The feasibility of socio economic data collection on the local and regional levels in Africa for systematic project identification

AND

SOCIAL COUNCIL

^{Original: ENGLISH}

I

ECOFGMC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA Conference of African Planners Second session

Addis Abab, 4-15 December 1967

THE FEASIBILITY OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA COLLECTION ON THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEVELS IK AFRICA FOR SYSTEMATIC PROJECT IDENTIFICATION

M67-1O89

4

E/CNM4/CAP/24

TABLE OF COKTiStfTS

Pa&es A, The n'ecWsi'ty* o'f "da'ta1 collec'tibn oh the local and' regional

level 1

B. Arguments .,that -the collection of data, on the local.and,

regional levels is'.riot .feasible' . '..*.. ,.1 '. ,.' '. ,. .' . ...,'V \ *. . 3' *■

I. The level of education of the rural population is by

far too low 3

II. Low level of education of rural advisers, promoters

or "animators'1, enumerators or "field v/orkers" 3

III. Agricultural extension officers, community development workers, other local and regional officials and private

professionals have no time for di.ta collection 4

IV. Lack of funds 5

V. Lack of equipment 5

C. Examples of successful data collection on the local and

regional level in Africa and elsewhere 5

I. Official multi-disciplinary teams 5

(a) Equipes polyvalentes 5

("b) Regional Development Authorities 7

(c) Foreign survey teams 8

II. Teams of professors and students 9

III. Rural advisory workers and voluntary workers 10

IV. Private firms 10

V. Civil and other registries 11

VT. Town and muncipal statistical services 12 D, Incentives and motivations required for participation of

the public 13

E. Material required 14 F. Probable personnel and material costs. ... ..v ... . .. . 15 G. Final proposal ; .' . .* . . .* . .' .' . . .' ." . .' . ." .* .* .' .' . ' 15

ANNEX - CHECKLIST J0P A SET OF DATA SUGGESTED FOE COLLECTION AT

THE LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEViXS FOE SYSTEMATIC PROJECT IDENTIFICATION,

- ii -

E/CN.14/UJLP/24'-

THE FEASIBILITY__OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA COLLECTION ON THE LOCAL AND _ REGIONAL LEVELS IN AFRICA FOR SYSTEMATIC PROJECT IDENTIFICATION

A. The necessity of data collection on the local and regional levels:

1. . "Regional level" in this article -is to "be understood as regional

level inside .a country in contrast to a region comprising various countries or a continent as e.g. "African region!' .or,. fQr.^that.ma.t-ter, "sub-region",

(e.g., region innidu the African region). It is indeed time .for an-inter

national convention for the use of certain.terms. „ ■ 2.-' 'African governments have decided to go ahead with- community develop ment. Some have established a special Ministry for this. The United

■Nations, at Headquarters in New York, have permanent staff members for ■

community, development, in the Division for Social Development (formerly ' Bureau of Social Affairs) and UN33P experts are. working' under, their super

vision in the field of community development. Also bilateral assistance '

is supplied for community development, mainly by the USA (USAID). There

can be no doubt at all that community development is only possible if the.

underlying facts are known, i.e. if data are collected on the local level.

3. African governments have also established machinery for;physical'

planning, known .in Europe as "town and country planning" (England) and

"amenagement du territoire" (France). For assisting them in this task,

the United Nations have organized the Centre for Housing, Building and Planning in New York and alBO in this field assistance is given by individual donor countries. Again, there can >e no .doubt that physical

"planning is not possible without data collection at the local and "regional

level/' However, in this article we are only..concerned with socio-economic

planning.

4* More and more African governments are establishing machinery for regional..development -insid:e-. their, countri,est using also.United Nations experts for'1 this', task.'. Some are doing this on th'e na-ti-onal level:..'firsts e.g. by organizing a regional planning unit inside the Ministry or Board

of Planning-, sending-out to. the regions or distriots'foreign and/or

national regional-planning teams (e.g. ■ Tanzania) .-^ Other governments have

established Regional Development.-.Authorities. In order ;t6 spread'the estab lishment of such regional planning organizations and to assist in their staffin&' ."the.Economic and Social Council of the United Nations passed resolu tion number 1086 (XXXIX), charging the Bureau of Social Affairs (now Social Development Division) at United Nations Headquarters with its implementation.

