Draft report : second conference of ministers responsible for human resources planning, development and utilization

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UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL

ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA

~econd Conference of Ministers Responsible for Human Resources Planning, Development and Utilization

Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), 15-16 October 1984

DRAFT REPORT

Distr.

GENERAL

E/ECA/HRP/MC/84/2 16 October 1984 Original: ENGLISH

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, . . .... ^__

I. Organization

1. The Second Conference of African MiniGters responsible for Human Resources Planning, Development

..

^anclUtilization was held ' from 15 ·::o 16 October 1984, in

. Africa Hall,.Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It was preceded by the meeting of the Technical

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Preparatory Committee of Officials which met from 9 to 14 October 1984 and the·

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meeting of the Uini.sterial ~ollow-up Committee of Nine which met on

13

October 1984,

. both in the

same

venue. ^·,•·

II. Attendance

.

^,

2. The Conference of i:Iinisters was attended

a·t

delegates from Algeria, Benin,

.. .,,,,, · ~ntral African Republic, · ·:

J: 3urkina Fa:so;, 41rundi, Cai.1eroon, -~ d , /Congo, :Sgy.p::, il!:hiopia, . Gabon;· Guinea,

.. J~ . rr

^Coast-^, ^Xen~,··^{~ibe~ia, :}^:Lea9^_^~po, ·.~iby~, Lalawi, _T'.iozambique,'.Niger,. Ni;~~ria,

· RW'andh~· Se~e~l:,, ·.s;'i";~a· LeoM; 1,' f a ~ a , Togo, Uga.ncla,. ~ire;"¹2'.ainbi~: and. 'ii~o~bwe.

• .. •-,•: .: ,-,;. ~~,. :,f, .

,r .. :· . .. . . .. ·.,, ·, ,•,• .. ' . /"d,·.·. , .•

• ·: · 3° Observers representing· UH Speciali~d Agencie'a-·were._ from· the· Inte:rnaH~ea:l Labour Organization ( ILO), Uni tec1 Nations

De~i6pment

Progr~ ·-

· {urlOP),

^.i^,Un.it~e~

Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)' .

Uni.t~d-

^ll~tions~'l(;lationai,' Scientift~n: . .-·

and Chltural Or'~aitization (UlJESCO), Un5 .. :ed · Nat;i.ons Industrial Development ,Orga- nization (UNIDO), Worl~ He~i:~h brgim.za·don,,{!~~i,'

uru\'~d

Natie>~S Univers;~y

''.1 ~ • •• • ·'· •

(mm), Food and· Agricuhu,-~, ~ganiz'ation (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) •

• :. . ... . , ... ;•_j j -·:·,·-'r _. i,< .:. • ,·:

4.

1 Internationa'.tr regidna:1' a.pd ;i.ntergoverm~tal organizations and institutions

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r~p~esented at the meeting were: African Associa'i:ion for Public Administration ·

·. ~: 'and-Nanagenttnt (AAPAM), ~ganization of African Unity {CllUT), African Training and

-~~ ...

·~

Rd~;r::h· Centre in Adminish:~:don. for Development (CAF1'WJ), Commonw~alth Secretariat,

·t·_'^.,·•( ,./ _'

~." :: I_II.

International Committee for fl.i.gration (Ia1r}. -~ .. :, .,

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^.s.-^;,•·

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0v era 11 o b Jee ves · ti o f · c he . Conf erence ,,,,, · ~, ·••:..,•1::> ,,,:.: · ·· • ; ... :lri~..,,; ·, ,.,,,.,.._,,.,.,,,~ r

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overall obje~tives of. the Conf~~ence -~1eitf'·: •i~,.

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To review progress in' the~impl,ementation of the. La.go·s Plan of Action,

Vrl• :-, • · . , . . i .• ·-- . ·. < •

the decisions of the First Conference held in Monrovia

~n

1981 and th~ ECA Conference of ff.:inisters .resolution 444(xyI:r..) •·of-;~April ·l982t,lo!~~h¹

• ~~ia~c

^{to the}

• ·• <;.Jr, f ·-~h'tt:.:,·~·

development of institutional ~achineries for effective h\ima.n,cfE:~~roes management;

t--..· y

(b) To review and provide policy guidelines-on the ECJ\ programme of work in the areas of fublic Administration and Management, fublio Financial Uan~gement, Education and Training, I1ianpower and Employment Planning, and the productive utilization of the region's human resources;

(3)

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\ ' 2

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(c) To review the various factors that have an impac;; ofi:--~:flie·

ct~~,'.opment

^of

human resources and to determine the strategy for integrating,the,~e factors into

' ' ; ' • ! •

the human resources planning, de~elo?B~~t andiprocuctive utilization processes;

1. • • 4 !

