ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ...

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Di.stI' ..

GENERAL

E/ECA/m,'i..11!17/^Ar1rL ';

26 Februar,y 198) Original : ENGLIG~ .

UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COUNCIL ...

ECONOMIC C01~4ISSION FOR f~ICA ECONOMIC COMMISSION FC'R AFRICA Sixth meeting ot: the Techni cal

Preparatory Committe9 of' the

~lhole

Twentieth session of the Commission/

Eleventh meet:1.ng of the Conf'er-on.':;(' of Ministers

Arusha, United Republic of Tanzania,

15-22 April 1985 Arusha, United Republic of ^Tanzan:i.2, 25-29 April 1985

Item 9 of the provisional agenda > Item 11 of the p:covisional agendas

FnrAL REPORT OF THE AD HOC CONbiITTEE ESTABLISHED BY RESOLUTION

477

(XlfIII) OIJ :CCA/OAU-SPONSORED nrsTITUTIoNS

c

£7B5-594

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INTRODUCTION

1.

The

Ad

Hoc CoIDD1i.ttee lias established' by,resolution

477

(XVIII) of the ninth meeting of tha ECA :Confe ren ce' of Ministers

to '

eva.luate the multinational institu- t,iona 'est,ablished _uiia.e~ the, a.eiis of 'ECA and('OAUand to make proposals'oon cernf.ng their:continued Us~f\ilne8i"a.nd.,fl:tieCtiven~aS"ana

·Wais

in which their activities can,be better rationalized,"oo-ordinated,' harmonized a.'!1d/or integrated. (The' full text of resolution

477

(XVIII) is attaChed to this 'report:

as

^annex'

I}.

2. The

Ad.

Hoc CoIPIni.ttee su'bmi.tted its first report' to,the ,t ent h'.mee t ing of the EOA Conference of,Min i s t e rs in April

1984.

(see doc. Ej?£A/CM.lO/lO/Aild.l).

3. Jtr

resolution

'519

(XIX), the

:meA

Conference of lfinisters extended the mandate of the

.Ad

lIocCommit,tee for a further period o'f one year so that it shall:

(a) Visit the _EC.L\~ and OAU-Sporisored institutions which it had been unable to visit,'if neoessaryj and

(b): ~ a more oomprehensdve studJrand ~ake positive specific suggestion for the co-ordination, harmonization and/or merf5er of the activities of the ECA- and OAtJ.-eponsored institutions including the possible dissolution of some- of those institutions. The Conference of Ministers further deoided: (i) that all the Chief' Exe.dUtives of the ,ECA;" and OAtkponsored institutions shall, for the purpose

ot

implement'ing resolutioir'

477

(XVIII) present to t,he-Ad.Hoc -Committee relevant progress reporls and':i~:f.ormation'at a meeting to be held between the,former and the' latter'at the JECP.. seCretariat on dates in December-

i984

to be,not i f i e d by the Execntive·~ore~a.ry,'~d ' :(ii) that the

Ad

Hoc Committee shall'submit its second

report

to the nleventhmeeting of the ECA C6ilf'erence of _Ministers~ (The ,ful l ten

ot

reSolution

519

(XIX) is also attached to this report as atllleX II). '

4.

In pursuance of resolution

519

(XIX) of the tenth meeting of the ECA Con- ference of Ministers, the .\cl'Hoc Committee visited five more .of the institutions which it ,had not been able't'o,vis i t during its'f i rst field mission. The following 'i m rt!t ut i ons were visited: _{~ the} Industrial Property Organization for 'Englis h-

speaking Africa

(ESARIPO)t

·~a.t Harare, Zimbabwe, the Regional Centre for Training in Aerial SUrveys (RECTAS}f at TIe-Ife, Nigeria, the African Regional Centre for Engineering Design and Uanufaeturing (ARCEDm), at Ibadan, 1figeria, the Port

Management Association for I'Jest and Central A:f'rica (PMAWCA), at Lagos, Nigeria and the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RJPS) , at Lagon. Ghana. The Ad Hoc Committee was accompanied by representatives of the ECA, C'AU and UNDP seOTeta.riats.

5.

For its visit to ESARIPO only Egypt was represented on the 10 member States Ad'Hoo Committee. For its visits to RECTASi ARCEDFld and PMAl/CAo, the Ad'Hoc CoiDmittee was 'compos e d of representatives of'·15gypt, Kenya and Uigeria, and for ,. 'i t s 'vis i t to RTIJS by'Egypt and Kenya. The Ad Hoc 'Commit t e e , after holding disous-

sions with officials of the institutions visited, prepared up-to-date profiles on them which are contained in document EjECA./CM.•nll7/Add.2. The conclusions that the'Ac:liloc Committee came to' with respect'to the institutions themselves in the tight of its terms of reference are embodied in't hi s final report of the

ivi'

Hoc Committee.

"

Efr£A/mtI..ll/17/M.d.l Page 2

6. In further pursuance of resolution 519 (XIX) of the tenth meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers, theM ,Hoc Committee and tho Chief _{beCutives.;~of ~C4~}

and 'OAUooepons ored institutions,held a joint .mee t i n g on 10'January

1985

at Hhich,

the findings" conclusions and

drart

proposals of the Ad.!!2.2 Coll1lliittee were dis-:-:;o:

cussed. The Chief Ex:e'cutives ~cdtho :Ad :a~o ~tt.ju \f.l'th :~iiion~~ infgrma- tion' and Useful oomments and suggestions,i'lhiOh ...have 'been helpful to '1;11e Ad Hoo '.

Commi.ttee in preparing its final report.: .

Somo'Prelimdna;Y obserVations

7.

^In its firSt report', the Ad Hoc Committee d.reiv attention to various problems - lack of financial support.and pat~ona.ge" inadequate direction"an d staffing and

yery

poor oo-ordination - that have impaired the effectiveness of AfriCk'Ul multinational institutions'~ The observations of the Ad Hoc Committee in that regard, based·on its earlier visits to various institutions in .J anuary and February 1984 Here alE!o confirmed by the visits made to the remaining institutions in dctober

1984.

^{To '}

alleviate those problems, ii; proposed a number of measures designed to 'i mpr ove oo-ord:ination, broaden the membarahi.p of the institutions, .save' costs,,.i mprove '.1>

theqimlity of personnel andmobd.H ze extra.-budgetary;resouroos,including e,rlernal assistanCe for the'various inst.itutions. . . " '.,;..

8. Th.E) Ad Hoc Committ~e ~~es its present report as leading to fu:rthe;r:steps 'i~,:.'.

thesedireetions,,' However, it now feels able':to oonsider even more far I;eachi~~~:,;.,

reforms, ·8i n.oo the new mandatie given to it require it, if need ,1)8 , t,o carry. ,t he'"'.; , process of harmonization and rationalization to the 'p~int of merger or dissolJl- ..

tion of some of the institutio~.Indeed,it will be recalled that, in its _fi~i report , it indi cated one or two cases'Where a merger of exist1ng inst i tutions might be the best approach to ,t~le hannonization and rationalization ot' their ,

activities. .

9.

'·Dis s ol ut i on of an institution in which memberc.oJ.I,nt.ries as\:lell as the hoat.

government:have invE,3sted substant.ial resoU!'oos, <:LIMit ina.a.equc.:~e to maintain. ; , the viability and effectiveness of the institution, is not

an:

attractive course '

e

of a.etion'to contemplate. However, this course llW\Y be Wla.voidablein a situation . in lihich member states' are .unahl,e o~ 'un willi ng to fulfil the obligat,ions of , . ~.

financial support'and patronage tha.t they have accepted, in whiqh the host

gove.n;7t.,,

ment is unable to provide1ihe additional support that Nill be ne cesaary to ap~ure,..(.'.

the survival and effe ctiveneas of the institution, and in which no other member-

~.~:!i.E!.J

..