The Bureau sent Preparatory- Missions on Research and Training for Regional Development to two regional authorities in Africa, Aswan, United AraV '

Republic, and Awash, Ethiopia.—' One of the main tasks of regional develop

ment teams and institutions is data collection on the local.and regional level so that they can undertake the other main tasks of project identifica tion, project selection and programming, project implementation and control.

5. It is. also clear that data collected oh the local and regional level are needed for sector planning, especially for agricultural planning, but

also for industrial, transport,, manpower, educational, health, trade and

other social and service sector.planning. Consequently, general planning

can be improved by better sector planning, basedon more comprehensive, recent, reliable and accurate data. ■ ■ - '- :

6. Government statisticians,have to collect data on the local level when sample surveys and censuses are.undertaken because the main sources of*

information are to be found at that le.vel. ■ ■' -

7. The quality of the statistical and other data supplied to the planners

can only be improved if better primary data are collected at the local level.

The better the statistical data compiled'and aggregated in this way the more

sophisticated methods of"planning can be used and the more comprehensive a plan .can be elaborated. "The compiling and use of national accounts, of

l/ See UNDP report prepared by G. Goundrey, United Nations- Headquarters,

CDPPP, T, Strong, FAO, G. Wen, United .Nations Bureau of Social Affairs, ,.and fl.v. Gersdcrff, £CA,: Dar-es^Salaam, 26 November 1966,

2/ See reports prepared in October/November'I966'by E. tfeissmann, Centre

for Housing, Building and. Flanning,-.United. Nations'1 Headquarters, and

by R.v; Gersdorff, ECA.

e/cn.14/cap/24'!

Page 3 . .

;; inptTt-outpu't tables, of the figures for mathematical models for'theuse of 'simulation methods, etc.: all these methods'need very accurate, reliable,

"complete and up-to-date'statistical and other information.

B. Arguments that the collection of data on the local and regional levels

is not feasible ' '*

I. The level of education of the rural population is by far too low

8; This is of course true but primary education, and literacy campaigns, . :are constantly expanding in'Africa. ■ ■ ■ 'v■■-.• ■ .* • .•

-•9. The experience-made from'1956'to 1962 by the Accounting- and-Sociology

Office -'for- the- Algerian F.easant Population (which' is' attachecU-to-the ■ - National Higher School of Agricultural Science, Algiers) shows that as"many

'as 2,000 sets of accounts for holdings worked by illiterate'peasants could -. be kept witb. success. Illiterate farmers were found to be gifted1 with pro

digious memories compared with the literate and educated!—'

• 10.' Experiences made in Madagascar with data sheets to be completed oh the

."local level'were, however, not encouraging at all and gross over-or under-

■pl statements were found, according to the personal ambitions of'farmers or extension workers,' because of. fear that the data collected may be used for taxation purposes, etc. Some such wrong- statements can of course be discovered by crosschecking. But the main remedy seem to be massive'.. "'.

information, education and training compaigns in order to explain the

decisive role of data collection (as a first step in the development process)

to, the-population at large. ■ " '* . " _

II. Low level of education of the rural advisers, promoters or "animators",

•j *' - enumerators ci- "field workers" • . '. . ' '.:■•■ , . ' r -11. ■ Although the illiterate peasants mentioned-in' par. 9 above -are

counselled by general rural advisory workers ( "animateurs ruraux")» who

have a.very-low level of education, the latter can.nevertheless be made,

. ' l/■ Cf. P. Tassin:--Preliminary Proposal for a Research-Service-on.Farm

Accounts and -Rural ;Sqcio_lq^y_in__Iran, OEC.D Development Centre,. Paris

196y, mimeographed, pp.5/6•

responsible for keeping the accounts of the illiterate peasants, each being at first entrusted with three to five sets of accounts, after a specialized one-week training course, following; in the early years, by annual refresher course lasting' a few days=

12. In Kenya data on the small farm for small farm economic surveys have been collected by enumerators or field workers, e.g. relating output to

inputs for evaluating performance standards reached, using objective

techniques of measurement. An accurate system of area measurement recording has been work^jd out there and has been described by I^ank A. Wilson in his paper '-'Area Measurement Techniques: Some Observations on the Methodology

Developed in Kenya in the field of Research into Small Farm Economics".—'

He states that given basic training and demonstration this method is rel atively easily, understood by the field worker and that clerical calculation of acreages is a relatively easy operation. Supervisory staff can quickly check for accuracy..