. , ... ,(d.) To·--0onaide/~nc1 approve t ~ terms

~~

^reference^andrules of proc~d~e

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which determine ¹'the' operational moc:.ali::ies· of· the Conference pf₁lt.1~nister.!: 3esponsihle for human Resources Planni~, Developme~~

and.

Utilization -i~ Africa. .

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r.f.

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-Opening

of the'Confere~

<Altgoing Chaiman's Jemarks

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6. The Conference of I,:i.nisters was opened by the Head· of ·::he Delegation of ·.;he nepublic of LiiJeria, i~ his capacity as Chairman of the first Conference of ~li.nisters Responsible for awn.an Jesourcea Planning,.Deyelopiuent and Utilization.

In

welcoming participant.a ·t~~ ·o~tgoing Chairman expres~d his .profound. appr~ciation for

-c~

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impr~ssiveJ•atte11cl.anoe, even though the no::ice of the change of ·vetlU.e was short. He·

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note(l·,that his country wa_s hoJ?~itred t.o have ·presi_~ed g~r..

-che

Conference ~~ its .. , first

s t¥~

^years^0~^_^e~is~-^~~~: anc;l contributec to _iay~Jlfo cthe found~tions fo~ a··

noble ende~vour, i.e., the. pr~ti-0n:.of, effecl:ive· planning,, development and uti-

.,, f ' •· _,.

lization of Africa's h~~:-~e~~es.! '· ; ___ , ·. i/:.··..::.· !:.,}.,, · '

• ·' • .. • • : ' \ f ·~ ••• ~ ' ·I- ·"·

' . .. • . . t.J~· .• } . • ..•. ·;,.°"'; ::·, ... ..

ExecU·i;1. Ye Secretm If Addre&S .. , -·c ~ . ^.f.~.::r:.:.,-., ~

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In hi./~~dr,ess.Pr-c>f. ·ncie~yo Adedeji,,.~ec~ti,vre

SecrJtary ~£

^ECAJ^,.^noted· ^·⁰^•••

l· ,; .

1,,. .t~i~• ci . • • , .. , t

that this

O

Conferenc;e .'!"°'t¼ serve'

as a.

^r'o~_^foX:^_^f~.ri"&wihg issues~ pr~b~~ms,: policies

• ' • ,. . : 1(' ... ' ' ,,,·.• .• • . . ~ • • • • ~. ~

and programJiicis'"for ~h~ est'-'blishment' 0£-institutiot1,al,mac!ti.beriea. S_imu,lj_ta,neci,usly,· ····'

·, . .. ··.~ "-.,J.; ~ .::.i.,. . . ,_ r,! .l : . ._ :· ·.1.,,\~ ' . . . , ,

i t had to·~~ami~e ~he varj.9µs factor '"inputs

~¥.J.

^,~^·^rouhl, enhance the,..~J..~ty:.of·;hwiian .

. J '.:;,' J , • , ·.,. • · , . - . h; . .

resources'>Lin Africa. In, _so:.ci.9ing,· 'i t would help ~n. t .. e,detet-r,1ina.tion. and promotion

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of c90erenee· and coraplementari t--y of the various prograniµ,ies tba ~

'enhance·:

the. high

. ,·,: .... · ...

quality of human resources in Africa. In

so

^doi~-^, ^it^·would help in the cetermination and promo·::ion of coherence and compl~entarity 'of t-he v~ious progr~es. tl~t enhance the thigh quality aspect. in the human reSOU;rces d~;elopaient. ..-. ··

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.

^~_;^...',.:_.-... {~.: ... ^. ^.

continent was pa~sing through a

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8.

He reminded._.participants that that_. _. . .Afr:;ican ...

social and economic crisis•of unprecedented proportions ••. It was a crisis that threatened not only to degrade

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the high qua4ty of ^. ou1 .. I1uman resources _but di,.d

' ·,

actually undermine.the foundations of intellectual and .physical capaoility. __

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The ir.lllleciatc aggravatine factor of ·:he current African crisis was ·:he unusually cevere, widespread ancl prolongeC: croug:1t. 'l'he clrought bas resulted, among other things, in aevere, .shortage of food, wa:er and energy, in addition to dis:?lacement of hucan ::,.nd anililal populai:ions; 'chus unclannining the fou~ation of inputs "i:~1at enhance the quality of our hu:.·.,an reaources. The drought conc.Jitions have, however, 1.1erely r.1a<le worse the situation that was already fra3ile ancl deteriorating. Jecause

of ·:;he nature of their econor,iies, African countriec have sufferecl more than most

developing countries from the effects of ·:he world economic recession of the past few years. ~The collapse of coraoodity prices on the world raar,cct has hit 1\frican economies hardest because of their reliance on one or two expor~ products. It uas the·gra'vi.ty of ::he crisis and the viability of African Governments and people to cdpe wi ::h i t unaidec?. t hat led the distinguished Secretary-General of ·:he United• Na·dons, launch an invitation aimed at focussing the attention of the international community on the plight of rli'rica and of mo'.Jilising ex-ternal support to supplement• African effort.

