UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL
E/ECA/PSD.8/13 8 February 1994
Original : ENGLISH
ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA
Eighth Session of the Joint Conference of African Planners, Statisticians and
Demographers
Addis Ababa, 21-26 March 1994
ECA PLANNING ACTIVITIES IN 1992-1993 AND EXAMINATION
fcCA FLAVIN lWrl995 WORK PROGRAMME
A. Introduction
During the biennium 1992-1993, ECA work programme in the field
of socio-economic development planning continues to focus on a set of activities designed to provide guidelines for the accelerated implementation of the goals and objectives of the regionally agreeddevelopment strategies, the Lagos Plan of Action, the Final Act of Lagos, the African Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programmes for Socio-economic Recovery and Development, United
Nations New Agenda for African Development in the 1990s and subregional and regional sectoral plans, and development decades.B. Planning Activities during the biennium 1991-1992
In the field of economic development and planning, the Secretariat implemented the work programme relating to sub-
programme 1. Development Issues and Policies. The Programme aims, inter-alia, at improving national mechanisms for review and appraisal of socio-conditions, appraisal of development policies and programmes, as well as methods for improving and upgrading planning machinery and building the appropriate capabilities in
planning and economic modelling in order to assist Africancountries in the formulation of economic strategies and policies
within coherent and consistent national development plans.The activities under this subprogramme falls under 5 headings:
namely, parliamentary services, published materials (recurrent and non-recurrent publications), group meetings, operational activities, and harmonization and liaison.
1. Parliamentary services:
The Secretariat prepared two issues of the Economic Report on Africa for 1992 and 1993. The reports were presented to the Eighteenth and Nineteenth meetings of the ECA Conference of Ministers. The Economic Report on Africa analyses the current socio-economic events in the region, the main problems which the African countries have faced during the period and highlights the main developments in the key sectors of the African economies, and their implications for growth and development.
The ECA also prepared studies on the structure of African markets in the perspectives of the African Common Market. The study has examined the structure of intra African economic cooperation in production and trade and its current flows, diagnosed the obstacles to the promotion of intra-African trade, identified the absorption supply potential of African markets, and analyzed the policy coordination at the sub-regional level especially the coordination of the various national projects that have sub-regional dimension in agriculture, industry, trade, transport and communications.
In the process of elaboration of the International Development Strategy for the Fourth United Nations Development Decades, the ECA has provided some guidelines for the operationalization of the strategy in the African region. The outline has given an overview of the main objectives and goals of the strategy. It has addressed these objectives in the light of the African development concerns in the areas of poverty eradication, environmental sustenance and welfare and social development issues.
The ECA also prepared a report on the progress of the implementation of short-term forecasting and outlook systems in some African countries. The report describes the activities
undertaken in the field of short-term forecasting in particular the programatization and computerization of Social Accounting Matrix- based short-term forecasting model for the Congo. Within this context, the paper outlines the methodological framework of computable general equilibrium models (CGE) as a planning technique. It highlights the pre-requisites of statistical data, hardware and software computing, and programming expertise which are needed in order to operationalize at the national level the models that are being developed at the ECA.
The ECA also prepared a study on the future role of planning in Africa's development and socio-economic transformation. The study presents a brief critical review of development planning practices and techniques in Africa at the end of the 1980 's with a view to finding out the key elements to be taken into account in the future role of planning in Africa's development and socio-
economic transformation.
In the area of social policy and development ECA prepared a study on social security schemes and national development in Africa: as agenda for the 1990's. The paper examines the status of social security system in selected African countries, such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Zambia, Ghana, Botswana and Kenya. The objectives of the study are to examine and ascertain the extent to which the interests of the population as a whole and those of vulnerable groups in particular have been assured and secured through social security systems in the selected countries. Against the background and evaluation and growth of social security systems in Africa, the paper analyses the nature, types and coverage of existing social security schemes; types of risks covered, provident fund schemes; methods of financing and administration of
social security schemes; and alternative and appropriate mechanisms for extending social security coverage to wider sections
of population in the region.