13. Of course, the level of education of agricultural extension workers must be higher because otherwise they would not be able to do their work,

the extension of research results achieved by the experimental stations to which they are attached. 3y their very profession, they have to collect a lot of data, not only on crops but a..do on factors that influence farm output (soils, pests, rainfall, ground water, temperature, laboratory

analyses, prices, fertilizer and other inputs, etc.)* .

14^ For subsistence agriculture with shifting cultivation, which still prevails in Africa, simplified data collection methods must be devised.

.Existing rural services should be able to apply them. .

III. Agricultural extension officers, community development workers, other local and regional officials and private professionals have no time

data collection . -

15. This is certainly true, but on the other hand, it is difficult to believe that no time at all could be found, at least once a year or in

1/ Cf. Agricultural Economics.Bulletin, Joint ECa/FAO Agriculture Division,

United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, No«9j 19^7

3/CN.'l:4/CAP/24 Page 5* ' - *

other cases, once a month, to complete certain, data sheets■' in 'order'"to supply the most important data to local, regional ;and' na'tional-planners.

16,. . If the work programmes, workschedules'and'work-loads of "already

established personnel groups, of the various agencies," services and' associations are better organized and co-ordinatedj a lot'of "time could

be saved and allocated by them to thV'collectiWf o'f priority data!" Many measurements and. figures-they-. wil-I need1 anyhow for their own normalY

- routine work and th'e records they will have ttf- keep. Ttiis' is true "for

instance for administrators, agricultural extension- and-xommurii'ty «-^

development officers, teachers, health personnel,.-. farmers-, --industrialists and oven craftsmen. ■, ■ ,, ,_;-;, irstjjt [;:?. .t;'.

,IV. .Lack of funds • ■-..>.■ . , ■ :v ; ?.r. --■' T n'17. 'If the population is'propt^rly informed about tne vital importance of

data collection it fctib local level, as a fundamental, condition fqr,-so.cial '- 'and-economic progress, as suggested' above in para. 10, it .might .be,, possible

■ ■to raise' the necessary funds at the local and regional level,, supplemented - 'with 'matching'contributions from the national treasury. .., , f ,„

V. Lack of equipment „ c '. , - ■ . , (J1.; '.r, i?,o~

18. ( Once the funds are made available- th'e 'necessary equipment" can be' acquired.—' ' - ' *" -L ■ ■' " J- J "

c« ' Examples of successful data collection on the local,and regional-level

in Africa and elsewhere ^{_ _, :-^..}

Y i L -

I• Official multi-disciplinary teams • ■ . o . . : " : •it- i^ ■- ?i 3"

a; Bqulpes polyvalentes arid individual govarnment' officials °

' 19. ' In Senegal and the Lebanon these permanent multi-disciplinary ..teams,

one for each region, are composed of one agronomist,. one sociplo£is,t, one economist, one doctor and one community development worker. They have*

'"their office in one of the'district capitals, attached to the administration

_{',-■.- _ •-■ j. ;■. " ,'n ii.i i'-1}

and make surveys together or in the respective sector, usin# certain

1/ As to the matoriai roquired, see chapter Ji'. below

questionnaires and data, sheets which are elaborated'in the Ministry of -Planning,.;; This,Ministry has a special department to which the equipes polvvalentes must report:.on the results of their. surveys on" the various sectors in their respective region. But they also receive directives

:•, j?1^8"-^,^ re^ional ".strategy board", composed of the regional ■•

t administration, the representative of the Ministry of banning-and the

representatives of.the other. MiniBtrieo. The main task of the Equipss poly- yalentes is to identify projects on the basis of the data they collect.

20. -.-A .certain type-of Agricultural Cant Data Shee't has been used with -'■.-■ success.by individual officials of the Ministry of Agriculture, Bureau of

Agricultural Economics, Beirut, Lebanon, for all crops (tree fruits, tree nuts and vines, vegetables, industrial crops, cereals, forage, crops^each crop having a code number) in order to develop government sponsored prog- r- gramme's to establiah import, production and price policies, as a basic

~ decision-making tool.^ Used also by research personnel were analyses-of

^ -farm Management problems by agricultural extension officers in order; to

'develop' economically sound mangement recommendations for farmers. These sheets should give' (l) the physical quantities of inputs used, (2) the cost of these inputs and (3) other economic data that are useful' for ' planners and other interested groups. The small sample approach has been used for each area and crop in many casas. For various crops- averages were computed for a larger representative sample of producers. For other