9. The Executive &....~retary pointed out that the beginning of any action to remove che uear~esses in our economic systeL1s must be Girected to ·;;he area of human

resources. I::an with his abilities, ca!)abili'cies and ingenuity, was ;;he single mos::-

,. . .

impori:ant catalyst available for ·che e;~ploitation and transformation of natural resources, the creation of industry, ;;he production of food and the provision of all m&.terial needs of his society. His skills, knowledge, a·ctitudes, resourcefulness -

and powers of inveni:i veness and innovation, 1Ja!ce of hiLl the most formidable resource available to any economy.

:-Ie

not~d that the level of developmen·;; of ahy society was directly correlateC: uith the level of de.relopr.ient of =he human resources available to i t. Africa is quanti;;atively grossly deficient in skills for development. The region can draw on no more tuan one third of a million persons to provide high level skills required for the socio-economic transformation of Africa and for ~he achievement of real -~ onomic independence. This, ·today, was -~he size of ·::he middle and high-

leYel huraan resource base, a weak base for producing scientis·::s and researchers, entrepi~-neura and aanagcrs, agronomists, hydrologists anrl the ecologists whom Africa has ~e-n searching for to turn the deserts into

shortages of engineers, entrepreneurs, managers

green pas·::-ures. There were chronic and middle-level technicians for all productive sectors of African economies tthile there was an over-a;)Undance of liberal ar;;s graduates, ·:he denianc:. for whom was not as critical ·::oday as it was in the years

(.

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4

before independence~ One other ch~racteriatic feature of the type of human resource base availatie was its ·orie:itati~'n mainly towards the management of distribution, rather than theproduction ·of f;O_ods and s~rvices. ^-· ^·-..

:.-· . . .

10. The Executive Secret'lry ·tran1.ed that if. ~frica is to l i f t itself from the present economic morass in:~!hich it has be~n plunged, its human resources must be developetl to the nighest q•.1ality ?ossible and be equ~pped witt, the necessary sld.i'ls, knowledge and attitude;· required for Afric~'s self-reliant and self-sustaining development.

This c~iled fo~· the stre:1gthening, expal)sion and r.eori~ntation. of education arid training systems so that they respong more dir:ectly to Africa's _.. _. dire need for product'ive men ifid women in general and in pa~ticul~r scientists, technologists, te6hniciari~, enginee:ts~--managers and ao on .and so forth.' '2or {hii.;,.)th~;e !dust :>e cl~;1.• ~y in V'ibion' o·f the· future ."'nd _" 1'n re·_·_.qu_i· re·_{" '},.._. ents fo·. r fu.lf.;111.•n,;_.... _i:!,'hop<>s _{- · ··•}•t· was _{, -}

..

not' suffici.snt to cter-ely es-tablish-units ;,mrl structures for pl.~ri.ning huuiart re·soui-ces,

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though these are a necessary condition. •·fore it'lportant wes the need to develop the capability of t~ese structu!'es :md me61anisms so tha.t the planning function was undertaken realistically and objcc~ively. Planning for- the development of human resources must fulfil a purpose; and th-'lt ··,urpose WP.S the supply to tlw ~conomy of all the manpower ~eedcd to irease the ~,heels of econo~it · and social progrf::?ss •. , .I~.,

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Africa,.we have witnessed continued failures to depart fro~ generalities in respect

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·of our r:ianpower forecasts, projections and pl,!.11s.· The tendency .to:b~ very general.

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·when Lt comes to our future requi::eme~t·s

in

sk;_ll and knowledge left us uns~re n.s to the quantitie_s of spe:~if~:c si!:.illa which may be the· critical ones for. our P:r;;?~cnt

development needs. ^:^:. ^~-^.^.;·^; ^' ,.!

11. Finally, Pr~:tessor.Ad~dciji .. noteci·tha.t the.need.to develop human r2sources

fs>F.:. _the continent~ S pr.;1,ie'~t

and'