~ tdlling.~o ^assume, the,·tesponsibili.ties of host government. In the same wEl3',: the'me'rger 'of in'stitutions should be contemplated ol'11y if other forms of

rationalization or harmonization would prove either more expensive qr impracticable.

In this conneqtion, and with regard to the institutions sponsored by _ECA~ .'_ hannonization through :the .es t ablis hment of a'sL1g1e gOverning bodJr for t\IO or :..•...::-~.:

more related...institutions or a greater and decisive role for the ECA secretariat in the co-ordination of their activities, are two possible approaches ·that could be·eXplored before resorting.to the lnerger of the in:Btitutions~

10. In preparing its present' _rep9~t the Ad Hoc Committee has been guided by·f i1i;e..

main considerations. _Fir~t, it.has looked again at the objectives for t1hioh the,:n . inati~~tions were established, this time in greater depth than it l"ms able to do in its first report; and it ,has asked the question \>Thether, given the benefit of hindsight, and in the light of the evertightening resources situation, existing

c

EjECA!CI1.1l!17!Add.l

. Page 3

institutions provi.de t:le ncct eZfeotivc means of pursufn.j those objectives. How- ever-, it 1'1ou1<1 lil::eto emphasize that in rai,.s.ing this fundamental question, it does not intend. to re:tract from uhatit said .i,n par-agraph 9 of its 'f i rst roportⁱ nameIy that "l',i'ith respect to r-eLevanoe , all the institutions without exception addreas themselves to issues and problems in respect of \-Thioh Africa is still sacllY" defi- cient m:mely, traineo. manpouez-, infor'mati011, resear-ch capabi.Li,ty and. sCl'vices in varioUs technical, e oonouti c and social sectqrs^{ll •} Indeed, the AdHoc Committee believes that "the very first step'that needs to 'he t~:eu is renewed commi,tment by member States to suppor-t th~ institutions \>fhich they have established 'a nd. in'\'1hi ch they and host governments have already invested substantial resources • 3u.ch

COmmitments could Luolude firm undcz-ha'cirigs on the part of member States to pay

~hC'a:M:-e a r s of their corrsr-i butions' and to guarantee the payment of future contribu- tions for at. Ieast a period. of five yeara , In such event, the first option for policy shouLd be to give such institutions a nevr lease of life

,In

tIl the aarn of revieuing the situation after a five-year pe r-iod • .If adequate reaour-ces: can 'be .as sure d, for a.given period~" the argument foraHouing ail institutiori 3. 11:el1''l e as e

of life, in spite of present difficulties, will he strengthened where the ii1stitu-·

tion is currently. involved'i n a major exercise tore-define its·activities, re- ()r,ientate. its progr.'aI,mnes"aJ.1d~mobil i ze special resources for the Lmpr-ovemerrt of its faCilities, \'11).ich.is 'li!cc ly to enhance Hs viability and' ef'feotLveneee , ^{, 0;}

11'. '.".If.aueh commft~eilii:J'brumot ^{be obtc..illed, \'lhat then? The''Ad.} Hoc Committee did conaLder anotherO;)tiOh in Hli.ich

a .

host government woul.d-take over- the rUniJ.:Lrig of

.the",inl;:t itutLon as ^!). natLona.I' insti tut"ion but In.'~h some regional pr-ogr-ammes for

,·thichthe participants HOuld

pa,y.

Hm,rever, "t1).e Ad Hoc Co~ttee rejected this option Hhicl.l! iri"effect, cont radt ct s the.- -principles of technicai ·c~ope±-at i or.

among deve1opingcolUltH'es,on the one hand, and, '011 the other, amount't o ii··..

retreat

from>

the prinqiples

of

regional co-operation:and colLeet Lve self-reiiance uponwhi.ch Afri~ rmi.l~il{ational itistJ. tutiomi "Jere'·i"ounded. A host gove'rnmerrt m~ of"

6oux's'o

^{tinG. itse'1f'Ln such 'cd}r-cums'tance's Hhe r'3 it rD..;;"y:have to faJ.l back on this opt Lon,.but.'if~:should. lxi an' 'a ct of the'very last resort. .To avoid such regretta1)le eveniua.i"ity, the Ad HocComriiittee strongly recommends i:lbt··tl1e 'Con- ference of Ministers shoul d appeal to ..i\.fr i call Governments to reneu their commit- iherrts to'

the

various l."'1.stitutions and:pi ovJ.de them Hith the _r~sbu'rC6~ that·are necessa~j' fori:helrviability m1tl etfectiv~ness. .

. . . ^.' .^{', '}

12. The dissolutioi1 of" an i$titartLonjihoul d be considered o"lly, <ift e r "a ll other

.opbdons liave~been fuIljr oXploreda

• •¥• • ' ,: '." ~ •

'''1.3 . A second quesrtLon l-rllidi the Acl.. Hoc Committco!coii~idered is cost effedt:1veness.

])N~n if 'r e s ource s were :r:i6t 'as.ecar-ce ian d as l~mite<.l: ^O,S t·hey now a.ret i t uou .l. d still

be"concerned ,~rithOthe' CJ:lie'StiOll"of effe ctiveness - uhether,;f'or example,:tHo or

.: ~·:three.: ~p~I:ate inst~:t'*ti'ons" handJ:ing'i'lh~.t,::i£·~e.s~entij;ll'y..

the

uamo..'GU~)aeGt,"(1:Je it

ca.rt9g.rapbj'

and remotie sensing or"~conomiC:"arid '~o cial development aild.' population stutU.es) ~t~uld/be much m~i-e effective than a 's i n gl e institution. ·Tho limitation of

~SOU;rC€ls"i!r6~ases thes;:i'iousness and 1.lr&'8ric.yof that·concern be cause it reduces

"e ve n In9rethe effeetivenessof~l1stitutions' that may already'~')(3 su.ffering from

UI1i1~cessary:and ~..;astef'ul decentralization of 'wha t is essentially a single aCtivity.

",~/-;,:C_~/I~~ :~ lll/~"",'/'~'~c:"('~1Jl Page

4

14.

A third question t~lat the Ad Hoc COffililittee has feli compelled to ask conoerns the relationship between·the multinational institutions and similar or related insti tutions in host -courrbrdes , most especially l'1here the fe,et of proximi

iy

and contigui.ty may lead io shared services and other arrangements that are 'mut u a lly beneficial to the m~:I.tinationa1 institutions and the host countries. Some of the examples whi.ch it cxandncs in this report provide valuable information in this regard tllat could be helpful for -f ut u r e policy. A_related queat Lon concerning the interactitms between .'U'riC'';:)Jl mul tin;).tiona1 lustituticms and similar or're1at'e(1 institutions in member St[;tes generally is also discussed be Low,

15~ A fourth question concerns the importance of the commi,tment and suppor-t: of the host governments to the survi.vuf.-end via.bility of the multinational instittiUons.. •

In several cases, i"lhere the institutions have been i'1 dire distress becauae of non- payment of contributions by member States, it hcs been the 1Jillingness oftha host govennnents to provide assistance, in some cases far beyond agreed commitments, that has \:cpt the inst i tut ions in existence. ~fu.ile it is import ant t11<'\,t-African multi", national institutions should maintain their mul.tIneti.onal, character l)y'draWing -.au p por-t and patronage from member States, the f'aot, must be faced-t h:1.t , ·i n: the

p.iffiqult ct.r-cumatances that many African courrtr-iea are currently going through, the will{ngness of nost goventmcnts ,t o adcept far more responsibilities and commitments than they had bar-gadricd for may he crucial to the survival of those institutions