;jprbpsv thedata represent a summarf of the most usual or typical.practices followed, the inputs used and the costs of these inputs. Previous inves tigations and more recent observations'-indicate that there is "a "greater degree of variability in inputs.used.among.villages than among farmers in a particular Lebanese village. Therefore, an attempt was made to sample

■':'.a-,few-:farmerB--tn-a particular village and to interview farmers in a-number

■--■of--Tillages1 in each relatively homogeneous production area. It was hoped

in 1964 that" at some future' time, as mere personnel and resources become available, a more extensive sample of farmers could be interviewed for

each crop'and'production area and that the results of these more extensive interviews could then be substituted for the cost data sheets hitherto-

produced. ■ . . .

E/CK.14/CAf/24

Page 7

(b) Begional Development Authorities • • -'■

21. These we have mentioned already above in para. 4- We mention'here the example of the Development Planning Authority for the Aswan B.^'ion in the United Arab Republic which has been established in 1963; This

Authority is composed of Sector Development Centres. Each Centre is responsible for data collection, for the identification of resources,

needs and projects, for the elaboration and execution of projects in its:

sector (the latter in close co-operation with the respective Ministry), :

once they have been approved by the respective Strategy Board and Central

Government. , .

22. 2ach" Development Centre is directed' by a Strategy Board composed of two staff members of the Authority and two representatives of the respec tive Ministry, i.e. high officials, one of whom can be the Minister

himselfJ ' .

i "

23. The Aswan Authority's action programme adopted the following concepts;

that resource development must be based on reliable resource research at ..the local and regional level and that each Centre takes on the role of the

entrepreneur and/or innovator for the resources in its sector.

24* The Aswan Regional Planning Authority guarantees that the plans of the Ministries will be implemented and controlled and, at the same-time, leaves ihe responsibility for data collection, project identification,, projectjresearch, elaboration and implementation of the selected projects

(selected in co-ojjeraticn and according to the policies of the respective

Ministry) to each Development Centre. The Authority and the Ministries'

ensure that staff, material and finance required to implement a.project :

will be. (forthcoming and.that there will be adequate technical supervision

at the local level during the implementation. It also ensures thorough

vetting 'of each project regarding local conditions and problems-befor-e-an-y

action^ls taken. It allows for the fullest -possible.use of local personnel,

servicesj and resources and encourages strong support by the local popula

tion. In addition- to permanent research on resources and the collection -

of all the necessary data - this collection still remains to be properly

organized in a systematic way - the Authority:.is constantly-.alert 'to--the

envolving needs of the local po;.julation3 to the region1 s economic growth and to the emergence of new obstacles to progress. In this constant quest for "better methods, new solutions to problems, modern services and equip ment,- the Authority's personnel is certainly playing more and more the . role of innovators and entrepreneurs.—'

(c) Foreign survey teams

25'. These have been widely used in Africa. In some countries, as e.g. in Tanzania, they covered almost all regions inside a country and a few sectors, -but not all. Some of them suggested new data collection methods on the

local lev-el. E.g. general data sheets (population, manufacturing- and repair,

government, raw materials, services available, tourist attractions) and

highway data sheets (basic data, traffic data, cost data) were used by the

research team of the Stanford Research Institute for their Tanzania-Zambia Highway Study.—7 One volume of this study, with the title Handbook of

Inventory Procedures for the Resource Allocation Method (RAM), was designed

as a base for building a total data inventory for regional development planning, including project identification, inside a country. With such an inventory future development studies can be more effective, less expen sive and shorter in duration. RAH is based on the Universal Transverse

Meroator Grid System (UTM). A region (inside a country) can be divided into

equal"1 grid squares for the collection of resource data. The Stanford

Research Institute's team states that political sub-divisions differ' in size and'that no system is available for relating these sub-divisions in terms of distances, areas, specific locations, or concentration of resources

("development poles")- In the equal-squares system however, all data" are

compatible and comparable. U1M, a system of grid co-ordinates, permits add ing- squares to other squares, relating the distance between them, measuring

T/Cf. A.R. Abdel Meguid: "Regional Development: The Aswan Experiment,"

-Aswan Regional Planning Authority, Aswan, United Arab Republic,

September 1966 ... ...

