UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC
SOCIAL COUNCIL AND
PROVISIONAL
J Maroh 1964
Original? ENGLISH/FRENCH
ECONOMIC COMMISSION W>R AFRICA
COMMITTEE I
PROVISIONAL SUMMARi" RECORD OP -THE SEVENTEENTH MEETING held at Africa Hall, Addis Ababa
on Wednesday 26 February, at 9*20 a, mo
Chairmans
Secretary;
Mr, SIDIKOU (Niger)
Mr, EWING
CONTENTS: Industry, transport and natural resour-ces
(item 3 (e) of the agenda) (continued) (i) General (E/CN,14/245»Corr«l and Add, 1
E/CN,14/246 and Corr.-l) (continued)
(ii) Industry (e/cN,14/246 and Corr. 1 247 and Corr. 1
248 and Corrn l)
Participants wishing to have corrections made to this provisional^^
summary record are requested to write them on a copy of the record and to send the corrected copy to the Translation Section, Room 60, as soon as possible, If necessary, the corrected copy may be sent by post
(to the Translation Section. Economic Commission for Africa, P.O.Box
3001, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) after the session; in that case, it should arrive not later then 30 April 1964.64-648
E/CN, 14/C..l/SR._17 (VI)
INDUSTRY, TRANSPORT AND NATURAL RESOURCES (item 5 (e) of the agenda) (continued)
(i) General . (e/CN«14/245, Ccrr, 1 and Add.l, E/CH.I4/246 afad Corr. l) (continued)
The CHAIRMAN; invited .the Committee to continue its examina tion of the Standing Committee's report, . . ■ .
Mr. RA.JAOBELINA (Madagascar) expressed general approval of the Standing Committee's conclusions which implied that.problems of industry and.transport should he approached on a sub-regional basis.
That had a double;.advantage since it facilitated preliminary studies and agreement .on, .transport problems and their solution-and made it' possible to test the solutions before applying them on a regional
scale -, . .. . ■. .' „ ■ ■ ' '":
Mr. MAZIGH (Tunisia) supported the Standing Committee's report and hoped that the Committee would adopt it as a whole. He wished however to propose' certain amendments. In paragraph 26, the phrase beginning with the words "Economic Commission for Africa's sub- regional approach . , „" should be redrafted so as tc refer to the necessity for co-ordination between the sub-regions and a definition of the principles common to the region. The opening sentence of para
graph 28. should be deleted since document E/CN.14/™b/4« had ^een
taken as a working paper but has been supplemented by the Standing
Committee's works,. Two new sub-paragraphs (e) and.(f) should be added to paragraph 29, to reads"(e) National and regional studies of trans port administration problems;" and "(f) Study on the setting up of- ■- machinery, industries (lorries and ships) which are related tor trans-, port problems in Africa", Paragraph 33 should state that the tourist industry should be studied in the light of ECCSOC resolution 935'
(XXXV) and of the results of the United Nations Conference on Inter
national Travel and. Tourisnu . . ■ ■ . _
Mrn CURTIS (Guinea) expressed regret that the' Guinean delegation had been unable cc take part in the work of the Standing Committee, He1 was surprised that the- section of annex YII headed
E/CK.14/C*l/SR,,17(VI)
Page 2
"Intensive Studies of Individual Industries" failed to mention the aluminium industry. It would he premature to select a site for an iron
and steel works without taking account of the programmes of certainStates. He supported the proposal in annex VII (page 2, section (b), ■.
group 1 (i)) that problems of co-ordination should be studied at the
sub-regional level and' comparative studies made. He also hoped thaton page 7, sub-paragraph (c) of document E/CN.14/245, Corr.l mention '
would be made ..of the Bamako Conference.Mr. KAMITATU (Congo, Leopoldville) congratulated the Chair
man of thef Standing Committee but regretted that no working parly hadbeen set: up. He. urged that ECA should give its approval without delay-
to the Central African sub-region the establishment of which had been recommended by the secretariat and by the Standing Committee. He approvedparagraph 6 as re-draf+.ed (E/CN,14/245/Corr.l) which provided that the
report of the industrial co-ordination mission to East and Central Africa be regarded as provisional until missions had been sent to the countries not visited. He hoped that the African countries in a single sub-region would agree on a .common development strategy and that the terms of reference .of economic co-ordination missions be widened. He hoped that, steps would be taken to suppress illicit traffic in the diamondindustry.
Mr. BERTHELOT:(ivory Coast) wished to associate his delega
tion with-the congratulations that had been expressed to the Standing ■■Committee, .and: its Chairman on its report and work programme. Like the representatives of Madagascar and Congo (Leopoldville), he thought that co-ordination.at the sub-regional level should be approached by stages, . A first step should be the co-ordination of undertakings which were too large for the. national market. Ivory Coast had already taken steps in that, direction by examining with Senegal the possibility of a division of: labour in the building of motor vehicles and lorries.