\'1ithin their borders. The implication is of course that countries vrhdoh find them- selves unable '"to unde r t al::e SUcl1 -extr-a commitmel1ts may have to coned der- l'lhether a re-docat Lon of such institutions might not be preferable to their continuing to hostincffective institutions that nevertheless draw on their litilitedfinancial -r-esour-ces and physiC<.1.1facflHies. It may turn out - indeed it must be-h op e d -,

that such cases -will be ra.re and that in a majority of -cases where instittttions thai; are aoknowl.edged to be IJerforming vary useful funotLons fall into (1..eep ' fil1c::.ncial crisis, it wourd be possible for the. ,il1stitutions, in'c<>-operation Hith host governments, to tal:e ^R. number of measures t11o,t ~-li l l'- ~op'-the-il1,stitutl.ons

alive until more_resources C<.'1l1 be mobilized from member States. - ' •

,16 . !~,fifth question '111ic11 the ,-i.cl Hoc Oommi.trtee has eonai.denedjias to do ,'7ith the

advarrfagea and disaclyruli.:a~sof establishing seperate institutions ⁰¹¹ the same subjeots for different lanr,uuto/' groups. In this connect Lon, i t iJouldl)c recalled that during the debate on its first ropor-t , strong vi.ews "(-lere expressed to the

effect that "language_dif f e r e n ce s ahouLdrn ot 'be considered

a

barrier to such mergernⁿ_- One could of course decide as a matter of policy, and irrespective of fine calcula- ti0118 of costs and benefits, that the time has come to de-emphasi.ze the historical and colonial cUvisions into language groups. Hovrevez-, the matter is not that simple.

For one thing, it is not even qlco,r that one 'Dilingt....al i11st i tutiOll .,itIl-all the parapherna.lia cf in-torprttaticn -fMilities would

oe

^cheapar th~ t,,:o !llt'nolingual institution:::. ii'or anofhozxtN-ng, expcr-ienee suggests that theeffeetiveness cf commundcat Lon is usually a lll-f'.jor probl.em in bilingual institutioils. It is l<Jell known that listening to a lecture or debate through interpretti.tion is never the

aame as listening direotly in one ^IS ovm hmguage of tUldersttm04ilg.,',Still, the fact must ^be acceptedthe,t, '\fri^ca is getting imp:ttient Hith the ^emphasLs on Language groups Gnllthat the baLance of the areument must HEli'gh,\in the final n:lalysis_r i:·), f'avour- of multiline,"U;;),l i::lstitutions. After L"l.ll, it may be arGUed, hundr-eds of :i.frican students have studied abro·n.o., and. done remarknbly tre11t in Languages other t han t~le 10c<11 or official languages of their home countries in l'1hic11 they had their earlier education. These then are the five issues or

..

.. .

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E/EcA/CI1:ll!lt/AM.'l Page

5

questions that have been most prominent in theM Hoc COlIlI:Jit1.ee· 's' consi:d.erati on 'or ratheX',reconsideration'of the main issues discussed. in its first report.

," ~

17.';''rl,Us'

~ime' :

^{in the}

. li'~t':.·of the

^new.

d.i~ctivet.

^'cont a i ne d in.resolution

5r~f ^(XlX),

the.Ad Hoc Committee"vi s it ed five'institutions it had not been able to visit earlier. Within the context of this resolution its approach has been to examine

closely related institutions in th~ ligh~ of the questions' th~tit· has raised a~Ov~

and,suggest a number of op:t.ib~ for the Fationali~~tionand,hamonization '()ftheir aetivi:ti,es. In sOIqe eases, w:ne~.'it oolievesthat it possesses all the information necessary for reach;ing:adecisiOn ',on 'a definite approach to the.',problem, the~ ,

~,Hoc (Qo~tt'ee has:not hesitated'to statEl..,t h i s , even though there ^I!lCliY:,be' "

difficult:political;conslilta:.tions to be undertalcen before the decision'can be ilnple~te;de: In,other

: 'ca.ses·,

where 1:h,e P.lQst :plausibi~.option would.depend on.the '.' out come. of.furtbernegotiations with,member states o~ with host. countrles,present or p~tEm1;ia;J.. (for, exampl-e·, as regards the accept ance:of ;new oommitmeil,ts::'and : .' . resPc0nsi1?il~ties)t the\Ad110e Commi.ttee has had no'ch.oice but,to leave tl'l.eoptions . open forf'urther discllssions and negotiations, .

-. ...' .

~ona'forpolicYandcappro~ChestoimElementation

18• .'I'he,Ad'Hoc Committee has , having regard to,t he. directives cont adned in resoJ:u~

tion

519

(~X), considered sPEicifJ.cfustit~:t;io~s;

as

to how they:'.can oo m~cie more ' . effeCt';ve;"an d their~otiVities better co-orainatedt mer~d or dissolyea.'. A.~,,~ / doing:t hil;l. the Ad!loc'G<immi:l;tee deems it more oonvenferrt to deal with:·t he fris-titi,],-,

tiol:ls un<;ler the' ~ol,1owing broad headd.ngs^t aeve16pme~t^f,~13a;rth resources;' indtistrt:al'.

develoPD;lent and services',.'tranapo;M .aI1d c.olimnmicatip~ ;and:-f i nan.' ce and trade '

services. '

:Dewi°Pmen-t

19•. ',

In the field of development:the ip.stit:u:tions which

des~~e-"con8ideI'?-ti,ori ' ~

^{. '::}

the.Regional,.Institute fdr: ·Poifu.l at ion, st.-u.d1es (RIPS), the Institilt de;·Forma',tione't '. de Recherche Mmographiqti.e· (IFORD) , Institut Afri oadn, de Daveloppement' Eoonoi!1iewe :,. et de,p':lani£ication (IIJEP), the African Centre for Applied Research arid Training in Social Development (ACARTSOn) and the Eastern and Southern African Ma.na.a'i'~nt

Institute (ESAMI) • .' . ..

20., The sister institutions' qf RIPS ~d ^{+FORD de?J.},,with the same 'subje~~ ~ttE):r

n~ly, training in population issues,thefo~er'in English and. the:latter in FrenPP.-•.. .If'theyare to remain as they are, the'African GPvemmentslIIl.l.8t PCliY ~or

them.;:.At the·time of.the establishment of RIPS and IFORD, 'UNFPA had substantial funds which it could use to support the two institutions. The amount now ayailabl,e, to UNFPA for the support of the institlitions has dwindled considerably~

Even '.

though RIPS and IFORD ha.ve been regionalized, thereby vastly increasing their

parti,cipating member- stat~s, the experienoo so ^fq.:r,in attracting resources from .,_. membe.r .St_~ies has not been _e;ncour~g~' 'l'heJ\A',Ho'o;Oommittee'beLLeves that

utgent ': - ,:

meaauree.eze

needed to'hannonize t'li.e aetiViti~sof the two institutions with the . "

aims

of

~ducing ^{costs' and'improving} their effectiveness so that they'

can

at'traot "

more support from member States.

EjECA!CM.ll!17/Add.1 Page 6

21. Two other options should be considered. First, the two institutions could be reconstituted as a single ,i ns t i t ut i on with hlo component \Uli ts·in their present locations. a harmonized progr6.mme, and one governing authority. Second, the two institutions could be merged into one bilingual institution tO,be located in one : of the two existing centres.'

22. ;It would, of. course, have been helpful if the Ad Hoc C0llll!littee had been able to Ylork out the cost i.mpli cations of the t\'lO options, including, in the first , case, travel costs'bet~16en the two Locati onsj and in the second, the cost ,0:(

bilingual facilities" so that a rationalized choice could be made. This, however, would have beendiffi.oult because it would depend not only on the facilities at present available at both institutio~ but also on fUrther facilities _{~d arr~~~}

merrts that could-be negOtiated with ·t he re,a pe ct i v e host governments. For example, if RIPS and IFORD are to be merged,the 'h osf country may have to be prepared to accept Lncreeaed responsibilities which ^may, involve u11.derwriting the survival and development of the merged institution'until such time,as mo're support can be mobilized·from member States. Such matters'W:ould have to be handled by the implementation machinery to be established to carry out the decisions of the Conference of Ministers on this report. (see para. 67).