^futur::!reqt.i.irements was ii:lst

~~~ .

^sid~^_:·^~f

^Africa ^'

^S

A very real and serious part cf the probl~r~ concerned ' human rasources ~robl~ms. _. _,_• _. . .

the, '!,/ay hul!lan i;~sources rt.re used

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and mnnnged, Hore .th.in fourteen m1.ll1.on able- bo9:.ies men and women were today, throughout the continent,_look:i.ng ~or work 4nd ,£.<!;,ling in. thei!' search for it.' These were the openly une~:glqyed whose nurr.bers

,. ,;wc;,.uld surely grow to alP.~:ini r,roportions

cy

the turn of t¹1e ~~ntu;y unle~~ policies

.we~e

~,~-al~ a;d pg~amnes

developed to forestall. that eventuality • .

Their

^brothers

and s~~terg

i;. ;~;;i

^area~^{· wer~}underet!lplc~rerl.,rv·.inly b:acause ~h~· ~~cilities nv:dlable

., ^:^. .: .. ,·.

.: ...

(6)

to theo for work and production severely li~ited the a~ounts they can produce while lengthening the time they required to produce it. This reality had a serious imp~ct on national and regional productivity not to talk of its implications for poverty and suffering.

v.

Election of Officers

12. _Ugand~ was elected Chairr1an. Togo, Egypt and Chad were elected First, Second, and Third Vice-Chairmen. Malawi was elected Rapporteur.

VI. Adoption of the Agenda

13. The following agenda was a~opted by the Conference:

Agenda Meetings of Heads of Delegation

••• ••' : '. J. i ...

Opening ceremonies Electton of officers

Adoption of agenda and organh;a~~on of_ work _;- _. ..

General debate

Consideration of the report of the Ministerial Follow- up Committee of-fline·

Consideration of the report of the Technical Co!llmittee of Officials ·

Date and venue of next ~ecting Any other business

Adoption of report Vote of thanks

VII. General Debate

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Agenda Item 1 Agenda"Itcm ² Agenda Item 3 Agenda Item 4

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Agenda Item ⁵

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;\.genda Item ⁶ Agenda Item 7 Agenda ^Item³ Agenda Item 9 Agenda Iten 10

14. Delegates of eighteen countries made statements to the Conference. A summary of essential points in each statement is given hereunder.

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6

ZIHBABWE

15. The Honournble Hinister informed the Co7.1fere:.1ce that :lince Monrovia, the

,

Zicl>abwenn government, through the Ministry of L~bour, M~npowcr Planning and Soci2l Welfare, and other relate:1 mnist,:ies and dcpartr1e;:.ts, had continued the impor~ant task of mobilising and developing the country':1 hur.1an resources as a means of·

·accelerating the process of socialist transformation and devc~opment. Several noteworthy davelopment~ that should be brour,ht to the qttention nf the Conference were:

• •• .... _.. ,. - ,.. • ••- • « a • • • - • • • - • - - •• • •

(i) a necessary base for forrrulating future plans for the effective utilization of.the country's human resources had been laid through the recently cooplete<l national nanpower survey;

(ii) the democratisation of the educational system at priw.ry, secondary, terti~ry and university levels hgd continuously been intensified;

(iii) nore vocational and technical training institutions had been opened up in various centres of the-country;

(iv) more conprehensive progral"ll'!les of staff dcveloprient in tcrti~ry institutions and the university had been undert~ken in order to achieve self-sufficiency in this import3nt area;

(v) . the provision of skills and i~rovernent of the naterial ,:ind social conditi·")n of the p,~asa.nts, · workers and other disadvantaged social

., .

groups (e.g. wocen and the ex-combatants) had been vigorously :;mrsued;

.(vi) institutional machineries for management training and development had continuously been consolidated and expanded, both in the public and private sectors;

(vii) Zicbabwe had continued to support all progran:nes seared t0wards the harn:onization and developnent of Africa's human resources throurh:

(8)

(a) participation in the Regional Training Council of SADCC;

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(b) partici~ation in· sub-regional and regional seminars, 'meetings, conferences and fomal trainine programmes in various areas

relnting to huoan t-esources planning, development and .. utilization.

16. Details on all of these and other means by which inherited programmes and institutions we-re being adapted to enable the new national obtain maximum mileage from'. its,avail~ble human resources, in the interest of socialist development, were to be foµn~ .in the country progress report submitted to the Technical Committee of Off-i~ial$ •· --'1· -:

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ZA.."MBIA

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17. The Honourable Minister pointed out that Z.'¼mbia did not attend the First Conference of Ministers Responsible for Human Resource Planning, Development and Utilization held in Monrovia, Liberia, in 1981. However, he gaye. :m acco~nt _of the pri:,blems of huma-q resource developnent .and cf_fol;'ts taken by the Zambian Government in an effort to implement sooe of the conclusions of the Conference. ··The colonial

