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UN1'l'ED NATlcm EXXN:MIC OHUSSICN EUR AFRICA Policy ani Programme Cb-ordinatial Office
ANNUAL REVIEW OF p~ AND p~ BY '1lIE EXFX:DTIVE SEO<E:12\RY WITH p~ MANAGERS, 1989
(Summary of discussioos, decisi<XlS ani instrlXlti<XlS)
18F~1990
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Addis Ababa Ethiopia
[SERPD]
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SOCIo-~C
RESEAR:H AND PJ:ANN]]!l:; DIVISICN (12 Jarmuary 1990)/ ,
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I. Programme performance
A. Develcpnent issues and policies, subproqrammes 1, 2 and 3
1. The Officer-in--eharge of Policy and Progrannne Co-ordination Office reported that apart from one identifier which was being finalized, there were IX) serious problems. The division's performance was very good. He noted, h:lwever that the division was proposing the termination of 9 advisory services.
2. The Chief of SERPD explained that advisory services could not be inplemented because there were no requests.
3. other related issues which "",re discussed under this head included the resource management at the progrannne level, the future of lDEP, the secretariat wide studies on the informal sector, and the ECA postgraduate fellowship progrannne.
B. Social develquent, youth and social welfare [PrograJ1lllle elements 2.1 and 2.2, Social Policy, Planning and Research Unit]
4. The Unit had inplemented 66.7 per cent of the progrannned outputs, the main reason for that perfonnance rate being the postponment of the meetings of the Sixth Conference of African Ministers of Social Affairs (AMSA VI) following the inplementation of AMSA V. The secretariat ooutd not organise two AMSA meetings in the same year.
5. The Executive Secretary advised that consideration should be given to renaming the AMSA meetings and proposed that a critical evaluation of those meetings should be considered.
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II.
!'rogramme
IlIplementation Plans (PIPS)6. 'n1e Executive Secretary highlighted the inportance of enphasized the need to combine advisory service missions with data collection so as to maximise the use of resources.
PIPs and those for
7. He then reviewed the inplernentation of studies on the informal sector.
'n1e Joint Conference of African Planners. Statisticians and Dem:?graphers and the SCientific co11oquiurn
8. It was reported that papers from would be used as backgrourrl material papers were also being received.
O1ile, Ethiq>ia and for the symposium.
one frOl1l JEFAD other country
9. '!here were delays in the translation of documents, but it was pointed out that the problem was unavoidable because of late submission.
III. ~ratiCXla1projects
10. The division was reported to be implementing two projects - IDEP and AF-SAP. The former would be terminating on 31 December 1989. Revised project documents for roth IDEP and AF-SAP (Rev.E) were still awaiting UNDP awroval.
N. lIdministrative and other issues
11. The O1ief of SERPD urged that the P.4 post being used elsewhere in the secretariat should be returned. Recrui trnent for the Fiscal and ~netary
Unit needed to be speeded up.
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v.
Summary of directives12. The Executive Secretary directed:
(a) PPCO to examine the reasons why requests for advisory services were not being received;
(b) SERPD to prepare a paper on IDEP for suhnission to the Joint Cbnference on African Planners Statisticians and Demoqraphers , That paper should discuss, inter alia, the future of IDEP, the streamlining of IDEP expenditures. and the question of short term courses etc;
(c) the establishment of a Steering Conunittee on Informal Sector Studies to be made up of Joint FrA/FAD Food and 1\griculture Division,
--~ ..~....
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__..Industry and Human Settlements Division, Trade and Develcpment Finance Division and the Policy and Programme Co-ordination Office and SERPD, the last mentioned to assume the lead role for the Conunittee;--
(d) PP<D to review all informal sector activities progrannned for the current bi.enni.cmr
(e) SERPD, together with PPCO to prepare the Terms of Reference for the Conunittee; and
(f) the initatives for the establishment of an ECA postgraduate fellowship programme should be re-activated. Extrabudgetary funds should be considered for use since the programme would be contributing to the secretariat's efforts in capacity building and the research materials would be used for teaching purposes.
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PUBLIC AIMrNISI'RATIOO, Hl.I1l\N RESXJRCES lIND SOCIAL DEVELOmENI' (12 January 1990)
13. The Executive Secretary reviewed the, following proqremne and suoprcqrammes under Public Administration. Human Resources and Social Development Division:
(a) Public Administration and Finance
(b) Subproqrammes e 5. Education and training for development
6. ManfOWer and employment planning and pol.Lci.es of the proqremme Development issues and pol i.c i.ea
(c) Subprogranone 2: Youth and social welfare of the proqramme Social development and humanitarian affairs in Africa (Pro:lramme elements:
2.3, Participation of youth in development and 2.4. Integration of disabled persons in socio-economic life).