23. :nut mergers need not be confined only to institutions t'1hich are engaged in the aame :unde rt ald n g. It can also be applied to irisf~ti.1tions .whi ch are engaged in similar or allied pursuits and in this respeat, .the Ad Hoc ComIni ttee feels: that though this nia.y not be neoeaeary now, the time would come tihen consideration should be given to RIPS andIFORD constituting the population component of the overall soci a l development training programme 'of IIIElP or ACARTSOD.

•

24.

If ACARTSOD and IDEP are to remain as they are as separate institutions, they would requira far more support from member States than they have so far been able to attract, and the Ad Hoc Committee believes that the very first step that should be taken is a renewed appeal to member States,to honour their commitments to the

two institutions.• ' If such appeal does not produce the expected results, then the • host governments should be persUaded to accept somewhat greater responsibilities

for the institutions while o-ther means of mobilizing resources are re-explored.

25.. Since,ACARTSOD

and

IDi!}P have closely interrelated functions, tNo other options should be considered. One is for the two institutions to be constituted into one institution for socio-economic development planning llith a single controlling boq,y,

but ,wi t h the present locations retained as two arms of the single institution.

The other option is for the inst.itutions to be merged and the merged institutJon placed in one of the existing locations. Again, the actual choice would depend on the costs of the options and on ,t he facilities that can be negotiated t-rith '".

host governments. ' ,

26. Hitll respect to ESAllI, the M.1i2.2Comrnit,tee is of th~ view that its should be expanded to serve all Africa in close co-operation with IDEP.

\'1ords, its membership which is now open only to the coimtries of Eastern Southern Africa should be6pen to all African count rd ee ,

.. activities In other and,»'

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."

E/ECA/CM.li/+7!Add.l Page

7

Earth resources

.'~ ..:.~.'..

2 .1. ,

i.'hether.the ins};i.tutions..dealing with earth resources should be allOt'Ted to oorrt Inue in being ~ multination,al·insti tutibns'depends in the final a.nalysis on whether they olJtain the necessary'financial support from their member-.St a t e s or

\'I'hether their exi.stence and deve.l.opmerrt can be underwritten by their respective hosf governmensa, rhese insti tutiQns provide ver<J vital,services and by their very nature operate more effecti.vely·as multinational institutions. .They would improve their finances ;Jy charging fees for services rendered to or"i n'r es pe ct of governments, and if they ar e very firmly established they could attract

sufficient external assistance to enable them ::1r ov i de for African .OQl1lli~i.e.a, those services for which they vrould have had to go outside the continent at great cost in forei gn exchange⁰

~8. ^{AJ3 regards} 't he par-td oul.a» institutions themselves,.,:the Ad Hoc Committ-eefeels . that the cartographic operationaLinst·!tuti"ons nnmely,' t-1i.e Regional Ceiit:re for

.·_Trq.-i~ing in ^Ae.rial 'Su =,v ::y s (REC!rfl-~)\ the ::'.,sional.C611tre for 'Se~~'~s in·.:su.rveyin g,

·Mappl.n g and. Remote·.~ensl.ng (RCSS1.ffiS), and ·t he RegJ.onal Remote ;Setllhng centre at Ouagadougou (CRTO) should be retained as individual institutions since':n-orte . . of them by themselves, can provide coverage for the vrho.Ie contLnerrt in the field

of;:remote:sensf.ngv- .

29~

.

·On t};le other

hand,

the ·lid. Ho.Q Comrnittee is of the opd.ndon after re considering _...,:it s..p~vi..oU8 views, that the: African Remote Sensilig Council (ARSC)'an d the '

. African Association of Cartography (AliC) can and should be eithercclosely' c~

ordinated or merged. Doth institutions have really no more than co-orddnat Lon . fqnctions in. the. gener-al, field of cartography and remote sensing and' the .ARS-C in

part.icular has 'oo e n operating ^'11ithout much succeas: and financial;BUpport • Unlike :the ARSC, tiC is located tribhi,n the Hell-d-eveloped.n at Lonaf cartographic complex in Algiers. In thp l:i.gh+ of +.he pr-oposa.Le al.reacl·;rmilde in the first Report of the Ad Hoc Coniniittee and .tlle di.recti.vcs contained in resolution 5l9'(XIX), it lIk'\Y''be suggested that one institution should perform the fW1ctions of boih :institutions, and in this case.t h er ]/J. Hoc Co~iM.;tee for the .r.~ ~()ns.Ei,ven above is of the

opfndon th,:il.t the''prosen t loci:Holi<of ^AMi~could. .convem.ent Iy be the headquarters of

the mergecl: institutions~ .. . __ ...

30. N'ith respect to minera.l resources development, 'tL.e sd tuat Lon is somewhat confused. The Eastern and Southe~n African Minernl Resources Development Centre (ESAMRDC) and the Central African Mineral Resources Deve Lopmerrt Centre (CAMRDC) have been established t·dth identical objectives for EaStern and Southern African

countries and Central Africm190untries respectively. in 'pursu an ce of the same resolutions adopte~. by the ECA C9nference of Mini8~ersi At 't he time, it was . thought.that .aepar-ate mineral development centres 's h ou l d be ;.establislled for each of the various.subregions of the conti.nerrt , This'df.:c:':'sion however has not been fully borne out by actual e~~perience^o· Indeed, ESM.ffiDC has among its meagre

meIllbershiJ?1 only five out of a potential membership of 18, one of \-Ihi611 is FrenOO- .speaking,· and it has suffered from a perennial lack of finan'cial support from

tts.members. tfu.ilst it is too early to comment ⁰¹¹ this aspect of the affairs of C~-UmDC.based in TIrazzavi.lle, 1'1hiOO wns estahl.Ished on ly a year·ago and has not yet got off' the ground, it seems that . .. ::,:,n.,r ocrrtr-. Q~l j o;ri3 ['., gr13::::-;; <1.cccl

of enthusiasm among i tsmember St""te c ^,,1.:.1(1 tha.t it deserves to be given some time to prove itself. On the other hand. the,Ad lIoc Committee has been Lnf'ormed by

E/ECA/CHe l l / l 7/ kId.l Page 8

the technical experts in the ECA Natural Resources Division that for such centres to be fully effective, each woul.d require a minimum amount of $20 million to provide the basic infrastructures and equipment and mobilize a minimum':,.co;r~,of

high level expar-ts , This information has to be borne in mind, and even though the Ad'Hoc Committee is not proposing that the tN'O Centres should be merged at this stage it would still like to suggest that the situation should be reViewed ina-bout t1-'10 yearse .In the meantime, an appeal should be made to the potential members of the two institutions to join them and provide the financial resOurces

~hat they need to be fully e.ffective.

Industriai services

31. The institutions involved tinder this heading are: the African Regiomil Centre • for Technology (ARCT), the African Regional Centre for Jmgineering Design and

Manufacturing (ARCEDEM:), the African Regional Centre for Solar Energy (ARCSE),

the African Regional Organization for Standardization

(A?..so) ,

~~h !" i·>.-". c ~·:, L'!telleetual Properly Organization (OAPI) , the Indus't r-La.I Property Organization for lialglish-

spealdng Africa (ESARIPO)a.nd the African Institute for Higher Technical Training

and.Research (AnITTR). .