_2/ R.S. Cannell, R. Hacker,. C. Grubb, C. Miller, L.H. Wus Tanzania-Zambia

Highway Study, 8 vols., Stanford Research Institute, Menlo Park, Cal.,

■USA, June 1966, incl. 1 vol. Handbook of Inventory Procedures for the

.Resource Allocation Method (RAM). -7 ■ .-.- ' -

E/CK'.l-4/Citt/24

Page 9 ^

the areas of various combinations of squares, measuring and indicating the density of any item of. interest within the whole field or universe of squares. All items of interest can be coded and filed according to geographical squares, or any or all items can be totalled according to

some

this

common denominator. It remains to be seen how and at what cost metuod can be applied in Africa by local, regional or national personnel.

i

II. Teams of professors and students—^

26. Professor Morris Asimow, mechanical engineer and metallurgist^

University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), convinced of- the feasibil

ity of establishing small, industries in very low-income areas, persuaded

Brazilian officials in 1961 of the desirability of...attempting a test of the

idea ito establish a co-orerative programme of microeconomic development carried out jointly by teams*of professors and students from a university 'in a jcountry with a well advanced economy (USA) and a.university in a

developing country (Brazil).

;27. jBuring the vacation period in the initial project year, the =first weeks are devoted to meeting community leaders, publicizing the nature and purpose of the project and making the social and economic survey, an

inventory of all human, natural, financial and infrastructure resources,

i , ■ ■ ■ .

of all agricultural, industrial and commercial activities, of used

technologies, the-local and regional markets and the social needs, "using all available" printed and' mimeographed data (especially cost and market

data) 1 as well as own inquiries. . . • :

28. ' At the conclusion of this period, 10 to 12 potential industrial

projects are selected for more detailed study from a'rough lohg:lis't .compiled by the team and participating local citizens, who help by giving

information and collaboration- and" by investment of savings in open stock

companies founded for the implementation of the selected projects. This

detailed description:"in papermentioned in" footnote" to para. 36 and Y'in H.v,. Gersdorff: " "Suggestions fo-r Establishing Project.Iden'tification

Services in Africa", United Nations Economic Commission for Africa,

dooument No. E/CN.I4/CAP/IO,. Addis Ababa, 1967, pp. 10-13."*""

■ is done by encouraging-the formation of committees of local residents who are interested in each of1the proposed enterprises. Assistance is given to these committees in' incorporating the new companies and the raising of capital, lypical projects are capitalized in the U.S. ii 100,000' to

i- 300,000 range. Generally a substantial portion of the total capitaliza tion ie raised locally bj equity participation and the remainder'" is obtained from lending institutions.

III. Rural advisory workers and voluntary workers

29« • As mentioned above in para.11, a good success has been achieved in Algeria with the use of these workers for data collection. Of course, they need the appropriate training for this work.

30. These workers are coming to Africa in increasing numbers under bilateral assistance schemes, mostly from the USA (Peace Corps).but also from West Germany and other JSuropean countries. As most of them are work ing on the local level they could be used for data collection there, if properly trained. However, it will be advisable to let them work for data collection only after their assistance is well accepted by the local

population.

IV. Private firms

31. Private medium- and big-sised firms and enterprises in all the1 sectors, including agriculture, have certainly the educational level among their personnel that they can collect data on their own enterprises.

32. Private businessmen will understand better their own interest in filling out the necessary questionnaires and data sheets as thoroughly as possible if they see what important, even decisive advantages' for-their own market research, project evaluation, etc. they can derive from; their full co-o,eration with the duly authorized collectors of information.

They will not consider their co-operation any more as a waste of time and questionnaire forms only good for the waste paper basket. Government and other statistics have to be as accurate as possible in order to-be; of the utmost usefulness for the private s.ector and their accuracy, depends, of

course, entirely on the* co-operation of those who are requested- to complete

E/CN.14/CAP/24 Page-11'

data sheets and Questionnaires. No real businessman can be favourably impressed by"information which is indefinite, inadequate, or proves -unreliable. Most figures which the Statistical Services assemble and

release have a long-run, public benefit largely by first contributing ■ information to private groups.

33^ A very good co-operation has to be developed between the data collectors, the statistical services and the private associations such as Chambers of Commerce, agricultural, industrial and insurance associa tions, co-operatives, etc. , so that officials and businessmen can work out jointly what figures are to be issued, and how the supporting informa tion can be gathered with the least burden ,to those who have tb-supply it.