I. ~Iammeperformance
(a) Public administratioo and finance
14. The Officer-in-Qlarge of the Fblicy and Prcqramme C<rordination Office reported that of the 15 outputs programmed for the biennilllll, 14 outputs were irrplemented as prcqramned and one after reformulation. The rate of inplementation was well above average.
(b) Develepoent issues and p:>licies
Subprogramme 5. Ten outputs were prcqrammed for the biennium and all were irrplemented as proqrammsd,
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Subprogranune 6.
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16 outputs were programmed. 13 were inplemented and three were terminated.
(c) Social develcpoent: Subprogranune 2, Youth and social welfare Programme elements 2. 3 and 2.4
15. Five outputs were programmed and all were inplemented as programmed.
16. The Executive Secretary congratulated the Division for the good performance during the biennium. He requested the Chief of Division to look into the rational use of resources and ensure that there was no urrlerprogranuning as was evident in some of the activities reported on.
II. ExtrabJdgetary projects
17. Reports were made on UNAFRI, SAPAM, AIHl'I'R, ICM, ESAMI, Strengthening Capabilities of African Universities, a UNFPA project on human resources and Fellowships in Egyptian instituticns.
18. UNAFRI: The Director of UNAFRI had just been appointed and was on his way to Uganda to take up his duties.
19. SAPAM: An L.4 expert had just been recruited and it was expected that the project \>X)uld take off by 1 March 1990.
20. AlHITR: A report was made regarding financial management at the Institute. A request for an investigaticn had been approved, and acticn already taken.
21. FELJ:.aVSHIPS IN ffiYPl'IAN INSflTUTICNS: The secretariat had followed up with the government, but there was still no progress.
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22. IeM: The ECA project ended in 1989. I t was expected that ECA would be involved in the project' s activities from 1990.
23. ESAMI: ECA was no longer an executing agency for ESA!'1I.
24. Strengthening Capabilities of problems of bringing the consultant another consultant instead.
African Universities: There were on board. It was ageed to recruit
25. lliFPA Project on human resources: The achievement was rated very good and the project was extended to 1991 as a result.
III. Mministrative and other issues
26. The Executive Secretary brought up the matter of the P.4 post in the division which was borrowed from another subprogramme of the programme Develcpment issues and policies in Africa. The Olief of division explained that there was no vacant P.4 post in the division.
27. A staff member of the Social Develq>rnent Uni t stated that the P.3 post borrowed by Finance (Administration) should be returned to the Unit.
IV. Summary of instructions
28. The Executive Secretary directed as follows:
(a) the management and
programme manager should pay special attention ensure that there was IX) under programming;
to resource
(b) the Olief of
rnsn
should, in collaboration with Clliefs of Administration and Socio-economic research divisions, find a SOlution to the P.4 post and ascertain the status of the P.3 post and advise him accordingly; and• - 7 -
(c) a letter should be prepared to follON-UP on the project on FellONships in Egyptian Institutions.
29. Finally, the Executive Secretary reminded the Q1ief of F£SD of the secretariat wide studies on the informal sector and the Steering Canrnittee he had established under the =-ordination of SERPD.
INl'ERNATIOOAL TRADE AND DEVELOI'MENl' FINlINCE DIVISION (13 January 1990)
I. Programme performance
30. The Officer-in-charge of I\::>licy arrl Programme Co-ordination Office reported that the inplementation rate for the division had inproved remarkably. '1lJe Q1ief of division added that the inprovement _s due mainly to the inplementation of the meeting of the <bnference of African Ministers of Trade and the related reports and the filling of 4 vacant posts. He podrrced out that 3 postponed outputs were under discussion with the Central M::nitoring Unit in New York. He believed that there had been an error in the output inventory.
31. Reviewing the resoorce management table, the Executive Secretary observed that inplemented outputs accounted for only a small proportion of available >oork-nonths. A full arrl detailed explanation on the utilization of the remaining work m::>nths was then requested. It was noted, in that connection that some \\Ork nonths had been used on the activities of the Fraser group on camoodities, the African M::>netary Fund, Debt issues, and the Review of the ~ .
32. Discussions then centred on the Fraser Committee and the
rncrAD
group which was arriving that weekend, the African M::>netary Fund, the question of debt and debtors, and the PI'A for North Africa.•
II. Operational projects
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33. Three projects were being implemented by the division: RAP/85/008
&:aIS, RAF/8/012 Selective management training, State Trade Organizations Pers and RAP/87/157 Support to Africa in Uruguay r'ound table negotiations.
34. It was reported that the prodoc for ECCAS had just been signed. The ION implementation rate for the support to the Uruguay round was noted.
H:Mever, it was pointed out that several activities had already been umertaken including a seminar and a TPR Which was held in Geneva.
III. Mministrative and other matters
35. The Olief of division one P.2 and one P.4 (CINe).
IV. Summary of directives
pointed out that there were still 2 vacancies, Those posts had to be filled quickly.
