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E/CN.14(IV)/P/SR.l 19 February 1962 Original : ENGLISH PROVISIONAb
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k.UNITED NATIONS
ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL COUNCIL
•
•
ECONOMIC co~rr~ISSION FOR AFRICA Fourth session
Addis Ababa February-March 1962
COMMITTEE ON THE PROGRAMME OF WORK AND PRIORITIES PROVISIONAL SUMMARY RECORD OF THE FffiST MEETING
Held at Afrioa Hall, Addis Ababa, on Wednesday, 14 February 1962, at 3.10 p.m.
lIlr. Mekki Abbas Aoting Chairman:
(Later) Chairman:
Executive Secretary of the Commission
Mr. Tekle Haimanot (Ethiopia)
Seoretary: Mr. Mathu
CONTENTS :
Opening of the meeting
Eleotion of Chairman and Vice-Chairman
Opening statement by the Executive Secretary Programme of Work and Priorities for 1962-1963
Delegations wishing to have oorreotions made to this provisional
s~ary reoord should submit such corrections in writing (preferably on a oopy of the record itself) to Mr. GODET, ECA Secretariat, Room 59, Africa Hall, within forty-eight hours of receiving the record in their working language.
62-257
•
OPENING OF THE MEETING
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY· declared the meeting open, and welcome.a. the
" . representatives.
'ELECTrON OF CHAIRMAN AND VICE-CHAIRMAN
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY explained the procedure follOwed at the last two meetings, namely that the outgoing-Chairman and Vioe-'CMirmenof the Commission had been automatically eleoted as officers for th~, ~ext
meeting. Unless there was any objection, therefore, ihe representative of Ethiopia might be requested to aot as Chairman at the present meeting, In his absence one of the two outgoing Vioe-Chairmen would preside.
Mr. TEKLE HAIMANOT (Ethiopia) took the Chair.
OPENING STATEMENT BY THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY explained that the need for careful
oonsideration of the Commission's Programme of Work and Priorities had beoome apparent at its first sesseon. The Committee was therefore meeting to avoid unnecessary debate in plenary and to make the Commission's work more efficient.
Some of the instructions received from the Commission would direotly affeot the work of the Secretariat in the years 1962-1963. The manning.
table approved for 1962 wculd oontain no less than 95 experts, and funds were available in the budget for short-term employment of officials.
The report of the Executive Secretary on the work of the Secretariat between the third and fcurth sessions (E/CN.14/l24) included additional suggestions for the Programme of Work and Priorities (E/CN.14/l62).
A two-yearly programme was being inaugurated to permit advance planning and make funds available. The Committee was fully oompetent to comment
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/SR.lPage 2
on the various suggestions ooncerning the Progra~e and to recommend changes.
He suggested that the meeting should follow the procedure adopted at previous sessions namely that it should examine the listed projeets seriatim and afterwards appraise the Programme generally. Members of the staff
would introduoe the projeets with whieh they were particularly eoneerned, and representatives would then be invited to present their observations.
A brief report would be prepared by the Secretariat and, if approved by the Committee, submitted to the Commission.
It was so deeided.
E/CN.14(IV)/P/SR.l Page 3
PROGRAMME OF WORK AND PRIORITIES FOR 1962-1963 (E/CN .14/162)
The EXECUTIVE S~CRETARY~ew speoial attention to the note in paragraph 1 of the Programme, that projeot 01-01 had been split into five separate projeots.
The difficulties enoountered in reoruiting staff, and the efforts made to comply with the views expressed both in the Commission and in the General Assembly that the. Seoretariatshould be Afrioanized, were desoribed in
detail in. his report on the lrork of the Seoretariat(E/CN.14/124). The policy -both ,.ofthe Seoretary~Generaland of the Exeoutive Secretary had been to
ensure,tp:ll.t SUitable Africans should be given preferenoe whenever possib',e.
In appealing for constructive oomments on the proposed Work-Programme he emphasized that,' unless African oountries were provided with background papers 'enabling them to .exchanga views and-make their own c<mtrillu.tions, research in depth on African problems was not sufficient.
Project 01 - Development Policies' and Programming
Mr. tIGTHART (Secretariat) said that projects 01-01 to 01-05 were a
reformulation and an expansion of projeot 01-01 approved at the third session, made ohiefly to separate its different aspects into more specific groups of problems, Projeots 01-01, 01-02 and 01-03 oovered the whole study of eoonomio development, development planning, and policy formulation; projects 01-04 and 01-05 ooncerned operation, It was hoped that two or three regiqnal advisers could be made available to countries for fairly long periods on request.