2. Published materials
On recurrent publications, and on annual basis, the ECA published two issues of the Survey on Economic and Social
Conditions in Africa for 1990-1991 and 1991-1992. The survey
analyses the economic situation of the African countries, the structure of GDP and development in the major economic sectors, in particular, development policy analysis, assessment of trade and balance of payments, debt, and general forecasts for the region as a whole and its main subregions. The work involved mounting field missions to about 20-25 African countries to collect information and data on the economic situation of the countries concerned and discuss with the government officials the main problems facing the
countries and the policies pursued.As part of the work programme, and on recurrent publications on quarterly basis, the ECA published eight papers and articles on its "Development Research Paper Series". The topics of the papers
are:
Optimal Pricing Model for Primary Commodities in Developing Countries: An Application to Cocoa subsector
in C6te d'lvoire and Ghana.Financial Deepening, Credit Availability and the Efficiency of Investment: Evidence from selected African
Countries.Devaluation and structural Adjustment: The Nigerian
Experience.
The Food Gap in Egypt.
Nigeria's Debt Crisis.
Growth Performance on Africa: Further Evidence on the
External Shocks versus Domestic Policy Relate.
_ Les Determinants de 1 • Investissement: Prive dans la sous- RSgion des Pays des Grands Lacs (CEPGL).
- implication of Alternative Macroeconoiaic Policy Responses to External Shocks on Africa.
QlLJloJtrecurrent_Eublications, the EGA prepared a technical publication on Trade Liberalization in African Countries in the context of Stabilization and Structural Adjustment Programmes. The study first analyses Africa's external trade in terms of its structure, direction and policy framework. The study then gave reference to Africa-s trade policies and practices in the pre- structural adjustment era before it concluded on rational for trade liberalization for enhancing Africa>. economic growth and
development.
EGA also prepared a technical publication on the debt problem entitled "The African Debt Crisis: Policy Challenges and Prospects for the X990■s". The study has first dealt with the causes o£ the African debt problem, analyses the existing initiatives for debt relief its trends and prospects for the 1990-s. The objective of the study is mainly predicated on the assessment of the areas for a new orientation that would help clear up the relationships between debtors and creditors in a workable strategy that can fully contribute to boost growth and development in Africa in the 1990-s.
EGA has prepared a study on Implications of Differential
Access to Education Among Males and Females in Africa: An Agenda
for the 1990s. The study addresses the issue of differential
access to education by males and females in Africa, and the
implication of this to the development process. The most important
finding is that the recent severe socio-economic difficulties,
confronting most African countries, have severely affected the
educational sector in Africa. This crisis has ^proportionally
affected the enrolment of female students in the region with
serious ramifications for women in development in particular and the African development process in general.
Under non-recurrent publication, ECA also prepared a study on assessment of Policy Constraints in the Implementation of Health for All by the year 2 000 in Africa. The document attempts to
discuss the major constraints in the implementation of Primary
health care policy as called for in the Alma-Afa declaration in order to achieve health for all by the year 2000. Among the major problems lack of serious and sustained political commitment and unprecedented population growth rates, greatly exacerbated by the socio-economic crisis of the 1980s have been isolated as the major bottle-necks in this area. Curative predilection, which is artificial to the implementation of primary health care and health for all by the year 2000, continues to dominate policy formulation and implementation.On meetings, the ECA convened an ad hoc - expert group meeting on the Revitalization of Investment for Africa's development:
Prospects in the 1990's and beyond, at Addis Ababa, 29 November - 1 December 1993. About 15 experts attended the meeting. The meeting was conducted in four sessions. The first session dealt with the patterns of resource allocation and the overall investment climate in Africa. The second session was devoted to the discussion of rationalization of investment strategies and policies in Africa. The third session was on mobilization of domestic resources; and, the fourth session dealt with the foreign investment in Africa's development its trends and prospects.
Under operational activities, and besides the installation and demonstration of the SAM-based short-term forecasting model in Congo, the ECA provided assistance to the Cameroonian planning specialists on economic forecasting systems within the context of improving short-term and medium-term planning for crisis
management, and structural adjustment programmes with
transformation.
Under coordination, harmonization and—liaison, the ECA participated in a number of meetings. The ECA participated in the 12th meeting of WHO/AFRO on African Advisory Committee for Health Development (AACHD). ECA's attendance is within the framework of ECA/WHO Technical Cooperation. It also participated in the Forty- second Regional Committee on Health which reviewed issues of health policy and development. The ECA participated in Economic Research Workshop to review the activities and research priorities of the ECA and the African Economic Research Consortium. As a member of the inter-agency sponsoring committee, ECA participated in meetings of National Long-Terra Perspective Studies NLTPS Steering Committee.