36. In conclusion the Executive Secretary directed as fo11ONS:
(a) the prcgranune manager should give a detailed explanation on the utilization of work months for intermediate activities;
(b) the prcgranune manager should give special consideration to the role, organization, and form of the African Mcnetary Fund, particularly with regard to its autonorn::>US existence;
(c) the prcgramme manager should think of new and innovative ideas on the question of debt and the two experts on debt in the division should examine the literature in this area and prepare a discussion paper; and
(d) the prcgranune manager should take due note of recent develq>ments in North Africa regarding subregional co-cperation and take advantage of the COnference of Ministers meeting in Tripoli to convene a meeting of the North African cnuntries to review develq:>ments and advise the secretariat.
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I. Programme performance
(a) Energy and develcpoent in Africa
37. The Ole of PPCO reported that the programme had inplemented 10 of the 16 programmed ootputs and reformulated the remaining 6. The progranune manager added that the reformulaticn was in response to dcnor country preferences for fund iriq training seminara/worksbops instead of individual
fellONships.
(b) Marine affairs in Africa
38. The progrannne manager explained he had not been able to complete the reporting forms because of lack of resources. The programme did not have any posts.
(c) SCience and techrY:>logy in Africa
39. Of the 15 outputs for the bienniUIII 14 were inplemented as programmed and one was proposed for terminatioo follONing the decisioo of the Ccnference of Ministers that subsidiary organs of the CCuunissioo sboutd meet once every tlo«J years.
(d) Envircnment in Africa
40. Twelve outputs were programmed and 7 illplemented as progranuned. The programme manager explained that the remaining outputs were not illplemented because of (a) vacancies - only 2/3 of the posts were filled and (b) the heavy load of additional activities relating to l\Q\1AD, all of Which were required by legislatioo.
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41. In the discussions, the Executive Secretary urrlerlined the concerns of member States regarding toxic waste.
II. 9?erational projects
42. 'fuis subject was not discussed as it was roped that there w::>uld be a special meeting to review operational activities.
43. HcMever, a report was made concerning the Eastern
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Southern African Mineral Resources Centre: equipment for the Dar es Salaam building was on site, and some redesigning had to be made after the oontractor had struck water. There had also J::een some financial difficulties in respect of which telexes had J::een sent to all Governing Council Board members.III. Administration aIrl other matters
44. The Chief of division informed the Executive Secretary of the shortage of secretaries in his division and added that the situation had
\<oOrsened since the Envirornnent Unit J::ecame a part of the division. He enphasized the need for personal oolIputers and pointed out that the typewriters in the division were all breaking down.
'N. Summary of directives
45. The Executive Secretary instructed as follCMS:
(a) Energy aIrl develcpment
(L) The progranune manager should endeavour to regain the secretariat's central role which it had lost in the area of energy aIrl develcpment;
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(ii) The progranune manager sboutd move quickly to resolve the problems being experienced by the Solar Energy centre in Burundi. The Gisenyi-based MULRJC should be requested to assist.
(b) Environment
(I ) On account of the slow progress in the inplementatioo of ACMAD it was necessary that the progress report to the Conference of Ministers shoul.d put, forward recommeooations
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alternatives for the Ministers consideration;(ii) the secretariat shoul.d closely follow develq:>ments regarding toxic waste
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rise up to the challenge since the issue was of grave concern to member States;(iii) the programme manager sboutd follow up on the environment meeting scheduled in Geneva from 21 to 23 May 1990.
(c) Natural resources
46. The progrannne manager sbould consult
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determine a date for the meeting of the Executive Board of the central African Mineral Resources centre under the chairmanship of the Deputy Executive Secretary;JOINT
F£A/FN:>
FOOD AND J\GRIaJLTURE DIVISICN (13 January 1990)I. Programme performance
(a) Food and agriculture in Africa
47. The Ole of PPC) reported that the progranune had inplemented 48 of the 56 programmed outputs. Of the remaining outputs, four were reformulated
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inplemented in ful L and the other four were proposed for termination.- 12 -
48. The Chief of division explained that three of the outputs which were proposed for termination had in fact been carried over from previous bienniums and required additional extrabudgetary funds to inplernent. The reformulation of one output was necessary so as to enable joint inplementation with FAO.
49. The Executive Secretary =ngratulated the prog-ramrne manager for the very gCX>d performance, noting that it was the best performance since JEFAD was established.
(b) Social develcpment develcpment)
(Subprog-ranune 1: Integrated rural
50. All outputs were reported inplemented as proqrammed,
51. In the discussions it was observed that the subprog-raJl1lOO was probably underprog-rammed. '!he outputs were also observed to be of a routine nature. The Executive Secretary asked whether the subprcqremme was having anyinpact.