National markets could absorb the output of small-scale under takings if rural purchasing power were increased? it was accordingly essential.to co-ordinate agricultural production. The Ivory Coast delegation had taken note with particular.interest of Part III ef the
/
Page
report of the West African industrial co-ordination mission (e/CN, 14/246)
concerning the development of medium and small scale industries; it
would submit a number of corrections referring mainly to Part 12 of the report,
Mr, LOKO (Dahomev) associated himself with the remarks of. the - representatives of.Madagascar and Conge (Leopoldville) and hqped that the Committee would.adopt the Standing Committee's report so that ■ ' . ' precise proposals on co-ordination at the sub-regional level could
be formulated,,
ttr, DARFISH (United. Arab Republic) recalled that the United Arab Republic had launched two industrialization plans and that it was ready to place its experience at the disposal of ECA member countries*
■ Mr. ESSOME (Cameroon) stressed the interest felt by his country in co-ordination, first at the sub-regional and later at the all-African level, He; approved the statements made in plenary by the representative of Chad and during the present meeting by the represen- . Natives of Congo. (Leopoldville-) and Ivory Coast,. He particularly hoped
that a. Central African sub-region would be established in^the near future.
Mr. SHOLOLA (Nigeria) recalled that, in plenary, the
Nigerian delegation had urged that special care be taken in recruiting staff for the Research Institute-with a view to its complete afrioan-
ization.
Mr. KME' (Mauritania) regretted that the industrial 00- ordination mission had not visited Mauritania and hoped that the Bamako Conference would take account of the Standing Committee's report, which his delegation entirely supported.
Mr, BRIGHT (Liberia) regretted that net all member countries of the We*t -African 'sub-region had been able to be represented at the Monrovia meeting en the iron and steel industry and at the Conference ' on harmonization held, at La^os, He particularly regretted that certain delegations had proposed that a decision on the situation of an iron and steel works be postponed and recommended that the Bamako Conference be held at ministerial level when it would deal with technioal and not
with political questions^
E/CN.14/C .A/SJU17
Page 4
Mr, MENSAH (Ghana) thought that the proposals concerning the
textile market should refer to the development programmes of the various countries which were striving to raise the living standards of their peoples and, in particular, of their rural populations. It should "be borne in mind that an improved standard of living could not fail to
increase the demand for textiles.
There was a discrepancy between the figure of 70 million inhabi tants for the population of West Africa given in paragraph 9 of the
report of the West African co-ordination mission (E/CN,14/246) and. the
figure of 71 millions given in paragraph 145, The finishing plant
mentioned in paragraph 143 was situated 30 km. (l8 miles) from Accra
and not 80 km, (50 miles)- ,; .
Mr, N'BAW (Mali) congratulated the. Standing Committee on the excellent over-all survey given in the report on its second session*
With regard to the work programme-in annex VII, he thought that perhaps additional details and accounts of certain concrete studies, particu larly of technical—economic questions, might be included to facilitate
the work of the Bamtko Conference.
Mr. SHERLALA (Libya) joined in the congratulations addressed to the Chairman and members of the Standing Committee • He particularly' welcomed the special attention given to the question of building a trans-Sahara route. The Standing Committee in its report had reached the same Conclusions as ECA at, its Fifth Session, namely,, that , . further long-term studies of industrialization should be carried out..
He also wished to congratulate the Secretariat of the North African industrial co-ordination mission on its report which was the first document on industrial co-ordination in that sub-region. This Government intended to request ECA to make a detailed study regarding. . the establishment of jointly managed industries in Tunisia and Libya.
(.,., Mr. KIAB0UME1E (Niger) was glad that-the. Standing Committee., had made a particular study of the question of the harmonization and
co-ordination of national development plans. He drew the Committee's attention to the studies already undertaken by various African States
E/Ctf- 04/C.1/SB.17(VI)
Pago 5
in■ manjr sectors, particularly transport and telecommunications. Those studies should "be classified and compared and could provide a "basis for a single'documentt He further proposed that a study on solar energy should be included in the work programme of the Standing'
Committee. His delegation vrould submit a draft resolution-in plenary, for. the creation of an experimental solar energy centre in the Central African sub—region,,
:Mr5 LAVRITCHMKO (USSR) stated that, in the light of the ~ information-provided' by ECA, it was clear/that, despite its immense <
resources of mineral and agricultural,.raw materials,, the African con-^
tinent-was. not yet playing its full part, in world industrial -production*
It was therefore desirable that ECA should'prepare a series of studies on the most rational methods for.industrializing African countries.
He drew-the .secretariat' s attention to the- fact that, in.the-.