It participated in the 28th Session of the Committee for Development Planning as an observer with other regional Commissions. ECA participated in OATUU/ILO high-level Conference on Structural Adjustment Policy and African Trade Union.
C. Work Programme for 1994-1995
The sub-programme aims at providing support to countries and
to subregional efforts aimed at the elaboration of long-term
perspectives and plans; formulating long-, medium- and short-term
strategies and policies for accelerating the achievement of the
continent's major goals and the development and strengthening of
national capacities in short- and medium-term forecasting, planning
and modelling for better integration and coordination of short- and
medium-term objectives; and training of African planning
specialists in macroeconomic policy analysis, planning techniques,
methodologies and physical structures. A number of these
activities will be carried out in collaboration with the African
Institute for Economic Development and Planning.
Activities
1. International cooperation
External relations: networking with African and non-African research and training institutions on African socio-economic development; liaison and cooperation on development issues and policies with African and non-African non-governmental organizations, regional and interregional bodies, and financial and monetary institutions such as, in particular, Organization of African Unity, the African Development Bank, the Association of African Central Banks and the African Centre for Monetary Studies.
2. Parliamentary services
(a) Parliamentary documentation: (i) two reports to the ECA Conference of Ministers responsible for Economic and Social Development: the annual economic report on Africa (1994 and 1995):* and review and appraisal of the New Programme of Action for African Least Developed, Land-locked and Island Developing Countries;* (ii) four reports to the Joint Conference of African Planners, Statisticians, Demographers and Information Scientists on the development and implementation of ECA short-term forecasting model for policy design and economic management in individual African countries (1994);* status and practices of economic
modelling in African countries (1994) ; study on strategic planning
in the food subsector in the African economies (1994);* and activities of IDEP and new orientations and programming perspectives for IDEP (1994);* and (iii) two reports to the Conference of African Ministers of Finance on the proceedings andrecommendations of the high-level ad hoc expert group meeting on
review of monetary and financial issues in Africa, with particularreference to Africa's debt management and its integration in
macroeconomic planning (1995); and a report on the implementation
of the project to create an African external debt profile database within ECA (1995) ;
(b) Substantive servicing of the eighth session of the Joint Conference of African Planners, Statisticians, Demographers and Information Scientists (1994); the meeting of the intergovernmental group of experts preparatory to the Conference of African Ministers of Finance (1995); and the Fifth Conference of the African Ministers of Finance (fourth quarter, 1995);
(c) Two high-level ad hoc expert group meetings on critical development issues and socio-economic policies (1994); and review of the monetary and financial issues, including Africa's debt management in the context of macroeconomic planning.*
3. Published material
(a) Four recurrent publications: annual survey of economic
and social conditions in Africa (1994 and 1995);* development
research papers (two each in 1994 and 1995); Economic Bulletin for Africa (1994 and 1995);(b) Nine non-recurrent publications: Africa in the 1990s and
beyond: ECA-revised development perspectives 1993-2008;*evaluation of the performance of specialized farm credit institutions in least developed, island and land-locked African countries (1994); foreign direct investment in the least developed, island and land-locked African countries (third quarter, 1995); effectiveness of debt management in African countries;
promotion of capital markets in the context of enhancing domestic
and external resource mobilization for development;* review oftechniques for debt reduction and conversion (debt swaps) and their
application to the African situation; exchange rate management
policies in Africa: recent experience and prospects; a
preliminary study on the internal debt problem in Africa; and the impact of external shocks on African monetary zones and strategies
for mitigating them;
(c) Technical material: country external debt profile.
4. information material and services
5. Operational Activities
Advisory services: support to member States for strengthening their capabilities in national planning, debt, development finance and macroeconomic management, including methods and techniques of development planning, and economic crisis management; and
development of economic forecasting systems;
6. Coordination, harmonization and liaison
Coordination with United Nations agencies and ACC task forces.
United Nations Project Link, United Nations training institutions,
the World Bank and IMF.
D. nraft Worfr Programme fi996-19<m and Medium-Term plan
(1992-1997J