52. In response the Chief of division stated that the subprog-ramme was bieng re-oriented with enphasis given to rural transformation. A project to the value of
oss
70,000 was in progress and it was hoped ~uld come out with new guidelines f= integrated rural develcprnent during the 1990s.I I . <:peratialal Projects
53. It was reported that:
(a) The report on the evaluation of the Maize Research Network had been =npleted and a report, submitted to TNJXJl
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(b) A project document on locusts had been submitted to UNTFAD in response to EX::A resolution 641 on the same subject: but no funds available. A plea for resources - approximately
uss
50.000 fororganizing three seminars on locust was then meder and
(c) It was p:>inted out that the expected departure of the expert on p:>st harvest food losses - 00 termination of the project "",uld jeopardize
the activities of the secretariat in that area.
III. Mministrative and other issues
54. The Chief of division complained of the inadequacy of secretaries.
The division had 27 professional officers and only seven secretaries.
55. He reported. also. that he had taken the initiative of introducing an agricultural review to be published by the divisicn on a regular basis.
The divisicn had the capacity to produce the review. which \\OUld carry articles prepared by staff members in their own imividual capacities.
56. Dlring the discussion the Olief of division was asked to cnnsider the alternative of a series of mon~raphs instead. In the em it was agreed that he could proceed and prepare the review as proposed,
VI. SUuIIIary of directives
57. The Executive Secretary directed as follows:
(a) The new re-orientatiCtl umer Integrated rural develcpment shOuld be considered within the context of a secretariat wide cnmmittee and the previous proposal of a Joint Scx:ial and Rural Develq>ment Canmittee should be reviewed I
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(b) JEFAD should be a member of the informal sector studies Connnittee;
(c) the Chief of administration should consider meeting the oosts of interpretation and translation for the three seminars on locusts, and examine the possibility of consultancy resources with a view to meeting
FAD at least half way in bearing the cost of the seminars; and
(d) the Chief of division should prepare a study to review the inpact of the secretariat' s activities in the area of post harvest food losses over the last 10 years.
TRANSPORl', C£MolI.lNICATICNS AND 'ltXJRISM DIVISICN (13 January 1990)
I. Programme performance
58. The Officer-in-<:harge of Policy and Progranune Co--ordination reported that the programme had perfonred relatively well, inplementing 34 out of the 45 programmed cutputs.
59. The Chief of the Divisicn stated that aIOCng the outputs proposed for terminaticn were one on the establishment of a transport institute and another on the criteria for the transport master plan, and gave reasons for the proposed terminations. The Executive Secretary advised that the proposed termination of the transport institute should be reconsidered.
II. Seocni United Nations Transport and Chmnmicatians Decade for Africa (l.NI2\CllA. II)
60. The Chief of TCTD briefed the meeting on the preparatory activities for the UNerllCI1\ II, and of the agreements reached in Tangiers. The approach for llN'I'ACI1\ II would be a tottoms-up one. A series of sub-sectoral and subregional working groups would start their meetings in
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February 1990 with ErA/Am joining hands to prepare for those rreetings.
National Co-ordinating Canmittees vould be set up to manitor inplementation in each count.ry, Already Us.$2.8 million had been approved of which 25 per cent vould be alloted to ADB as Joint Olairman of the Steering Cbmmittee for the project.
Fbllow-up on the Yamoussoukro Declaration
61. It was reported that there were problems in the airline industry. ErA had participated in a series of meetings ani it was clear from them that there were certain prOblems. Briefly, there was an inpasse on matters of ro-q>eration
am.
it was roped that the ECA ooul.d assist.African gas pipeline
62. It was reported that the feasibility study had been oonpleted
am.
thereport submitted to ErA.
World Bank ECA StWy (SATAP)
63. It was hoped to incorporate SATAP in UN!'l\CI)/\ II.
64. Road maintenance vorksoops had been held for English-speaking African countries and tbose for franccphone countries would be starting soon.
Highway Bureau
65. It was reported that there had been a lot of prOblems during the
Tangiers rreetings because of the Lagos-Mambassa Highway Bureau which was liquidating its secretariat. The central issue was budgetary.
66. A prcposal, to recruit a ccnsultant to advise on the mobilization of funds in preparation for the December meeting of the Trans-African Highway Bureau was then tabled.
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III. Summary of Instructions
67. The Executive Executive Secretary instructed as follGls:
(a) EX:1\ should be prepared to take Eul.L and effective control of the implementation of UNerACm II;
(b) Since coject ives of UN'J'A(TI\ II had been agreed, the secretariat should prepare pamphlets and brochures detailing those objective and distribute the pamphlets widely;
(c) Consideration should be given to use of overhead funds to strengthen the Highways Bureau; and
(d) The progrannne manager should prepare an Executive Summary of the feasiblity study on the African Gas Pipeline for distribution to all member States, gas producers and prepare to convene a meeting of member States to discuss the report.