:32~ ' 'The Ad Hoc Committee is of the opinion that ARCT and APCEDEfJI shou.Ld continue

, " , i ' :. -,

t'o :function as separateinstitutions, but ~lould need more suppor-t from their' member States, es~ciallythe host governments. They should, however, establish

close l'1orking relations including co-operation in the preparation of their respeet- i ve \'lorl: prog'1.'~es.

33. As alread,v stated in the first Report of the ACt lioc Committee: one option is to meDge ARCSE,- the headquar-ter-s of which is still being haggled over 1JY its mem'ber States, with ARCT. The functions of ARCT cover.such matters as renewable sources of energy' which solar energy is~ A second option which,the Ad'lIoc

Coromittee has considered is that ARCSE should be located close to the Centre Ng:Lonal d'~nergie solaire (ORES) at Bamako, !:Tali. This latter is a subregional institution of the Communaut~ ~conomiqge de 1lAfr~~e de I 100est~s~a~~i~h~~,with the support of the Com!t~ permanent inter Etats de lu"tte contre la s~cheresse dans

Ie sahe1

(CILSS)f and it already enjoys substantial internati onal support, including some support from UNDP. The Ad Hoc CoffiUlittee would have liked to

consid.er the option of merging ARCSE wi tll CRES rather than merely locating the newinsti tution close to the established centre. Howevez-, since CRES is not an ECA- or OAD-sponsored institution, the modalities of merging the tHo centres, so that the merged insti tution can serve the whole of the African region, vou 'ld require far more consultations and negotiations than would be the case if both

in~titutions'were ECA- or OAtJ-sponsored. Still the Ad'Hoc Committee vrou.Ld not exciude this possibility and it would like to propose that the option should be thoroughly explored before f>. final decision all th~,matters is taken.

34. Alt}-!ou.gh the activities of ARSO are related to tIlose be.ing-pureued by JlRCEDEM, ARCT, and those others involved in the fields of trade and transporl, the

Ad.

Hoc Corrunittee feels that it should continue to operate in its very specia.lized ·f i e l d ' as a separate regional institution. It should, howevez-, develop close wo~ldrig

relations vrithMCEDEf;l, AllCT and those others involved in the fields of trade arid ' transportana.ilideedt'rith any of the other ECA- or OAtJ-sponsored institutions 'Whose activitIes relatet0 manufa.cturing or produoti.on, 1IJ3 with all the other:

c

c

EjEcA/ca.ll/l 7/Add.1

• Page 9

institutions, L~ tt..:: 1..):1;5 'Y~"-':J l~lCE:DEl'Tr ~li1CT and _l,H30 ~'1ill survive and develop only if theil:' member 3ta-ces (siv e them tho ncceaonry fil1.<1ncL~1 support. III the meantime]

t'heir survfval, and deve Lopment can only be guaranteed if their'host governments are

prepared ·t o fund them until more resources can be mobi.li zed from other-member states"

35.

!l.lliTTR has suff~red,severely both from the limHed number ofits 'membe r states and from the Lack of t'i:l<1ncigl support from theme In 19[)1 when for these very· reasons DCA had..proposed its dissolutIon, the proposal had been vehemently opposed by the seventh meeting of the EGA Conference of i\£inisters. The Ad

Iraq

Cormnittee feels thai in spite of the diffi QuIties 11hich the I.nstitute haa-exper-Lenced, i t.

should continue as ^{a aepar-at}e institution if the present reorganizatfoll, following the appointment of a netr Dire etor, nCH commitments by the"h os t Oove.riunerrt and r-enetrod suppor-t from Ixi Later-a.l and,multilateral o..gencies, prove sufficient·to. place it 011 a .v i a b l e f'i.nancd.a.l, basis. The sit'\.lution should be reviei·Tec.lafter.t 'i'lO

years during which the present reorganization Nould have had time to bear fruito

'36:~ PAPI and ESluUPO operate in the field of Lndustr-La'l property 10.,1:1, the former having been established to cater for French-speaking ll.fl~iea.l'l countries 0.11(.1 the ., lat;;er·fcr English-speaking ;\fric<:'1I1 countries. OilPI does not appear to be able to:generate sufficient rencur-cas to meet its' budgetary requi.remerrta and ES!illIPO.

receives scanty support tram its member St at e s" Even '~hough the re cerrt steps t.azen l<1hereby UHDP would upon receiving the local equivalent of .the arrears, oftha

contribution of member St a t e s_f pay the amounts involved.,to BSARIPO in

US " d61

lars , are LaudabIe , tlle member- c;i;at e s must decide H'hether they ua"1t ESAi1IPO andri.f so, give i t their f'Lnanoi.al. support or disband it, Like OAPI~ the' services performed by·ES.tlRIP:O do not lend t nemse Ives to being ta}::en over ''oy an Lnd.i.vi.dna'l St a t e and the

Ad.

Hoc Committee d.oes not -a Lao feeLthatOAPI and nSARI PO s h ou l d.,be 'me r ge d at

the present momerrt , :\n ext errti on of the .colle ct i v e system that oper-ated prior to the independence of the'French-speaki~gAfrican colm1ies) OAFI 'ope r a t e s o~ behalf of'its mcmberSt'l.te e

. > .

^{~edy2J. of'f'Lce ~,rhi ch} "'p p ' :i. es- French L2-.1 ,':hereby rrotection granted under-T'rench ,k .toT in respect of 'pa t e n t s , trade marks or COPYl'::'.:;'lt3 i.;;;

extended automatic_ally upon rGg:istri;~tion't o all t'he member states aI' O!:.Plo . ESARIPO:

on the other hand., se~j;:3 to promote the development of nati onal Lndependerrt indus:trial properly regi.tnos of' Hs member-Stat es Hhich do not 'de pe nd. oil the appl i.crrtLon:-Qf

fore5.e;.1 laws⁰ T,ne di::'fert';llCCG'_~11 the objectLves 0;: OlPI and :8SAR~O described

ab~v~.,}~nd the diff'erei1,ces in legal practices HHh respect to iniustriP.l prqperty bet\'1een I:rancophone a..rid anglophonecountries melee i t impracticc.blen.nd unde.si,J;'aible to proposeitne mer-ger.

0 ::: q :lWT,

a.1~cI. ^]DS!iRIPO in the near future~ They shoulcly:hOl,t-, over, inte11sify co-opez-ati.on ,amon g themselve~ t'1:.t h a v'i.evr tobridg:j.ng the rgJ,pthat"

exists ^{bet 'lrJe}elt them. .

37. OAPI and ESARIPO have established formal relat.ions ",rit h ARCT andMCED'Sr1! but this should be f'ur-bher- oxp'Loited for there is,no doubt that ARCT and

imCJ:h,-TEIiI

^woul.d

be able t o make greatez- us e of the patent documentatLon facilities av a ila b l e,at both OliPI and ~GSAHlPO.

Trro1sport and communications

38. The Port Hanagement Associations for J~asterl1 and Southern Africa, Har t h Africa and Host and Cerrt nal. Afri ca must each have the full support of their member states and in particular their respective host E;0ver!lIllents if they are to continue to

EjECA!CM.ll!17!Add.l Page 10

develop. These associations do not. liKe other multinational institutions. lend themselves to being tal:el1 over bye. member State even if they 2.re willing to

operate them as multinational insti tUti01lS.. If financial support for the.m ceases, the alternative would be their dissolution. The·Ad'Boc Committee does not also advocate their merger as it feels that the problems of port management are best tackled not by one association for the entire continent but by various associations for segments of the continent which have similar problems and shipping traditions.

. .

39.

As the Ad Hoc Committee stated in its first report, gCA should continue to provide secretariat and technical services to the Port lianagemelH ll'ssociatioll for ..EaStern and Southern ,Af'r i ca ..