African Economic Bulletin, pride , of place was given to the economic development of Western powers^ and.that no similar information was given on the economic development of the Soviet Union and-other socials ist countries. Place should be found for a description of the■economic development of the socialist countries in future issues of the Bulletin,
To: enable African countries to "build up their national economies, the Soviet. Union ha4 placed at their disposal credits on exceptionally favourable terms, .providing, in general, for a rate :of. interest: -of 2.5 to 3- per cent and for amortization in-up to 12 years. The credit terms granted- to African countries-by tbts Western powers and. by ..inter national financial organizations were\}l .on; the! contrary, extremely
severe*
Soviet Union would alw.ays be glad to assist African countries in the fields: of industry, -agriculture, education, public health, tele- ccmmunications and geological, .and hydro-geological research, . ...
.. ■■■-. ■ Mr.. -ABDELKAD3R. (Algeria),. Chairman of the Standing-.-Committee, noted that a number of delegations had expressed a fear lest the' co ordination of development: plans be tackled on a continental .scale: with out passing through-the ,sub-regiona-1 level. It was .true that the; way .
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Page 6
in which sub-regional co-ordination would "be carried out had not yet been finally fixed? but ? as. w_as stated in the report, the Standing Committee had requested ECA to undertake a study of the question ,
With regard to the creation of a fourth sub-region, it was essential not to sst rigid geographical limits to sub-regions, as such limits were not always appropriate from an economic standpoint.
He regretted that the representative of Guinea had not been able to attend the meetings of the Standing Committee where he would have been able to submit proposals on the aluminium industry. It was in
dispensable for ECA to send a mission to the countries that had not yet been visited so as to be able to draw up a complete inventory of existing possibilities in Africa,
With regard to the illicit traffic in diamonds, he suggested that the representative of Congo (Leopoldville) consult'with other delegations with a view to submitting a draft resolution oh the suppression of the traffic to ECAt He to*)]*: the opportunity-to congratulate the represent tative of Congo (Leopoldville) on the very important document he had
prepared on the development strategy.
In reply to the representative of the Ivory Coast, he drew attention tc the corrected version of paragraph 6 of the Standing Committee's report which said that the basic objectives of industrial co-ordination missions were "investigations of the scope for develop ment of industries and the laying down of new industries on a scale
requiring markets beyond the scope of most African countries, and hence sub-regional co-ordination,"
Replying to the representative of Mali? he explained that, in the work programme", projects had been classifiedby order of priority, A two-year time-table -- subject, of course, to correction or modification -
had also been drawn up by the secretariat.
In conclusion,, he thanked the USSR representative for his state- ment about the financial aid granted to African countries. The
Standing Committee's report did indeed mention thot lending countries sometimes imposed draconian conditions on African countries*
B/ci?0J4/c.
Page 7
Mr. ETOTG (Secretary) wished to point out that the question
of the 'aluminium industry was dealt with in the study on non-ferrous metals included in the report of the West African industrial co-ordin
ation mission. Moreover, the question would be examined in greater detail in a future study,
In the course of its preparatory work for the Bamako Conference;, the secretariat, with the help of advisers, would produce studies on the iron and steel industry, .chemical products and fertilizers, cement and textiles* The FAO had prepared a document on the food products ' industries.
He assured the representative of Congo (Leopoldville) that the final report of the East and Central African industrial co-ordination mission would take account of the conclusions of the mission which would shortly be sent to his country.
He thanked the representative of Ghana for having pointed out the
discrepancy between paragraphs 9 and 145 of document E/CU.I4/246
concerning the population of West Africa, It had arisen because in, the table at the end of paragraph 145, account .had not been taken of.
countries whioh had not supplied the data requested on the market for textile goods.
Mr, SMITH (United States of America) pointed out that the United States of America had given loans for industry and a variety of
other purposes which were repayable in 40 years at an interest of 0.75 per cent. In his opinion, that rate could not be regarded as
£00 high*
The meeting was suspended at 11.05 a.m, and resumed at 11,50 a.m.
/ Page 8
(ii) Industry (E/CJJ.14/246 and Corr.l, 247 and Corr.l, 24& and Corr.l)
■ Mr. MING, Secretariat, regretted that a number of errors had found 'their way into the reports before the Committee and he drew attention to the relevant corrections. The reports dealt with a large number of countries, but they were all confined to the same subject of Industrial co-ordination. Each report consisted of three parts dealing with the same type of.question. North Africa was much closer to having solved the matter ( than either of the other two sub-regions. Accordingly, the proposals
concerning those two sub-regions were particularly liable ;to be added to,
or even radically revised. As the representative of the Congo. (Leopoldville)
had pointed out, industrial co-ordination should be viewed against the wider background of co-ordination in every sector. The United Nations
and the specialized agencies were "always ready to collaborate in carrying
out tho decisions taken, . .,r
Mr. KWILA (Northern Rhodesia) expressed his Government's thanks
for the work of the mission to East Africa (E/CN.14/247 and"Corr.l).