Sl2I.TIsrICS DIVISIClil (14 January 1990)
I. Programme perfonnance
68. The Officer-in~rgeof the Policy and Progranune Co-ordination Office reported that the progrannne had only implemented 71.4 per cent of the programmed cutputs.
69. Explaining the reasons for the departures from programmed ooIlUIlitments, the Ole stated that the prime factor ac=ting for the low irnp1ementation rate was the high vacancy rate in the division (37.5%). Also, the inventory of outputs included 12 cutputs which had been terminated by the
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Conference of Ministers
am
should not be included in calculating performance. The 12 outputs were still under discussion with the Gentral fulitoring Unit in New York.70. The contribution that the division ooul.d make to the studies on the informal sector was reviewed. It was observed that aspects of the Statistics progranune were relevant to the studies,
am
some of the operational projects were believed to contain an informal sector coreponent .The Joint Conference of African Planners Statisticians
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DeIoographers71. The Officer-in-Q1arge of Statistics Division reported that 26 count.rf.es had already confdrmed participation in the Conference
am
it was expected that 30 countries would eventually participate.II. <:perational projects
72. It was reported that both the African Household Survey Capability Programme (AHSCP)
am
the Regional l\dvisory Services in Demcgraphic Statistics (RASDS) were continuingam
both had been very active during the biennium. An AHSCP project was inplemented for Cape Verde during the biennium to the satisfaction of both the oount.ryam
the donor agency.73. The division was also involved in the inplementation of other projects such as that on Data cotl.ect Ion on aid flows with the IBRD as the
lead agency, and the Statistical Develcpment Programme for Africa.
74. The Executive Secretary informed the meeting that wherever he happened to be, member States had expressed their satisfaction with the work of the Statistics Division. It was essential therefore, that the staff must =ntinue to do their utmost in assisting member States.
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III. Mministrative
am
other issues75. Staff of division observed that their work was oonstrained by lack of equipment, especially oomputers. Also, there were too frequent breakdo.ms of the pbot.ocopyiriq equipment. The servicing of the equipment
left a lot to be desired.
76. '1he Chief of Mministration informed the meeting that neqot.Lat.Lcns were in proqresa wi th HQ New York regarding personal computers. He added that 12 phJtooopying machines had already been ordered
am
it wasroped
one of tbose would be placed on each floor.
IV. SUmmary of instructiCX1S
77. '1he Executive Secretary instructed as follows:
(a) The Ole, Statistics Division should prepare a paper to review tre achievemmts and irrpact of the AHSCP during tre last 12 years,
(b) the Statistics division should also be involved in the studies on tre informal sector,
(c) the Re:lirn.al Advisors should ratirn.alize the time they spend in the countries and ensure that they do not spend too much time in one oountry, There were 50 member States in Africa, and the secretariat had an obligation to each one of them, and
(d) the division should upjate the graphs and charts in the Operations Roan as soon as possible.
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INWSTRY AND IU1I\N SErI'LEMENI'S DIVISICN (14 January 1990)
78. Welcoming the staff, the Executive Secretary drew their attention to the important role of industry in Africa. The objective during the 1990s should be to promote full capacity utilization of African industries so as to meet the growing needs of the peoples of Africa.
I. Programme peforrnance
(a) Irx:lustrial develcpnent in Africa
79. The Officer-in-Q1arge of the Policy and Progranune Co-ordination Office reported that out of the 48 programmed outputs, 43 were inplemented as programmed, 4 after reformulation and one was postponed.
The postponed output will be implemented in the second quarter, 1990.
Performance was above average.
80. The Executive Secretary stated that the performance showed a signi ficant inprovernent on past performance and ocngratulated the Chief and staff of the division. Concerning resource management, he eoserved that completed outputs accounted for only some of the available work morrchs ,
81. In response, the Chief of division oonfirmed the accuracy of the report and explained that his division had, in addition, urrlertaken several addi tional assignements which were considered as intermediate activities even though some of were oontributions to the reports of the Secretary-General.
(b) Human settlements in Africa
82. It was reported that all outputs programmed. As for cperat Icnal. activities, workshcps were still to be implemented.
had it
been inplemented was reported that
as 4
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83. In reviewing the resource management table, the Executive Secretary expressed apprehensioo regarding the utilizatioo of work mooths and stated that there may have been some urrler prcgramming.
II. <jleraticnal. projects
84. The prcgrarnme expected to implement several activities for ARCEDEM and it was hoped that a PN) would be made available to assist the division in implementing those activities.
85. As the new director would seen be assuming his duties at ARCEDEM, it was observed that there was a need to spend some orientatioo time with him.
86. It was reported that UNDP was reviewing its positioo regarding the building materials project. There was a possibility that approximately US$350,OOO \\Ould be made available for a scaled down versioo of the project.
87. The Executive Secretary oongratulated the prcgramme manager for the additiooal resources from the General Assembly for implementatioo of the
I~. Member States \\Ould be watching to see how Er:A used the extra furrls and so the divisioo had to stand to the challenge.
