fruits of the Great First of September Revolution.
36. In conclusion, he thanked the secretariat of the Commission for the
way in which it had prepared the meeting of the Conference and welcomed all
participants to the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.General debate (items 5 to 9)
(a) Survey of economic and social conditions in Africa, 1980-1981
(b) World Bank report on accelerated development in sub-Saharan
~~ Africa: An agenda for action: Joint comments by ECA, ADB and
OAU
(c) A review of the developing international crisis and its implications
~~ for Africa: Report and recommendations of the Technical Preparatory
Committee of the Whole
(d) Proposals for the formulation and implementation of a programme
~~ for the Industrial Development Decade in Africa: Report and recommendations of the Technical Preparatory Committee of the
Whole
(e) Implementation of the Regional Food Plan for Africa: Progress,
~~ problems and prospects: Report and recommendations of the Technical Preparatory Committee of the Whole
37. The representatives of the following States members of the Commission made statements in the general debate: Burundi, the Congo, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria, Rwanda, Tunisia, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zaire,
Zambia and Zimbabwe.
38. The representative of Burundi recalled that his country was among the African countries suffering from a litany of ills: land-lockedness, desertification, worsening terms of trade, over-population, etc. Burundi
was also one of the African least developed countries.
39. He stated that ECA had taken many steps in recent years to make African countries aware of the continental dimensions of the problems of underdevelopment, and that awareness had culminated in the adoption of the Lagos Plan of Action. After stressing that the Plan had to be
implemented at all levels - regional, subregional and national - he pointed out that the MULPOCs had been called upon to play a major role in the
implementation of the Lagos Plan of Action. At the same time, he deplored the fact that the MULPOCs were not provided with adequate staff and lacked financial resources. He appealed to UNDP and other donors to provide financial support for the implementation of MULPOC projects. His country was very much interested in the system of Preferential Trade Area such as the one established in Eastern and Southern Africa and expressed the hope that UNDP and other donors would assist in setting up the Central African Economic Community as proposed in the Libreville Declaration,
40. The representative of the Congo stated that the situation prevailing in Africa was cause for concern; in fact, African economies were marked by greater dependence on foreign countries, increased foreign debt, deteriorat ing terms of trade, slower growth rates, rural exodus, increased unemployment and many other ills. The crisis was particularly serious in a continent where the relationship between natural resources and the population was the
most favourable. The economic development of Africa could take place only by gradually but firmly breaking the ties with the world market to make development more inward-looking. The African market-would thus have to be won and priority would have to be given to satisfying the needs of the African masses while taking into account the Lagos Plan of Action.
41. Referring to the World Bank report on accelerated development is sub-Saharan Africa, he stated that the collective response by Africans to the report was encouraging. African Governors of the Bank had recognized at Dakar that the report, which the Africans themselves had called for, contained some positive elements but it also contained some blatant con tradictions with the Lagos Plan of Action, particularly with regard to the report's recommendation concerning export strategies based on export-oriented agriculture and its treatment of the public sector.
42. He then recalled the Libreville Declaration which recommended the
establishment of a Central African Economic Community, an idea which demonstrated the application of the Lagos Plan of Action. In that regard he appealed to UNDP to provide increased financial assistance to the Yaounde MULPOC whose projects for the period 1932-1986 were of primary importance for the collective development of the economies of the Central African subregion.
He also referred to his country's five—year plan which had just been launched and which had been based on the principles and philosophy of the Lagos Plan of Action and stressed that, if the Lagos Plan of Action was to succeed, sacrifices and compromises would be necessary and micro—nationalism would
have to be abandoned.
43. The representative of the Revolutionary People's Republic of Guinea stated that he considered all the meeting's agenda items to fall within the scope of the implementation of the Lagos Plan of Action. However, It was unfortunate that, in view of the many difficulties encountered by Africa, a certain skepticism had arisen with regard to the efforts being made by Africans to liberate themselves from underdevelopment.
44. He noted that Africa had accumulated a vast wealth of experience and know—how and that it was time to proceed to a form of co-operation that would accelerate the development of the continent. He added that all human resources should be used judiciously for the development of Africa and appealed for solidarity among Africans. On behalf of all West African States, he commended the work done in that subregion by the Niamey MULPOC and stated that it was time to respond to the challenge of Incompetence by having Africa rely first of all on its own physical and human resources to overcome underdevelopment. He appealed to UNDP and other aid donors to
assist in the work of the MULPOCs,
45. He then gave an account of the development efforts and orientation of his country. It was well known that, in view of the importance of
agriculture, his Government had given it priority. Over 70 per cent of school children were concentrating on agriculture-related subjects and in addition to the Ministry of Agriculture per se, a special Ministry had been established to deal specifically with agro-pastoral holdings. However, it was not a question of developing agriculture at the expense of industry
or vice versa. The fact was that both sectors needed each other. Hence,