40. In its first repoJ;'i; the Ad Hoc Comrilittee advocat ad the esrt abl.Lsbmerrt of a •

•

secretariat for the Traus-African Higlnvay Authority vrh foh would be coustitutedby the ECA Trcms-Afric.:'Ul High"ra.ys Bureau• .The Ad Hoc Committee is still·of the view that the dissolution cf the secretariats of the tHO High\'lTay' Authorities and the assumption of theirfw1ctions by an enlarged ECA Trans-African Highl'JayS Bureau would best serve the interests of economy a.id ratioilalization, having regard to the bad re cord.of the member States in proViding financial support for the two ; Highway AutDorities.

Trade

andfin~~cial matters

.41. · :i·llii l s t the Ad Hoc Oommi.ttiee has nothing further to add to Lts commen.ts about

·t he mul t i nat i ona l _financic.~.l institutions. contained ill its first repor-t , it feels

constrained to comment about the Association of African Trade Promcti.on Orgo.ni,.za- tionS (AATPO) and the newl.y created Federation of ~li'riear: Chambers of Oommez-oe

(FACC). The Ad Hoc Committee isa\1are that .t he latter .i ns t i t u t i on ^{lrl aE:l} estap1:is11ed in pursuance of a recommendation contained in the :Lagos Plan of Action. The Ad Hoc Committee feels. bowevcr-, that·havi.ng regard to the same Lagos Plan.of .'tction

\1hich reque'sts the Executive Se6retar.f of ·ECA and th0 Secretary-Genern.l of OAU to ensure that no nev multinational institutions should be created unless their· •

creation has been thorou~ly examined after the possibilities offered by natLonal.

or e:dsting multinational ones have first '.)ee11 fully considered, the possiblities of ezpandf.ng the objectives of AATPO to accommod..:",to thcfunctio;.:r; of t:10 _~oration of Africa.n Chambers of Commerce should. have bsen given greater consideration. As

it ·t s . there are now tHo institutions'namely AATPO, dealing "lith an aspect of the

activities of the chambers of commer-oe , and the other. the Peder-atLon of African Chambers of Oommer ce , The;it Hoc Committee is of the opinion that FACe shoul.d

oonsider- establishing a mechanism for sub-contracting some of its functions to AATPO. Host eapeodal.Iy, the Ad Hoc Committee believes that FACC should run its trade operations centre through fu\TPO.

42.

80 far the Association :of African Tax Administrators (AA~A) continues to be serviced by ECA and the Ad Hoc Commitiee recommenrl.s tho.t tIns should continue until such time as the l~xe cut ive Secretary of ::!lCA is satisfied that lJi.TA can independently and satisfa-clarDy operate its ^mID secretariat.

lSi • • •

J '• • , La

.W t4' 1

... _~~.~ .. . A'::";"~~'~""'~"""''''' ''''_''''' _''''''''''''IfdOO!!'::'i''''''''''CU_---

E/ECA/CM.ll/l1/Add• l Page 11

OAtF-sp6nsorod 5n'3t.i+'t"..~

4J~: l~.fu.nY of'th'3 OA'J··sponso:.:ed institutions such'as the Pan-African Telecommunications

uniciii '

(PATU)~' th<?- P:m·~African Postal Union (PAPU), the Union of African Railw~

(UAR). the Pan-At rd can N'eH8 A{§!ncy (P.lh~A), the Supreme Council for sports in Africa (SCSA) and the k~rioan Civil Avia'cion Commission (AFCAC)o deal; with sped.alized or specific aubje ots and the problems of duplication and overlapping of functions among them:are quite ofien not as seriouu as in the case of other African multinational institutions. ';.'his explains Hhy they have received less mention in the .dis cus s i on of mergers of lnstitu:~io~".q in this repor-t" However-, if mergers.are Qften not .applicable in thei:!:' oac os, these instHu'cions too could 'cert ain l y benefit fro~ a

greater harmoni.zrrbi.on of their activities either ,lith other OAU- or ECA-sponsored institutions or tvith o:.;ullregional insti tut.ion,s not sponsored by the t''10 organizations.

Indeed, some of the~ alre~y Nork in Glose 'c~operat ion with other regional and

sUbre~onal or-gandzat Lons , For example, the Pan-African Telecommunications Union (PATU) is a member of -~he Co-o:-dinating Committee of the PANAPrEL net1....or~c and it has close worl' ing rel?-l:~':'::d..5.r::: ~~~~~;1. lTU~: "U':PT~ ARSO, URTNA and AFCAC1 ,while the Pan-African J.lTews A~ncy ' (PJUfA) works closely with PATU and PAPU. However, such working reJ,attons ofben tend to be more informal than formal and there mey be a case for a great0~ institutionalization of co-operation and co-ordi~tionamong them through the CaoiYl,et Office ()f the OAn Secretary-..General. .

44.

If OAU-spon~o:c':'; (~ :;'nstitutiol1s have re ce LveI less mention as regards harmoni~a.­

tion and/or u:~rg")rs of institutions: H is not so when it comes to the perennial problems of Lack of patron-:,g-e and irregular and non-payment of contributlons by member Sta'!ies~ Everything that has already been said in 1;hi8 regard applies equq.lly to ECA- and OAtJ-sponsored. ir,stitutions ... Indeed, it seemst,1,la-:t ^·',1 spit e of the

publicity they re oedve , the critical importance of the OA{~sponsorodinstitutions ' is not often f"1.11y appreciated" The fact seems to be that quite often ,t he s e organizations a7.'~ ':;ak~'n for ,~.;.r'1:lt'3d . ^2.3 :i.:t' thov can f'unct ion effectivelY. "rithout "

getting the supr-Qr~ and the rezources that they need.

45.

If the ECA-: and CAtJ-:-;p crL1('::,e d ir13titutions are to be as effective as possible, then they must 1"1ork o.l.caeLy tri.th O·:1b.0:t' AfX':!.call national institutions active in thE!.

same or simHm:' fio] "s , In th::'s ^Hay the ECA- and. OAl.1-c·,sponsored institu·tions will be abf,e to Learn abcu:; Hhat is happening Loca.Hy, gear themselves to satisfying local needs emu ihex'e1w ~)8 (;('m.0 ";,x ;t,·te:' and mora ef::'ective regional institutions.

46.

There exiGt ~n several AfriC3n. countries national institutions for training and research in e cono:nic developmerr; and planning" The Ad Hoc Coromi ttee feels that institutions 'like IDEP and ACARTSOU should have close working relations with

national institutions Hork:i.ng in ·.he same fields

if

they are to respond. effectively to the needs of their member'sta:!;es and avoid duplicating their efforts. Similarly, there is not a singl~) 1\f....';.c<.'n country .,hi ch has not got a national institution

concerned lidth the nen and glamorous fields of science and. te chnology and the development of renewab.'.o sour-ces of energy. ARC'll should ,e s t ab l i s h close >lorking relationships w:i,th all these national institutions ~ '.': it finds itself out of touch \'1ith the needs of its member states and consequently discredited.

EjEcA!cn.ll!17!Add.l Page 12

47. i\.frican States :facing the competing demands on their scarce foreign exchange resources should be wooed by the confidence which multinational institutions are able to instil in them and this they can partly achieve by not remaining aloof' in the false security of their mUltinationalil1l1l1 bu;li by paving serious attention to what their member States uant as discernible goa-II? df national instit~tions.

Harmonization with other'AfX1cari multinational institutions ^{.' ,."}

48.