Northern Rhodesia had been endeavouring for some time to start "on some of the projects recommended by the mission and it hoped to advance to the next
stage despite the obstacles still to be overcome. :
"The development of medium and small-scale industries should not"be limited to the national market, but the possibilities of exchanges between neighbouring countries should be borne in mind. A sub-regional meeting had requested the calling., of a conference at ministerial level at .Lusaka at the end of 1964 to examine and co-ordinate the economic policy of the
various countries of the sub-region.
Mr. WILKINSON (Southern Rhodesia) praised the excellent work of
the mission to East and Central Africa as shown in its report. He stressed
the importance of holding.sub-regional meetings and approved the1 proposal to hold the conference at Lusaka mentioned by the previous speaker.With regard to paragraph 8 he pointed out that in 1961 the population of Southern Rhodesia was estimated at 3,500,000 inhabitants; the figure given for the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland should therefore be
corrected. In connexion with the third sentence of paragraph 29, he said
E/Cisr.l4/C.l/SR.17(VI)
Page 9
that the Umtali refinery would "be finished at the beginning of 1965- The third sentence of paragraph 37 did not apply to Southern Rhodesia. The first sentence of paragraph 53 should be altered to make clear that the manufacture of wire rod, wire products and welded tubes had already started in Southern Rhodesia and supplied a large part of the market of the sub-region.
In paragraph 81, it might be mentioned that Southern Rhodesia produced gin and other spirits as by-products of the sugar industry. With regard to the fourth sentence of paragraph 98? he pointed out that the Umtali works was already producing mechanical pulp. Reference to Southern Rhodesia in paragraph 9J should mention "two sugar factories" and not "three" and it would be preferable to speak of tons of output rather than tons capacity.
Moreover, that output should reach a figure between 375,000 and 400,000 tons.
With regard to paragraph 167> bo pointed out that the production of super phosphates and sulphuric acid had already begun in Southern Rhodesia.
Mr. N'DAW (Mali) pointed out that EGA could not possess exact data
on the resources of Mali as, unfortunately, his country had not answered some of the questionnaires circulated by the secretariat. Referring to page 6 of annex IV of the report of the industrial co-ordination mission to West Africa (e/CN.14/246), he said that output of rock salt in Mali was
about 3>000 tons and not 10,000 tons per year. Similarly, reserves of phosphates were 2,800,000 square metres and not 2,500,000 tons. Reserves of bauxite were 850,000 tons and 150,000,000 tons.
He requested that the development programme for West Africa be set out in the form of a map and circulated as a document.
In connexion with paragraph 152 of the Report he said that it was
cotton-producing countries which should produce textiles. Similarly tanneries and meat canning industries should be set up in stockraising areas.
The best solution for the phosphate industry was to establish works
close to the deposits, which would avoid unnecessary costs and save transport.
The Bamako Conference should consider whether it was more economic to import phosphate from Nigeria into Niger, wnich could then use its electric power for other purposes, or to set up a phosphate works in Niger. It was also necessary that all member States of ECA should look for potash in their territory as part of the co-ordinated programme of mineral prospecting.
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Page 10
Mr. 0KEL0-0D0NG0 (Kenya) understood that the report of the Industrial Co-ordination Mission to East and Central Africa was only a
preliminary report and would be completed when the ECA mission had visited all
the countries in the sub-region.
Industrial co-ordination was particularly difficult as it raised political questions. For Kenya, Uganda, Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the position had been all the more delicate during the last few years, as some of the countries had not yet achieved their independence, Moreover3 the., extent to which governments participated in industry altered the factors in the tiituation in each :-?ub-region. The question of transport should not be overlooked whan considering the establishment of new industrial centres.
Mr. DIC? (Senegal) said that the Standing Committee had prop^«^
to set up a working party to examine the three reports of the industrial co-ordination mission, but no decision on the subject had yet been taken.
He therefore requested the Chairman to ask for the opinion of members of the Committee on that question.
After a long discuss],on in which Mest.rs. SAVI DE TOVE (Togo)5 MAZIGH (Tunisia), IP DAW (Mali), DIOP (Senegal), ABDELKADER (Algeria),
NOAH (Sierra Leone), MwILA (Northern Rhodesia) and TEKLE GEBRE MARIAM (Ethiopia)
toon part, the Committee decided not to set up the Working Party and to continue the general discussion on the three reports of the Industrial Co-ordination Mission.
The J^^^^x^^^^J^^^J-^J^zB.*