~ -government did very little in t~rms of training and education for the Africans.

With the result that on the eve of independence, there were very few educated and professionally trained Zarnbinns to run the country.

18. The f~rst problem, therefore, which confronted the Independent Government was th~t of the development of its human resources. To this end, therefore, the

Government: ^'l^••^-•.

(i) decided on a policy of free education for all from'f)rimary to university level;

·(ii) aware of the importance of physical and mental fitness of its citizens provided free nedical services;·

0(iii) created-appropriate institutions and.administrative arrange~nts

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-to plan and co-ordio,-ate human resource, develop~en; and utilization;

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(iv) designed a·curriculum with emphasis on r:iatheraa.tics and science subjects

(v)

(vi)

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which form the basis _of technical and professional education;

decentralized the·administrative machin~ry to ensure_ that people at various levels were involved in the processe3 of decis,ion-making in all activities of the nation including human resource development;

developed prograI!Dlles for the eradication of illiteracy ·among the adult population b~th in the rural and urban .~reas. The literacy Ca!Jl!)aign was two-fold. The first was to tetrch the people to read and write, and the second was functional literacy wh:foh combined reading and writing with practical activities or occupations such as agriculture, health and nutrition, child-care, home economics, etc.;

(vii) diversified its economic activities and established small scale and village industries aimed.at providing e~'l)loyment in the localities were people line;

(viii) introduced occupational· education with emphasis on subjects which preparc,.d people for self-employment and self-reliance.

19. In its efforts to develop qu3lity.hU!l1'.ln resources, the Government had experienced a number of serious ccnstral~ts:

j_ (i) the development of an econocrJ which ~mph~sized the exploitation of copper to the exclusion of ngriculture and industries meant that when there was a slump in the copper in<lustry, the Government's ability to develop and exr,and human resource development was considerebly reduced;

-, ;

(ii) the problems of population growth and the drift of people from rural

to urban areas created problems of rational utilization of human resources;

(iii) the problem ofearly drop-outs and school-leavers added to the problem of rational utilization nf human resources.

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20.: The Minister concluifod

by

sayin·::. that' the Governmertt, throueh measures mentioned above, had addressed itse.'if to the ·constreints 'inhibitine human resources development

1 in Zambia.

(10)

LESOTHO

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21.

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The dele_gate of Le.sot ho pointed out that since the Monrovia. meeting Lesotho

t_:·:

had continued to implement the· resolutions passed there, despite persist¹ent problems.

With the help of ECA a workshop was held .in October 1984 on Manpower Planning.

,f•I ^# ^'

The intention was to equ;l.p sta~f involved in Manpower planning, development and utilization with skills necessary for preparing ~anpower development plans for

inclus.ion in the national socio-economic development plan. The Ministry of

Ecoromic Plannin~, Labour Sta_tistics and_ Manpo~;~ t;.in an .. effort t(? strengthen

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· · . · fu~th:~r :the :co~irtry' s effo~ts in man~er: pl~nm,g --~-~<L_.~p~ove. its quality

:· wa,. _~; . .

'.·_:'_i:I),. ·• · plTning,,.-pTai:.tical -attachment~ for its<~~rs011nel. . ·. ,·_.·,·._:_;,· ... :· ., ,_

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22. . : Lesotho·. was loo king·-~seTiously: into· voe~t ional. trai~ing,, . .as . n met?sure-to encourage, ~~1-sufficiency-and: ~lle~h1:_e un~p~p.yment_ .. _; ^{!,! ~ ~}^--e_stal:>lishment; in "the

{ ' . . ..

office· of 'tlie Pr:iJle·IUttJ&ter, c,f ~he _Burea'1;,_~f_._Y9uth,,. ~ ;-,\:l(Jlllen Af.fairs, .. -~aS.~!!liO.~her·

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attanpt to address: ·the· 'que,Efti.Qn ·of -.m~o_r.it-y :~ ~:}:~~u,;ces. developme~~~ ₁_),~,.r~u, '_· ··· ·.· ·

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ministries were seriously looking in~(?, -~~e questi~n~ of human· resources d~y~lo~fpt

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and utilisation. The Minis_tW o(; Ed\l,cation,_ wit~ }:he a~,.of 'the NaUpnal· Curriculum

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Development Board was re'V.ie.~.~g ~l;l.e curriculum so. as _to. m~k~. it· !llQ~e :re).~~nt to the

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needs .of ~the,::coun:try. ;·

The

11~1~try of Health.had i,n,trodu~(id p~~gremm~s'aimed at

, . . . • ( . . .. . ·. :-• .. ,: ; , , :·· r,, . . i:, . .

curtailing. the cucrent acute, ,shortage o_f, .4octor and nurses. The Gov:e~~t of('3red free uni-v:ersity educatioD.:, _1.1