Apart from national institutions, there·are Africpn multinational.institutionS,:;

thn.t operate in the same or similar ·f i e l ds as some of the ECA- and OAU--Sponsored institutions. For example, the Council for the Development of iliconomic and Social Research in Africa (OO:qESRIA). based in Dakar-, is a multinational l'.:frioa.n ·i nst i t u- ' tion · opera.ting.in thi3 field. lIB such, it deserves close co-operation from related' ECA-sponsored institutions, especially IDEI' and ACARTSOD \'lhich al.so will benefit by:' worldng~losely with such a \'lell-developed centre t'rith substantial inteI"l:W.tional>

support:.·. The .Ad Hoc.Committee feels strongly .t h a t t he ECA- and OAlJ-sponsored institutions should examine their objectives and activities in relation to those of' other African'multinational organizations so as to achieve maximum co-operation and. avoid duplication of efforts. ill cases l-lhere there already exists an efficient African mUltitiational organization \fhich

·· . can

serve a particular purpose, it would be ~iasteful to es tabl.Lsh other institutfons for the same purpose.

49.

ill the field of mineral resources development ECA has alrec.dy sponsored the establislunent of ESAMRDC and ·CAMIllC but the situation:is' further complicated by the faCt that the Luaakrs-baaed MULPOC Ni thin w~ich ESAMRDC operates has , in- dependently of. ESAMlp)C, its otrn programme on'thE:' development of en·i r.on and steel industry within the Eastern and Southern Afrioan8~bregion. Hithin t·he same

subregion also, 'at t empt s are being made within the framework of SADCCto establish national units concerned \1ith mineral resouz-cesdeve lojment , This conf'uSed state of affairs could be the result of a lack of confidence in the meagrcly supported ESAMRDC by the majoritY ,o.f the countries of Eastern and Southern A£rica. Should ESJU.ffiDC continue to live in the face of such apparent disinterest? Hould more attention on the part of ESA1IP.DC to the local needs of +.he countries of' the

subregion, most of which are not member States of ES~,ffiDC~ have made aJ.lY difference?

\olhilst these remain imponderables, the Ad Hoc Committee would Li.ke to stress the importnnce of ECA- or OAlJ-sponsored institutions keeping the closest possible links with e.:::isting related African multinational orga':izations"

50. One :f\urthei:'obs e rvat i on while still on tIns point" The Ad

Hoc

Committee has already suggested'that one option that shoul.d be considered in the location·of the African Regional Centre for Solar Energy (AROSE) is its placement cloee to the Oent re regional d'~nergie.aoLai.re'in Bamako, ~·~h, or the merger of the new- insti tution with the alre~. t'1ell~veloped·centre. The latter, \'1hich apart from the support of the"·member' Siie,tes of G:8AO,·enjoys the financial support of the EEC, France, vlest Germany and UHDP, could more oonveni.errt Iy be expanded to cater for the solar energy needs of the entire continent. Af'ter all, the

sUn

is the sun

whethe~ in·Hest, North, South, Central or East Africa.

51. .!l. critical question th<1t needs to be c~nsid.ered in this kind of situation

\'lhich involves the merger of ECA-sponsored·

and·

non-ECA institutions ·i s the role that external assistance·could play in facilitating or inhibiting such mergers.

•

4

•

_"

__ - - - : -

,

.

E/~CA/CM.~1/17/Add.1

": " , ' ,..~Cl:ge 13

. ~.' ~'

The Ad Hoc,Committee recognizes that governments could ~ lured Qy ,e xt e rna l aSsistance':i rit o etitabl;sh~g splinter institutions andt~~: pro~'p~bts,t ha t .such aaEtistance cotild:'d.isappearuporithe merger of such institutions wit:h"6tl1(~r,~ri can multinational institutions coul.d-have divisive Lnf'Iuenoes^s '1th~fAd Hoc' coiIiiii:ittee would therefore like to appeal to donor countries and agencies .t Q viet[ such :\' met-gers"

a:s'

positive steps 'that deserve their corrt inued support. '

1

• Q

52.

,I1;L ,i t s f~rst report, the Ad Hoc Committee d.re\·1 att~~~ion to this,\dcler problem of harm()ili.za~iol1with other_'l:f'rica.n multinational'inst.itutions, even th()u~r ,in a striot-senser'such in:stitutiOllS l'Tere outside'its torms of referenoe_~ .The Act' HC2£

Committee liould like to emphasize uhat it said ill.tha~ report in.,t his. oom~~~tiort,

namely that "since every new institution uH·l;:·impbSe'''tw·'addi·tionaf..:.x--i:n~1:del 'burden l»,l member :;;~ate~, many of 't-lho~ are alrea?Y.,experiencing~fficul~J~~Ln meeting . ,:the i~ commit.~nts to exi.st~ng.inatitutions. ~t i;s neoeasary to;re.vi,et( tIle .pr obl.em : 'of!co;.;;ol'ainationand harmond sat Lon on'a broade r basis th8.41 the termS of 're f e r en ce .. ' of·'~he.:^.Ad'Hc>c:"Conimitt'eehave ,'~liolled.).t,:~o ^{cio".' (para.'}

23). ·. ..

1·~ii~·

.

~h~ Ati"H<?c

";¢o~~l;ee iB'n()1i advocating

,:-ii.

thissta~

that

a,8pecial·,coriiInij;tl1e,~.pe·~!3t~up:,for this ,':',:;'. ,P~'"PQSE",. it,'iTould~like to propose that such inl?titutionsbe ~n601fr~~d.to'.J:~9ogi1i.ze

' : i!t he-':6<>;Jor di,no.-t:ln g ro l e .or' the ECA _andOAU'sec~t?iats. ,on \V~ose S,E!~ce~,they ';;::, ;l\tre quetit ly

depend

for the .pe r f orman ce of their activities. ·:.T11~re.i,s· 'i nde e d.'a

, _,v': "~~ce~l~:t''t ha.t should_.'s~rve

as M

example

, l<T Qrt ll

emulating. .

The .

,~t'ei--~i.9.~ Coffee

" '~!' ::',·~~!ilatI~n, 'i~ ', n<?t' an· ~Gl~- orOAtk~onso~dorganization, _~dyet ,.i t has:'e f its

::';:6mr:voHti on~ r~ qUest ed EcA to adopt it almost 2.S i~sotm creation. 'The ~d,,'Hoc

c,>eomrhft t e E;':'belie ve s'that all such regional 'or E3t~bregi.onal .or gani za.t i ons ,.)~~~peetive of hOli they came into existence, ehoukd<be made to appreCiate _'tha~ in

a'

cen:tinent as fra@lle1;lted

a,.s

.Afr i ca is, co-opez-atdcn, co-ordination, harmoniz~tion. i.ntegra:t.ion, eto~~

'are

,iiiatters .~ha.t''''~ cri tic.a1'to Afri,can survivalin ,aworlCi,'pf'-1in~ct4~l

p~lte~"andshou~c1 therefore' _a.ro~se its concerris , inspire.it!? pl<3.l~J.ng,:mCi. .~nfluen ce ,~ ::, .~~~ pfid~iti~s. It is only i~ 'this wC\Y that theo.ream of an,.lfriq..9.I."i·:G'()~n,·}!arket .... ;rarid."E60ri:C:iiiiio·'c6!iniiuiii t y cari..become a reality. " ,

.'. '.;.:.'.. ..! ,:'..: . . .. ~.

.' '-'"''';~"..

.' :.

Some

'basic

issues•• recommEmda.tions

ana

conclusions

..^~.~ . .' "';.^: . ^{~'. '} .

,:<53~," : ~({;mCA

^{:,arld':::OAtr}

in~tituti~ne

^{pertorm 'eli}

verse~ctions

^and'

ill~~t~~t~ ' :i~

^their

.../' _{':Bi3p~ate 't~:} some:of',_th~ majorconsideratious _:,th~t t10uld.llave to _{~ :i\lk~n}-i nt o

" _' a~C:6iitit· ~n e~tablil?hing guidelines and d.esignilig arrangeinentsthatwoUld.:,:caniribute

, to'the'·'\riability.:a:q;ci e:ffeciivenesE! of African mult'J.n<ttional in~tit~tio~s.· ~."These

, .. consideratlorisa.re: ", -, . ' , ' -

-. :': ~ :..:. :. . ' . . .'