34- Not only the Government, but also trade and other private associations can often make available information that can be obtained in no other way.j The reason is that many firms are willing to supply to an association data which they would not think of supplying directly to a competitor. The .T*

gathering of specific information and the dissemination of various data to members is a primary function of most associations, together with the protection of their members a&ainst injurious regulations, laws 'and .taxes.

But without the courtesy and co-operation of tne business managers", trade ■ associations could not collect the necessary data. * '

V. Civil and other registries

.: V .i V 35» 1" some African towns civil registries have already been established and there are also motor vehicle and some other registration facilities in the towns. In rural areas registration of any kind is almost non-existent, except land cadastral services in a fsw places.

36. We suggested the introduction of.comprehensive registration services in^ Africa.—' Although we proposed to do this gradually, in phases,...-.-.

beginning with pilot projects in "development poles" as a first phase, '

\J Cf^'R.v. Gersdorff: "Suggestions for Establishing Permanent Basic

Data Registries for Systematic Project Identification", United Nations . .Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, 1967, internal working

paper.

then, if this was successful, establishing registries on an area sample basis as a second phase, etc., the establishment of data registries in Africa at this stabe, and for many years to come, has been found completely unfeasible there because of the arguments given in chapter B of this paper.

As we are trying to show in this ctujti:!*, there are many practical examples of data collection at the local level in Africa and therefore we are still not convinced and supplied with sufficient evidence that data registration is completely unfeasible in Africa.

37^ This paper is designed to stimulate discussion on that subject matter, inside the United Nation family and outside. As has been stated in chapter A., data collection on the local level is indispensable for all the endeav ours of the United Nations in the fields of community development, physical pl-anning, regional development, sector and general planning. We therefore

"suggest that this subject is discussed between the Social Development "Divi sion (formerly Bureau of Social Affairs: community and regional development),

the Centre for Housing, Building and Planning (physical planning), the Centre for Development Planning, Projections and Policies, the Statistical Office, and the Public Administration Section, all at United Nations Head

quarters, New York, the FAO in Rome (rural surveys), the United Nations

Research Institute for Social Development in Geneva and the Regional Economic Commissions.

VI. Town and municipal statistical services

38. Where these services are already established they will have to be

staffed and equipped for the collection of data at the local and regional level.

39> No example from Africa came to our attention, but we can cite the Municipal Survey of i960 which was carried out by the municipal statistical services in co-operation with'the Brazilian Institute for Geography and

Statistics (i.B.G.E.) and the Office of Applied Sconomic Research (E. F. E.A.)

of the Ministry of Planning. This survey was designed to find the import ance of each community in relation to the others in the various sectors'of- the regional economy. It yielded satisfactory results and covered mainly"'

agriculture, including1 animal husbandry. The data sheet used for the latter

2/CN; 14/CAP/24

Page'.13

we quoted in Annex II of our above-mentioned paper "Suggestions for Establishing Permanent Basic Data Registries for Systematic Project

Identification" (see footnote to para. -36).

D. Incentives and motivations required for participation of the public

40. ' {The population can only be persuaded to want change if the.desirabil ity of change is demonstrated in visual form, with social and economic projects which have.been found with the use of the services supplied by

.local data collection services and/or groups of enumerators, and inves

tigators, in co-operation with project identification and elaboration experts who work on the regional or national level.

■41. ' The public in the towns and in the villages must be informed thoroughly and intensively, with all means of communication, about the sense of data collection, that individual data are kept confidential under the legisla tion for statistics (this legislation should be planned and passed as soon

as possible where it is not yet issued), how the aggregate data are Indispen

sable for the identificication, selection and elaboration of social and economic projects on all spatial levels, practical business uses of govern ment statistics, etc. Leaflets with this information should be attached to

the forms and questionnaires used by registries, for censuses and-sample surveys. Also all the public officials should be briefed on this thoroughly.

Unless the population really understands what the collection of accurate, complete, ^reliable and .recent data does for each citizen as a basic condition for the identification, selection and elaboration of sound, bankable projects on al spatial levels and in all social and economic sectors," it will not give this information at all or in a largely distorted form with no value' because of fear of the fisc, of traditional distrust vis-a-vis any government and

"authority, religious beliefs or traditions, etc.

42. When the local population wants to co-operate, consideration should be given to incentive plans and schemes. Incentive payments should be made to those who distinguish themselves in the process of accelerating social and economic development, in the collection of data, in the identification of social and economic projects and in their implementation and management.