III. lIdministrative and other issues
88. The Orief of division reported that there were 5 division, 2 of which were filled on a t~rary basis.
particularly personal computers oont inued to hinder division.
vacant posts in the Lack of equipment, the work of the
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IV. Summary of directives
89. 'fue Executive Secretary directed
(a) a meetings should be arranged with the new director of ARCEDEM;
(b) the present income generating activities of ARCEDEM should continue to be nurtured;
(c) more attention should be focussed on the Hinnan settlements proqramme to ensure that there was DC un1er-pr~ramming;and
(d) the Chief of the division and the Chief of TA<XX> should consider the inteJration of the erA in the building materials project and follOW-up with UNDP.
roPUlATICN DIVISICN (14 January 1990)
I. Programme performance
90. The Officer-in-<:harge of PPCD reported that of the 22 outputs programmed for the biennium, 18 were inplemented as programmed, three were reformulated but inplernented in full and one terminated. The division' s inplementation rates was above average.
91. Of the 144 hOrk lOCnths available to the Divisioo during the biennium, 90 were utilized on inplementation of programmed outputs, cperational activities and additional outputs. '!he remaining 54 hOrk months were utilized on intermediate activities and leave.
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92. The Executive Secretary observed that itemizErl descriptioo 00 utilizatioo of activities.
it was necessary to give an resources for intermediate
(a) Joint Q::nference of African Planners
93. The Programme Manager infonood the meeting that almost all documents were ready except for one or two from SERPD. Atout 30 countries were expectErl to attend the meeting.
(b) UNFPA and EX::A pcp1laticn strategy
94. The coocerns of UNFPA - that EX::A did not put popul.at.Lon in the forefront of its activities and the impression of an apparent lack of an EX::A pc>pulatioo strategy were reviewErl.
95. EX::A did have a p:JpU1atioo strategy it was argued. The Kilirnanjaro Programme of Action and the Medium Term Plan were cited as examples. Also a paper on EX::A strateg had been prepared for the Inter-agency Task Force and sent to UNFPA. The latter canmented on the paper and sent it back to EX::A.
96. The Executive Secretary pointed cut, l'nwever, that EX::A had to be able to articulate its popul.at ion strategy and requestErl the divisien to prepare a paper en populatioo issues in the 1990s to be presented to the Q::nference of Ministers in Tripoli.
II. Extral:oigetary projects
97. The Chief of TACXXJ reported that the Di visioo was implementing 8 projects. All projects with exceptien of me (HURD) were being implementErl smoothly. The rate of implementatioo was more than 90 per cent.
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98. REGIONAL ADVIs:::JRS: Concerning the UNFPA prcposal, to finance regional advisor posts who were to be based in the MULPOCs. i t was reported that UNFPA wished to knew the out.oome of the evaluation of the MULPOC and to await the evaluation of the entire UNFPA project before proceeding any further.
99. IFORD: The evaluation report of IFORD had been sent to member States for canments. Only Djibouti, Burkina Faso and Senegal had sent their oornments. It was expected that a decisicn would be taken to restructure the Institute at the next meeting of the Governing Board.
100. RIPS: The evaluation of RIPS took place in November 1989. The evaluation report was not yet available. The meeting was also Informed that the prcblem of the Director of RIPS had been resolved.
101. POPIN AFRICA: A lot of equipment had been received. But the project still faced a few problems. '!hese included staffing and the establishment of national centres. I t was reported that the UNFPA planned to undertake a full term evaluaticn of the project during the year The Executive Secretary instructed that an internal assessment of the project be undertaken as soon as possible under the chainnansllip of the Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit in PPCO.
III.Administrative and other issues
102. The Chief of divisicn highlighted the change in working ret1Jojologies and enphasized the urgent need for micro OOItputers.
IV. Summary of instructims and directives
103. The Executive Secretary directed that:
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(a) the Chief of division should pay attention to resource utilization and ensure that an itemized and detailed explanation is provided on the utilization of work months on intermediate activities;
(b)
population prepare a priorities arrl
the &:A Pcpulation Division should be able to articulate &:A's strategy and to that extent the chief of division should paper on population issues in the 1990s irrlicating &:A's for submission to the &:A Omference of Ministers in Tripoli;
(d) &:A should urrlertake an internal assessment of the FOPIN-AFRICA project under the Chairmanship of the Chief of the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit in PPCO. A report of the assessment should be submitted to him at the
em
of the first quarter, 1990.PAN AFRICAN OOCUlENrATICN AND INFORMATICN SYSTEM [PADIS]
(15 January 1990)
I. Programme performance
104. The OlC, PPCO reported that performance of PADIS during the biennium was very much above average. Inplementation difficulties were to be expected form 1991 as project posts were only furrled up to December 1990.