Jt .-.

1 ~s giv:in~~~erio~s consideration tc,:· u;ein;i.ng ,_.in. , . · areas .aost 'Jleeded -~ t}le country -su'ch ~s .. _el,18.in'~e~:1:n,g/ medicine'

and

pub~ic health.

Lesotho ·was· -al;ec·.·vecy · active "in ~e~io~al. :~-~;°-~erat~o.t!( in_ hu~an _ res~urces .develf?pmerit with si~i:-,,cduntr~~ in southern Afric,a in P,art~~ular. ... •··•; :.: ·.,.:.

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(11)

- 10 -

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TA..l'lZANIA._ · .

. 23. The delegate of Tanzania nddressed himself to th€ following issues i.~

, ... t:egerd _to human r~soutces planning, development and utilization in his country •

. '(

. ;~

~ • ...

ManJ)b\ier planning and training

' ':.

24. On the basi$ of the manpower survey carried out· in 1981, a Five 1ear Manpower-Development Plan (1981/82 - 1985/~6) had been pre9ared and was being

implemented simul_taneously with and as part of the Five Year Plan for SQ~ial ,and

.econanic development covering the same period. Preliminary manpower projections for

the period up to the year 2000 had also ... been made on the b~sis of that s~rvey.

-' . ^~

: ·:. '. ^__{,'

25. ··,, The government_ w~s taking a look at training institutions which had been

set up in previous years with a view to enabling them ·cope .. with the increasing demands for manpower training. A mchiriery to min'ilili'ze discrepancies in the co-ordination and control of manpower·development·and utilization was being

~ •: . . . _:.i;·. .

worked out • ^.^::~

:.-.·, I • • , • •

,

^:^~-

.

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Education review ^{< •}

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. \~-~,,.·. T~~a~ia \1~·~ac1e· gie~t itrides.

in

the. prW1sioti". of pr111laliy, secondary~·

~-~--: ~~-. ·r ~- • .!'. ... ~1 • • ; , : ; : - ; . - ....... 1: ·.... •

post ~econd~ry .~nd adult ed~~ation~ , Enrolment· "in primary. schooi.s no'l-r stood ,.· . at· abo1,1t-80 per, cent of the primary school age children-~: .. About 80 ·pe~r 'dent of~-.

·. the--adult popu_lat.~n were able to'read and write.·• In 1981, a Presidential ~'.·,·:-,·

,. . i. F', :. ,

COIID!lission was appointed to ~eview the ~ntire· education.set.up-policy,. systans curricula and practi~~s..:~;d· adv{~e th'e' Government on which improvem~~t-~::~~re necessary and the best ways to effect them. The Connnission had completed its work and its report was being studied by the government.

Skill development and maintainence programmes

27. The government had from time to time, been organising specialist skill developinent•and ma~~~µiance ~rogrammes to meet the needs of various personnel

in the public service such as top executive, regional and district

commissioners, middle cadres etc. The main objective of these programmes was .

. ·• 'J • (' .

to enable the intended beneficiaries achieve added dexterity in handling t:hei~·, job demands and responsibilities.

(12)

Productive utilization of human resources · ·

28. The Government had consi~tently endeavoured to ensure that everyone engaged in gainful employment enhanced his standard of living. The l~test step in this endeavour had been the pr~lg~tion of th~ Human Resources Development Act in 1983. The National .Re9?~rces Deployment Scheme had been established by the Act to see to the following:

- Formulation of organised employment-generation projects;

- ?laking arrangements to ensure that undertakings in these projects occupied residents all vear round;

- Give guidance and assistancP. to the agricultural and other sectors on the proper combination of hard work and skill;

- Make arrangements to cater for the proper allocation and use of skilled and high level manpower and secure the enforcement of their terms of employment.

A Human Resources Advisory Committee had been established and charged with the responsibility of advising the government upon matters relating to the

execution of policy on the full deployment of human resources.

29. In order to effectively co-ordinate and manage the above activities in the field of human resources planning, development and utilization, the Government, in April of this year, reerged the former ministries of Mnnpower Development and Administration, and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare into one Ministry, namely the Hinistry of Labour and Manpower l'evelopmeut. This arrangement is expected to expedite efficiency in the treatment of labour and manpower issues.

Regional co-operation

30. ~anzania had participated in regional manpower training programmes such as those organised by the Southern Africa Development Co-ordination Conference the East African Development Bank, the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute. Further afield Tanzania was a member of the Pan African Institute for Development, the African Association for Public Administration and Development

_.;,. .

(AAPAM) and the African Training and Research Ctutre in Administration for Development.

(13)

12

These institutions were important for the dissemination of experience and