43. Local associations (political party members, labour unions, profe ssional associations, etc.) and information media, including fairs and

markets, should be used to motivate the local population to participate.

44* . TCie progressive local leaders have to be identified, who,' once

persuaded to participate, can convince the rest of the population to give their full co-operation.

45- With the enthusiasm of participating local officials the lack of co

ordination among local, provincial and central government agencies and services, which work in a particular community, can be substituted by close co-operation. Also internal conflicts, e.g. among villagers, and their inability to work together can be overcome by enthusiastic planning and implementation at the local level.

46. The general contentment of the local population with their lot and

their belief that they cannot improve their situation because of having only inadequate natural resources, no technical knowledge, etc. can only be changed to a more active, attitude by "animators", local progressive leaders and outsiders who can demonstrate that change is necessary and possible and that a higher standard of living can be reached if basic condi tions for progress are met: systematic collection of the necessary data, identification of social and economic needs and demand on the basis-of the data, selection, elaboration and implementation of projects with the assist ance of experts coming from the regional and national level. .

E. Material required

47. Eiis depends on the methods of data collection adopted and the range of localities and regions covered. In the initial stages not much addi

tional office space will be needed. Office equipment could be confined to filing cabinets, calculating machines and typewriters; field equipment to

measuring equipment like prismatic compasses, measuring wheels, protractors and rulers, theodolites, etc.

46« As to office material and supplies, the main requirements will be

record books, data sheets, registration cards and other forms, also for compiling aggregate data.

E/CK...H/CAF./24'C'

Page 15 '■

F. Probable personnel and material costs. . ■ , :.

49. These-wal:l-"depend on--the number- of h-igh-,:-midd-le- and.low-level-1 --~

i personnel employed for local and re. ibnal data coiiecti'on. " In the initial

■ ■■ \ . . - . . . . ■ ,

stages onl-y a-small~team in a pilot area or locality will be required.

50. Local1 regional and national funds.allocated to local and regional"

data collection should thus cover the capital costs for the a\xrve-»

mentioned equipment and the recurrent costs of salaries, office expenses,, including .mailing and printing 'costs, and traTel ozpenses for a certain number of journeys, insurance costs, etc.

G. Final, proposal " ■. . -. ■ . - ;

51. All we would like to suggest is a discussion among the African"'govern ments and the various Unit3d Nations agencies, mentioned in para. 37 above, on the feasibility to collect data on the local and regional level and, if a certain feasibility is found, to establish pilot projects for local data

collection, two (one for rural, one for urban arsas) in small countries

and more than two in countries with large territories, if possible on an area sample basis, e.g. on the basis of ecologically homogeneous zones or

administrative sub-divisions {(states, provinces, regions or districts).

52. The planners, together with the statisticians, should reappraise what data are needed for planning, especially for planning on the local and regional level. The establishment of regional accounts will be needed, including imports and exports of a region, a region's production and consumption, its public and private finance, etc. Regional accounts are necessary to delineate the framework within which the regional economy operates. Cost-benefit analyses of regional and local data collection projects should help to make the decisions for allocating resources to them in sorting out the competing claims for scarce resources.

53» Taking advantage of some of the various experiences already made in Africa and elsewhere, mentioned in chapter C., it should be possible to elaborate a methodology of local and regional data collection which can be well applied in Africa.

54* A uniform adoption of data collection methods-used, a standardization of readily understandable and usable forms, coding and filing systems would make it possible to make use of certain computers for informations storage, retrieval, aggregation and tabulation. At the same time international

oomparability of the data collected in this systematic way could be assured.

Census and survey operations should be used also for controlling the acc uracy of enumeration and direct measurement methods applied and they could

"be placed in the broader context of an integrated permanent system of the collection of the data"which are needed for planning and other purposes.

National needs, capabilities and'resources (human, material and financial)

can certainly be taken into account without sacrificing international comparability.

E/CR.U/CAP/24

Annex

ANNEX

CHECKLIST OF A SET OF DATA SUGGuSTSD FOR COLLECTION AT .THE LOCAL.

REGIONAL LEVELS FOR. SYSTEMATIC PROJECT-IDENTIFICATION

1. Populations Permanent registry of total population

(a) Inhabitants register (recording sex, birth date and place,'

-profession, years and type of schooling and/or training, .