105. The Executive Secretary congratulated the Officer-in-Charge and the staff of PADIS for the very good performance particularly on account of the concerns previously expressed by the General Assembly of the United Nations.
106. The OIC, PADIS confirmed that resources for PADIS were available only up to the
em
of December 1990. She also brought to the attention of the meeting the inordinate delays in recruitJrent and the effect it was•
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- 25having on project irrq:>lementatien rates. A case in point was the lON irrq:>lementation rate for the Kagera Basin Organizatien. As an evaluation of PADIS was to be undertaken within a matter of weeks, it was essential to have all the posts filled as soon as possible.
107. Addressing the questien of diversificatien of funding sources for the PADIS project, she explained that UNIFE'I, the Ford Foundati.on and UNTFAD had recently =ntributed to PADIS activities. SCrne enquiries had also been received from the Federal Republic of Germany regarding the nature and objectives of PADIS. others in the meeting asked about the possibility of obtaining USAID and the Saudi fund support.
II. SI.II1UIla!Y of instructialS
108. The Executive Secretary directed that:
(a) The Chi ef of Mrninistratien should make an immediate subrnissien to him about recruitment to all the vacant PADIS posts and to report on the Status of consul.tanci.es , as well as the transfer of the Senior Secretary in PAiJIS;
(b) a sensitizatien activity should be undertaken with a view to increasing the number of dcnors. A brochure should therefore be prepared for potential dcnors;
(c) efforts should =ntinue towards putting PADlS on the regular budget;
(d) the resource situation of PADIS and lOOP should be reviewed on a contInuinq basis and the possibility of falling back en the regular budget contingency fund should be reviewed; and
(e) the evaluation of PADIS should be delayed by about 4 to 6 weeks to allON for an irrq:>rovement in the staffing situatien.
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AFRICAN TRAIN']N; AND RESEARCHCEN1'RE FOR Y«:Mm (16 January 1990)
I. Programme performance
109. The Centre had 22 outputs and 2 q>erational activities for delivery during the biennium 1988-1989. 18 outputs were delivered as progranuned, one reformulated but implemented and three postponed to the next biennium. The implementation rate was above the average.
110. It was reported that out of 78 available I-,Orkrnonths, the Centre used 45.5 worknonths to implement outputs, operational activities and additional activities. 32.5 workmonths were used for intermediate activities and leave.
Ill. The Executive Secretary observed that the data showed that the the centre was underprogranuned because it was able to implement 82 per cent of the progranuned outputs, cperational and additional activities with only 58 per cent of the available workrnonths.
112. He instructed that the Centre to oonsul.t. with PPCO and ensure that the PIP for 1990 reflected a nore realistic utilization of resources.
II. Extrabldgetary' projects
113. The SIll\.-funded project on increasing women access to credit, was reported to be progressing snoothly. A training seminar was scheduled for February in
UFinda,
and two next seminars in March one in Ethicpia and the other in Rwanda. The donors will urrlertake an evaluation of the project during the year, most probably in APril as the project was due to end in June 1990.- 27 -
114. While SOIlE prcgress had been made in impleIIEnting the UNDP project on the role of w::>IIEn in th infornal sector, a number of problems still remained to be resolved. They included: (a) differences in financial procedures between orqani.zat icns , (b) conmuni.cat i.on difficulties - not possible to reach Santiago even by phone, am (c) difficulties regarding the recrui tIIEnt of consultants.
115. The Executive Secretary enquired on the Centre's input to the forthcoming Conference of Ministers. The Prcgrarrure nanager of the Centre stated that the report of the 4th Conference and the Ahuja Declaratioo will be submitted to ARCC and the Conference of Ministers.
III. SUmmary of instructialS
116. The Executive Secretary instructed that:
(a) the Centre should accelerate the implementation projects and ensure that projects are implemented within their time schedules;
of all approved
(b) ATRCW sboul.d endeavour to improve coamuni.cati.ons with the other agencies and he urdertook to assist in imprOlling conununication with II.O and INSI'RAW; and
(c) the local Steering Camnittee should continue to do its v.ork.
All the issues raised in coonectioo with the UNDP-fun:ied project on the infornal sector sbould be taken up by the Steering Camnittee.
•
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SEX::TIctil 24: RmJI.AR p ~ OF TmlNICAL a:>-OPERATIctil (17 January 1990)
117. The Executive Secretary observed several departures from programmed COIllllIitments for each of the programmes urrler Sectioo 24. He expressed disaPfXJintment at the remarkably poor result.
118. Reasoos given for the poor perfonnance included vacant posts, delays in recruitment, too many requests in ooe area at the expense of others, use of resources 00 intermediate activities, poor an:l over progranuning and in some cases lack of requests.
119. The Executive Secretary stressed the importance of delivering outputs as programmed and inforrned the advisors that because of their performance, he would be renewing their contracts for only six mcnths in the first place. Performance would be reviewed again after three nnnths and further renewal of contracts would depend 00 that.