expertise. It was important to support nnd expand the scope of their activities for the _l>enef.it o.f -more people ·on the •Afr,krtn continent. Lllst but not least·, Tanzania, as a signatory of the "Lagos "Phm ·of Action~ and the rE"•olutions· of the:

Monrovia Cot)ferencc -in 1981, continued. to.:accord high importance to the issues

discussed by the Conference, ruunely, manpower planning, development and utilization, to realize the full optential for development.

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(14)

EGYPT

31. The Egyptian delegate stated that Egypt firmly believed that the subject mat~~r o_f ·-~~e"~~..erence was. one of the greatest challenges facing African

.

~·

countries and. that th.e socio-economic development of Africa was:. the first challenge

., • • ". ~. • • I • '

that· had., to.

be

confront:ed •.. He indicated that he was, .however, convinc-ed,,tha.t the Afr-ican the,son

ot'

civil,ization, ^wa~ capaQle.of .living up .to the-·challange

I • • • •. ~-. ·• • •o ~ 1 • ._ and

surmount all.difficulties, .and positively contribute towards the-ach;Levement of

1 • ~ ~ ,,, • • ,,, • 4 ' •

development·, ·p:rogress and prosperity of all mankind.

. . ^.. .

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32. ·The.representative reminded the Conference about the Geneva Conference of .

. -:-r.

the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in August in 1984 whrn resolutions were pa~sed on the promotion of human skills, sources of energy, technology, agricultural development and, in particular, the pr~motion of

coT°peration among developing countries in these endeavours. He emphasized thllt Aftica's failure to develop in tnese areas could be traced to the undet-developmeut of manpower resource~. Specifically, the causes of this underdevelopment could be linked to the following obstacles:

(i) Population growth rates that were higher than the rates of economic growth;

(ii) Concealed unemployment in the agricultural sector leading to low level national productivity;

(iii) Low level of population quality due to the prevelance of illiteracy and the conseque,nt lac!c. of hiGh technic....;l 3!~ill::;

(iv) Relative backwardness of educational and training systems which was incompatible with the current advancement of science and technology;

(v) Enmigration of Africa's highly qualified manpower to the developed countries (the brain drain) which resulted in waste of Africa's investment in its human resources;

(vi) Lack of basic dato. or,. its human resources;

(vii) Lack of planning and administrative personnel; and

(viii) Africa's inability to develop technology appropriate to the African situation.

(15)

14

33. In conclusion, the delegate emphasized the necessity for African countries to take concerted and joint effort in the development-and establishment of an · African coDlllon market, institutionalised under one parliament, administered by Africa's own best braine ~d _guided by Africa's own ·politicians, Where African labour worked out~f,de the region. it should do so ·under terms that guaranteed . , ^{J .} reasonable ·wages· and adequate social security. . The delegate also called for the ·:

free movement of labour within Africa and for each member State to design its own · manpower policies in relation to nationAl development strategies,

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(16)

hi ALAWI

34.

The Honourable. fti5.ni~:i;er ~ointed out that when i\!ialawi attained her

. '

inclependenc·e_.,. :in,._. _.1964, like t-to.st. other d~veloping African countries, she inheri tecl a system of adruinist'fation thf! majority of whose servants were

expatriat~~-. -~fh~

IV~lalif"

Gov'er.nme~t recognised and continues.: to Tecognise that

1n•.:

hwnan resources was a critical input' in·translating development; progranunes and plans into reality.

budget on ed~cation

I • •.

It was.for that reason.that since independence, the capital ..

and h-.:i.ining had steadily ·grown and· stood at about 15% of:_, total Government capital ~x~nditure.

35.

Great efforts had been made to produce high and middle level manpower

.:v:

. ' .• ~ ~.i•

. . l • • :f.:

capab₁e ,.c;,f filling posts filled by expatriates and to take on new reoponsibilities which,J~~~el_o~~~~: admi~st~ation in the independent nation had posed on the _system • • ;::,_

Malawi 'Sad a University with four constituent colleges which.provided education and training in

tli~ ·

^so~i~lsciences, ~ciences, nursing, engineering_, accountancy,

',

law, ~griculture,

~t~

1 business titudies etc. In addition ,ther~, were a number.of . technical and vocational traiclng· institutions. t-lhile f:ialawi ·thad ;~de -~p~~~-ua;. :~:

progress in the production o:f qua1ity ma.npower, she still had sh9rtages. ~~ such areas as medicine and allied fieldo, arihitecture, quantity ourveying and certain. disciplines in.e:ngi;,eering.

·, • r ~ -~ ••

..·., ..

36. ^On_institutional ^t··: framework the ·Minister noted that the.J)epartment of -.1 .,, _ _

! t' j. .•

Personn~l ,Management and Training in the Offic·e of the· President anci Cabi~t :was

ilf3J,. 1: • • .. " ··;t,-, . , ,

responsible for human resources planningp' development and utilization in aslfar

.. - r .l • ~• NO > 4

~-.. ~·.

as