; ' (~) , : ^{Th~ .}

d.a6a.girig

e~feci

of irregp.lar·or .non-epaytaent of,

c;Cmtribut~ons

^{by member}

States .qn·th~: effeetivenes~ of:t he institutions7' ' .

(b) The importance of host government support, m08tes~cia~1y.the provaaaon of a rent-free t'1orldng accoonnodation and other facilities

'r-or -

^the-vi'ability and

~ff'E3.otivenes8_. 9f the :i n8t i tutionsi _~'" .

' ." . . .

(~) ~E{

importailoo 'of olose

~ collaboration with· l,~oal , i~tit~tiO~~ in :t;ne

hoat countries to"the';V1ab,ility and effectiveness'of.t·he i ns t i t ut.i ol?-6j :'

:'.'

E/ECA/CM.ll/17/Add• 1 Page

14

, (d) The necesli!i

~y

^to

prOmote :~ater ;U~i,lizatio~ ot 1;h~ ~e~,(~rfr'

^{of the}

.:,institutions,~9: thus,a~Bist them t~ e;p1ore 1;he'piJt~~tia;lfor,e arning ~venu.es

~gh adviQozy, ,consuJ,t an qy a..~dother serviCesj " :"", " , ,' ,'

(e)

measures;

The :~'~saity to, .re du ce the coat (if operations throu~: ^various' eCc>nOll\Y

""

.

^{- . ," " . ' .}

, ' , (f ) The need for a :lu der dittusion of'',information about the setvi

oea ,

pI-oVided by the institutions as a means or' mobilizing support fo# them';. -'

~rewa.r'^{WWeents of'}oontdl:mtiol1s

,'54.

The ve'q'basis

ot

:t he

~ltinatioIi'al

institutic)lls is the

6oinmitmeJ:rt' ,~":r

^{,t he" . '}

',membe r states to support these institutions financiaily, and it is imP<;l.rt,ant that , theseoominitments be maintained. if the institutions are to be viable'in the .Lon g

rim.

While the 'w-es el1t Lack of support from some me!J1oor'states

' ma¥'

1)e explained

"in,t e rms of the diffioulteconomic situationthat many coUntries are goi,n'gthrough,

it is possible that,some'member States m~

have

changed their'earlie:r.'~stiJn:a.tion

,of the value of some of the,iristitutions tothElir needs and maJlY therefore"a sh to ,review their commitinent in the light"of new'cir~ta.nce s . It 'is impo~~t there- ,f or e that attempts be made to _asce,rt~in afresh the commitments ,of mem'ber St at es to , the varioUs institutiol1s,a.nd'the 'extent to which they are willing to undert.frlte the :'survival of the institutiop,e.for a given period, saur five yeats, nrterll1hich the

situation l"fill be reviel'redoiloe again. . "

55. '

The one most importan.t factor retarding thedeveloP!Ilent,of the existing' institutions'is ,the lack of financial support for them by their member States.

The A.d.'Hoc,Comrilittee is convinced that African countries l"1hiOO are member stq.tes of

an

institution

can

no lori~r pretend that they are not~ aw~ ot'the institutions 'thich they joined by the solemn'act of accession. or of its imporlance. · '

56.

~Iember Sta.tes of the·,BC,A;.;o:an d OAu-Gponsored institutiolis ~itheI'l"1ant"'the

e

institutions which have been established'f or thelIl. at their urgings.or not. If they still do, then t'hey mUst live up to their.financial responsibilities to their inStitutions.]ht far too OftEli:i.:·African colintr;l.es have only paid lip service in . their reaffirma.tion of 't he'ir corilmitments ,to their multinationai iustitutions. To

ensure that this does not happen ^rmy:more, the Ad

Hoc

Committee recommends t,hat the Exe outi ve Se cretar.v of ECA and the Secretar,y-General of OAU should as certain

from,the governments of the member States of the institutions sponsored,by them

whether the governments'are' still'int e rest e d in the institutions and ohta!n from them solemn declarations of intent to support the institutionsfinancially~

Host:gpvernmant'support

57.

It is clear from the evidence 'that many' of the institutions wo~ld have ceased operations 'but for the extra support provided by their host governmentl:l. Hhi.le in principle "a mUltinational instituti.6n filhoUld'oo supported: by contripdtionsfrom all member'States, the specia.l· p6£iltion

and

responsibility of the host goVernment" - would have to be recognized. In the present difficult circumstances that many countries are going through, including some of the host governments themselves, the ver:r fact of hosting an instituti~n 1-lill plaoe an extra burden on the host

,

E/ECA/CM.ll/11/

Add.

I Page 15

gowminents, and

iD.

the final analysis, it is the host governments,

which.

ha\re to decide whether or not the

game

is still reallY' worth the candle.

one

^{option for}

-policq- is to pursue a combinat ion of measures that would involve,

on ,

^the-one

hand,"-firm commitments of s~pport,:from at least a few of the member states of an institution' and on the other hand, -a ocept ance of additional commitments by the host government. In cases where the hosted institution still p~ rents for its premises'i'"the ^addd,tiona! oomndtments oould include an undertaking by' the host governments'to provide free of charge tha physical faoilities requi;red

bY

the institutions.

58.

The Ad Hoc Cdmmi.ttee also recommends'that

the

Executive secret~ of

Eci

and the Secretar.r--General of OAU should ascertain from the host 'governments of' the institutions sponsored by' them the extent to which theY' will underwrite the

existance and development of the institutions as multinational institutions"

f-or

a given period in case of extreme difficulties resulting trom non-PBiY1Jl8nt of member-

ship contributions. ' ' -

59. '

The Executive Seoret~ of IOOA should report the -f i ndings to the,twelfth meeting of the ECA Conference of Miriisters.

Relations with institutions in the host 'oount ries

60. All the evidence point to the wisdom of locating multinational: institwtfans within or very olose to related institutions in'host countries with whi~ ~l\eY'- ,

oa.n

enjoY' mutually beneficial relations and shared facilities. Isolated institu- tions have proved to be very ~xpensivebothto:t he member States and to 'the host governments, and the trend should'be as far as possible" in the other direeti'on. ,"

Host governments should examine: the possibility-of' 're l o cat i ng some of thosie _

inst~tutions within their borders which liave turned out to be rather expensive"

because of' their isolation. " '

"':,'

utilizing the aervlces of Af'rioan nnilti.li.ational "i ns t i t uti ons

i. I :", .

61. If African countries set up multinational institutions, it i.e incumbent on "

them to make use of them. More of'ten than not, it is the case that

Afri'can"

countries ^do not seem to baaware of the 'mul t i nat i onal institutions whioh theY' have established and seek help from foreign ihatitutions which lure AfrioM

~tries by Bupplying so-called expertsf'ree of cha.l'ga. Even'in auohcases where iliican countries seem to be having the services of foreiBll experts free of charge, it is the African countries which will be the loosers in the end. _

:art

it is also well known that African countries spend direoti;r.large amountsot scarce foreign exchange resources on pa.ying for foreign consultants trThose

knowledge of local oonditions are suspeot, and who often spend brief periods in Afrioa., write their reports and then_c1i.sappear. It is "hi gh tilDe tha.~ African countries showed confidence in their own institutions which

are

^fmanned by African experts who have better knowledge

ot

existing local conditions than a.ny'one else.

African countries must demonstrate their confidence in their own institutiona.

,62. .A:frioa has the greatest number of LDCs in the world and yet Africa remained passive spectators to the "travesty perpetuated ^by' a,situation where foreign-experts from developed countries, instead of IDEP for instance, were oommissioned to" "

undertake the UNDP-f'inanoed study on the LOOs. If.African countries use their