TEEnlNICAL ASSISTANCE a:>-ORDINATlctil AND OPERATlctilS OFFICE (TAaX»
AI:MINISTRATIctil AND a:NFERENCE SERVICES DIVISICN (ACSD) POLICY AND p~ a:>-ORDINATlctil OFFICE (PPa»
AND INFORoIATICN SERVICES UNIT (January 20, 1990)
120. Presentating the performance report, the Ole of PPC) said that TPCfX), lIdministratioo and PPC) constitute the support services of the secretariat. Most of the work done was in support of the substantive divisioos.
121. The Executive Secretary observed that the resource management report for TJlDXJ appeared to be exagerated. He stated that in the future TJ\CO) should be more realistic in allocating workmonths to each activity.
•
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122. With regard to Adimini stration, the Executive Secretary a:>ngratulated the Administratien am Conference Services Divisien and said that substantive divisioos had been very silent 00 Administrative issues during the review. Ho-Iever, the maintenance of equipment was still poor.
He suggested that the Chi.ef of General Services Unit should visit all the floors in the secretariat once each month to determine equipment in need of replacement or repair/service.
123. Staff housing remained an issue requiring further attentien.
124. Concerning Finance Section the Executive Secretary instructed that the Finance Sectioo should pay consul.t.ent;s innnediately upon compl.et.i.on of their work. Progranune managers should submit certificates of COIlPletioo as soon as a joo is a:>mpleted. A clause obliging progranune managers to report upon oonpletion of a coosultancy should appear on each SSA. The progrannne manager was also to certify that he was statisfied with the
coosultant's work.
125. For the Clinic, the Executive Secretary directed that the Clinic should have a reserve of drugs and medicines to provide cover for at least three months.
126. As regards the Security Services, the Executive Secretary said that security guards should be trained. Discipline had to prevail in the Security Unit. He also instructed that enly trained security guards should be posted at the entrance to the compound,
127. It was reported that the Informatioo Unit was not in positioo to organize interviews because of lack of equipment.
128. As regards to PPOJ, the Executive Secretary directed that PPC) should now coocentrate more on evaluatioo.
•
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EXXN:MIC OO-<>PERATICN OFFICE (20 January 1990)
I. Programme performance
129. Presenting the report, the OIC Of PPill said that this subprogranune was the most; criticized at the last meeting of CPC. Tl1is review was very important because the report 011 the eva1uatiOl1 of the MULPOCs ~uld be presented to the General Assembly during 1990.
130. Out of 121 outputs programmed for the biennium 1988-1989. a:A inp1emented 90, postponed 9 and proposed 22 for tenninaticn. AdditiQl1a1 outputs were reduced from 104 to 34. Performance by administrative unit was as fo11CMS. EXXl inp1emented 11 outputs out of 20; Gisenyi-based MULPOC 25 out of 29; Lusaka-based Ml.1LFIJC 16 out of 21, Yaourrle-based MUIJDC 10 out of 12, Niamey-based MUIJDC 17 out of 22 and Tangier-based MUIJDC 11 out of 11.
131. Concerning the use of resources, 70% of available resources were used to inp1ement the programmed outputs. additional outputs and cperaticnal activities and 30% were used for intermediate activities and leave.
II. InstructiCt1S and directives
132. The Executive Secretary requested the Chief of EXXl to give an itemized exp1anaticn 011 resource utilization. Noting the importance of the MULPOCs, he expressed disappoint at the way the programme was being inp1emented. Specifically, he instructed as fo11CMS:
O:mcerning the eva1uaticn report of the Ml.1LFIJCs, the Executive Secretary instructed that conunents on the evaluation report of the MULPOCs should be ready bY the end of February. PPill
~
•
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shoul.d review the performance of the MULPOCs during the last two biennia and draft ~ secretariat's position paper on the MULPOC evaluation report. The report, together with secretariat canments should be sent to member States as soon as possible.
There was to be no recruitrrent of regular staff for the MULPOC J::.efore the consideration of the MULPOC evaluation report by the General Assembly. Vacant posts should be used to recruit short-term experts to deliver progranuned outputs.
EX:O sbould prepare its PIPs for 1990 and submit them to PPCD for review.
As to the UIDP-fUIrled instructed EX:O and arrangements.
project in TAOJO to
the Niamey-based MULPOC he speed up implementation
The projects submitted by the Gisenyi-based MULPOC should be reconsidered by PAPC for fUIrling UIrler UNI'FAD, and not AOO.
The deficit incurred UIrler UNTFAD for salaries in the Yaounde- and Niamey-based MULPOCs should regularized and the expendi ture charged to the apprcpriate accounts.
133. EX:O was requested to draft letters convening the North African Follow-up Committee in Tripoli. The Committee would review the PTA of North African States in the light of recent develcpments in the region and advise the secretariat accordingly.