: •-• employer, or solf-employed, working family member,, -part

■ •>' employed, unemployed, student, retired, disabled);

(b) Births;

(c) Deaths;

(d) Marriages; .

(e) Migrations.

2. Agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries. . .

■ (a)" Agruculture.(soil, land use, pests, inputs; wa&es, equipment,

fertilizers and manure, insecticides,■seeds other,costs),. crops

(yield, condition, etc.), prices paid and received, water used,

environment (rainfall, ground water, temperature,.. etc.), .

laboratory analyses;

(b) Livestock (number, sex, a^e, sales, prices, slaugherings,

diseases, animal products, etc.), wild life;

(c) Forestry (area and number of.fruit trees, including vines, forest are?'S, growing, stock, felling, new plantations,

output, iivuts, value added);

(d) Fisheries (kind and size of fishing crafts, weight of catch,

■costs, value added); . . .

(e) Land tenure (property registered, property and land'use

systems, land sales, land prices, mortgaged farms, 'concessions,

etc.).

3. Industry, including building1 industries and repair shops (establish

ments registered, capacity of installed power, value oif fixed assets and

stocks at end of year, inputs (wages, materials, etc.) and outputs during

the year, prices paid and received, type and training of manpower employed, production capacity used, transport, water, public power used, exports and

imports, raw material sources).

4- Crafts (some of the items mentioned und^r 3.).

5. • Technologies applied (type of machines and implements used, techniques and methods used in various production activities, e.g. plant and soil protection measures adopted, total number of workers required for certain

crops).

6. Existing mining and quarrying (already identified mineral resources

output, wa^es, other costs, prices paid and received, manpower employed,

value and type of equipment used, etc.).

7. Power supply, power rates, value and type of equipment used, power demand, etc.

8. Transport and vehicles (number of establishments, vehicles, goods loaded, passenger traffic, revenue, costs, fares and freight rates; use of highway data sheets: location, type,, length, width, surface, soil, grade, alignment, terrain, average daily traffic, maintenance costs, feeder roads

and main highways required, etc.).

9. Communications (post, telegraph, telephone offices and rates, number of

telephones, radio; TV sets, newspapers).

10. Education and.training (number of classrooms available, capacity used, enrolment, number of teachers, libraries, youth movement membership, adult

education, etc.)*

11. Health and sanitation (number of hospitals, hospital beds and health centres, doctors, nurses, dentists, vaccinations, equipment, wa^es, salaries, total costs, drug supplies, public baths, fly, mosquito and pollution

control, water supply, sewerags, ^rbage disposal, stree cleansing, food and

drug control, etc.).

12. Housing and construction (distribution and density, age, construction

type, rents, growth plans).

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E/ON.1-4/CAP/24

Annex Page 3

13.. Trade (retail and other: value of sales by type of goods, origin

of goods sold, inventories of goods at end of year, equipment,- prices ate,)- 14- Consumption (family.or household budgots,. distribution.of households by sizo of inoome, saving pattern, pattern of food1 consumption and general expenditure).

15- Various sorvices ....;■

(a) Government ., ..■ . . '■..■-.

(i) Finance;

(ii) Community development;

(iii) T6t-:n planning;

(iv) Judicial sorvices;

(v) Police?

(vi) Fire protection;

(vii) Social and family welfare;

(viii) Social security;

(ix) Incentives;

(x) Information;

(xi) Job counsel and placement services;

(xii) Labour standards (working hours and conditions, wages, etc.);

(xiii) Registration of population and of other primary data,

licensing of traders, money-lenders, etc.

(b) Saving, crodit and indebtedness, insurance;

(c) Tourist attractions and lodging;

(d) Recreation (clubs, sports and games, parks, cinemas, community

centres).

16. Associations and enterprises (civic or political and religious organiza

tions, kinship societies or tribes, workers unions, co-operatives, firms).

17. Registration of old, current arid new projects and of suggestions of . the public regarding identified needs and projects.

Priorities suggested for the establishment of data registries *, ;

(sequence of establishment of the. registries listed above): x \

Rural Communities: 1., 2., 17., 3., 9., 10., 11., 13-, 14., 4-» 5., 6.,' '

3., 7., 12., 15., 16. •- ■ -'

Urban Communities; 1., 10., 17., 11., 12., 13., 14-, 3-, 4., 5-, 7-, 15., 16., 8., 9., 2., 6.