, ~eforestation, land destruction, .and waste offulllw,Ood. 'The greatex''',us'e of alUminium in cooking appears to be' one'c'onsfructive'''m~thbd. The oppor tuna tieEl" to incrjiase- ·this use are substantial.
\In
the Congo (Leopoxdville},'about ·200·tons of aluminiumwer", consumed 'in1952'-f'o1'
all purposes; mainly utensils,.according to one African manufacturer who 'produces 'utensils -in
7
countries iricluning the··Congo. This oompany established a utensil plant in 1,952 i.A Burundi and ;sE1:nt trucks into ,the Congo to ,sel+
utensiJ;s...ll'l. J962, tihe -company.:Ii'stablished "'l'lother utensil plant. iI<
..._..
_..
."--.---'--.Bukavu. in the ,Eastex:n Congo. Conse querrt.Ly , the, demand for aluminium f<;>.r utensils increased over a 12,year period by about 6 ox:
T
times.e'J:he .same. 'cpmpany now has a utensi L fact9I1Y, .in ,Ethiopia w,here. i t is
cQnfi~ent thatcol'lsumptiol)can be greatly stimulated. Here.t~e total capaci ty tqpr,,,d"'ee \l;t",nsils am<:lng three plants in Asmara and,A4<4s . Ababa is about. ~f200 tons per year, but the present consumptioniB only about
300
i;o,ne;peJ:' year., .,.-, Although eriameL war'! and hom", made, pottery are uSildwid,elyi!) Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa. one estimate is that about half of the cash market is in aluminium utensils •..- ,"
v
Georg",'· H!T. Kimble , Tropical Africa ,The Twentieth .Century, Fund, New York,1960,
1,[.01. H".\lp. 195-224.,•F/rir64/i..s/II/2/j
Page 46
31. In Ghana, consumption of
a.luminium~tensil~
is about 500'to':
60&;"1:.- .",",<'" ;c, ' : . ,; " " .' ~ , __ ,
tons per year by a population of some
8
million; as ccmparedwith'" , . - . ,~, -, ','.', • ' . " "L-J.~,.
abcut half that consumption by some
22
million in Ethicpia, an~possi biY'