^{the publ}^_ic service wao concerned~ The' Ltiinistry of Laoour was concerned with

: f,

human resources d~velopment matters for the private sector while the EcoilOlilic Planning Division, also in the'Office of the President and Cabinet, was concerned

. :.J.,; (j .~:: ... r

with overall human rescU!"ce~ deyelopment issues at the national level. The Ministry of Education was also co:ncerned with manpower planning. There was no central authority to coordinate the activ~ties of all those agencies of Government involved in humaa rei::ources planning, development and utilization issues. For proper manpower planning, one needed information as to ·che manpower requirements of the economy. No comprehensive manp~wer surveys had been conducted and that information was therefore lacking. As it was costly to mount a nation-wide

manpower survey and highly trained and experienced staff needed, it was proposed to begin with sectoral surveys.

(17)

1 6 -

•

37. The tiri.nister stated that i,:alawi realised that the existing machinery in human resources planning, development and utilization had shortfalls and that a notable move in improving the machinery was the establishment of a Training and Career De~elopment Committee in the Office of the Prehiclent and Cabinet.

Chaired by a Pr:i,ncipal Secre-::ary i t i-ras responsible for the career development of all offic~1:s in the Admi-nistrative C.Ommon Service. 'Ihe Department of

Personnel Management ~:nd Training was represented on that ·committee. It was expected that such C,ommittees would

be

formed in the various i.riinistries and

that Common Service Officers posted from the Personnel fJlana.gement and Training .. · , Depart~nt ltould,.!>e. secretaries .to ·chose Conunittees to facilitate co-ordination .

by the Depart'ment. . ... ^•

..

_'.i.'

i.,,, ^•-.i.., ...

;

.

38. ,

^There^t:rer_~, however, ·a number of problems to be ·:.raced such as unemploymen~

among·· $Choo.I leaver,;,' the non-return of some of the students sent overseas for training particularly in·mecli9ine, the sharing of hwuan resources responsibilities by different agenciea:·of' Government which made i t difficult.'for coordination .,-,.,,., .. _ ...

at the national level, and the. lack of proper manpower planning. As ti result.,

.,,,.·,•--1,;

of some of ·l::hese problems-, some of the manpower produced by .th~ different -'

institutions in the country do not all find gainful employment. ,..;_.•:\;·~~-

-:

39.

- In ^conclusi^{ou, the}^M^inisteri-;tated that in recognising the probl~

'r .:; ·,

noted above Government had appointed a Public Service neview C.Ommission to look into the ~tructures and functions of the public service, the conditions of service indluding the salary structures, human resources planning, development and utilization policies with a v:i.ew ::o rec~ending structural changes where necessary•. It was hoped '!:hat a number of changeo would be implemented as a · , .. · ?

result-of the report due to be subcri.t ted to Governmentduring the first half

of ^1985.

.

...

"t• .• • ': ••

(18)

KENYA

40.

The Honourable mnister from Kenya said that since the

f·lonrovia

Conference

the

Kenya

:

Government· h _ ad madE:

considerable

progress

tm·1ard:,

the realization of

some

of the

reco1m1endations

agreed upon

by

the member StatE:s. The follov1ing

are

some

of

the successes

Kenya

had achieved towards the realization of the

r!lonrovia resolutions and also

the

constraints.

it

·

~ad faced.

,

.,.. : .. ^'

41. First

the problem

of

co-ordination

of activities in Human Resources Planning, Dfvelopmen~

and-Utilization

had been given serious attention

by

the Kenya

Government.

I

t

1s· ·.regard· the

fo

11 owing measures were undertaken:

.

^'

(a). -,~sta~lishment of national_. -manpo'Jler develo'.)ITient cormiittee. in

. . ~- ⁾

1983 responsible·

for· o

,

vera 11 co--ordinati

on. of .manpower activities

in the

country

the committee is strategically

located in

the

office

of the President.

(b) ~lerg~;

~f fonner mnistr_y of Hig~er Education and

f

ksic Education into a new

Ministry

of Education) Science

and Technology

in October~ 1983 to

improve

co-ordination and efficiency in the education system.

42.

.In

order'.

to

. make

the education

SY,~ tefil,

m9r~ re lcv ant to the country's socio-

' .

economic needs, the

Government i,muld

with effect fror.1 January

,

1985

, intro~1~r.e

a

new education system

that will

'

provide 8 years of primary

.:ducation~ .'1

years of

secondary

education and 4 years of Universit,v educati_

_.

on

.

In addition, th0.

Government

,

·had ·

recehtly established a

_second

univf1rsity whose main areas of concentration would

be agriculture, forestry,

wildlife management and

environmental

sciences. Ln order

to ensure

efficient

financial

managern.ent in the educat"iona1 system

i·

thc Gove~nment

undertook

a

study-on

the fi'nancing of higher

'?ducatior.

.

. '

,r•.~•' {; d •~r .J 1_

1+3 • . Kenya,

like

most

other African

countries

was

:

encountering a high

·rate of

u

nemployment. Efforts to overcome this

probl~m

in

.

~1ude~ the fo11owing polici

es and

-;.

prograrrnnes:

~ : t I~ : •