There was also a need for short-term advisory services. Those were normally provided by the Secretariat; but owing to shortage 'of staff arrangements had been ooncluded with planning institutes for the loan of experts at the
request of Members and Associate Members. A roster of high-level planning experts likely to be avaiiabie at short notice for advisory services was being established.
E/CN.14(IV) /P/SR.l Page 4
Under projeot 01-05, the Working Party on Economio and Social
Development, with representatives from 22 countries, had discussed a wide range of subjeots. It was hoped that another working party could be convened in 1962 to discuss comprehensive planning and related problems on a more teohnical level. The Secretariat would welcome comments from the Working Party for studies, as complete as possible, on a country-by-oountry rather than on a subjeotbasis. Another useful approaoh would be to send adv:i,sory groups or survey teams to a selected country to work in close collaboration wi th its government, that approaoh was used Qxtensi vely by ECA, and had the advantage of relating the work to known objectives of government policy.
The General Assembly had passed during its sixteenth session,a
resolution on planning for economic development, and another on the economic development of Africa. The former requested the Sec~etary-Generalto
establish an Economio Projections and Progralllll\ingCentre in the regional economic commissions; the latter urged the eS~blishmentwithin ECA of a programming institution. A certain amount of guidance would be required from Headquarters to giye effect to those·resolu~ions,and more emph~sis
would have to be placed on those aspects than had originally been planned.
Mr. AITICINS (Sierra Leone) feared duplication of effort, and asked for further information on the establishment of the proposed programming institute and on areas of rssponsibility.
Mr. LIG'lHART (Secretariat) replied. that the proposed African institute on eoonomic deVelopment and planning' Was intended· to provide advisory
services and to train qualified personnel. ,Clearly the Commission1s projeots on development polioies and programming wOuld have to place more e~phasis on those aspeots than in the past;
Mr. LAR]WER (Nigeria) asked which institutes were willing to lend experts for short-term periods for work on project 01-04. Mr. LIGTHART (Secretariat) replied that the Director of the Central Planning Bureau of the Netherlands
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E/~N.14(:tV~/p/SR.l Page 5,
wbuldlend staff subject to certain conditions. The possibility of
conoluding similar arrangements with otheFinsti tutions or individuals was being explored.
Mr. LARDNER (Nigeria) failed to understand why developing oountries should always be expected to request assistance in training from developed
"countries. His delegation believed very strongly that i t should be requested ,from developing countries just a few stages ahead.
Mr.' ACQUAli (Ghana) ooncurred. His delegation believed that opportunities should be afforded to African countries to learn and profit by the experienoes in economic planning of non-Western countries, in particular the USSR.
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY said he had noted the comments of the represen-
"tati ves of Nigeria and Ghana. He was aware that Ghana was already receiving assistance in certain development projects from one of the Eastern countries.
Concrete, suggestions would be very useful in the preparatory stages, whether for example,' the Nigerian representativo wished that the panel of advisers should be drawn from Africancountriee such as the United Arab Republic,
" , Tunisia or Morocco, or from States which had setup 'centrally planned econo- mies since the Second World War. There was no question of impcsing advisers on governments,and if members would inform him which countries they wished to see represented on the panel, he would make' the necessary approaches and oirculate 'a list of experts. He was confident of full eo-operation.
Mr. LARDNER (Nigeria) replied that he had in mind any country, from any part of the world, whieh had the right kind of experience. He urged that the Executive Secretary should approach the Economic Commissions for Latin Amerioa and for Asia and the Far East for assistance in recruiting suitable 'advisers, who should be nationals of'the countries concerned and not expatriates from Europe. '
E/CN.14(IV)/P/SR.l Pa.go 6
Mr. A1~OU (Senegal) observed that there could be no universal soluticn, beoause the notion and problems of oconomic planning wore different for eaoh oountry, it would be difficult to draw up a general list of States whioh could be approaohed for plan~.ing assistanoe. Governments should be left to make their own choioe .- from Afrioa, Asia, America or any other continent of the oountry most kindred in .ideas, and to use the servic~s of advisers in whatever way t~ey saw fit. The origin of the. experts was not material, sinoe they would act purely as advisors, without any legal or executive authority.
Mr. BENTLEY (United Kingdom), thought that the type of co-o~dination
referred to by the representative of Sierre Leone would be. very useful in projeat 01-04. Regional advisors should be attaohed to the institute rather than to the ECA Office in Addis Ababa.
The EXECUTIVE SECRET_~Y said tha~ the General Assembly had recommended two things: the establishment of a developmen~ institute, and the setting up within ECA of ~ projecti.on and planning section. While agreeing with the views of the United Kingdom repr3sentative, he thought it would be better to leave a decisicn until progress had been made. in oarrying out the resolutions.
On account of the scarcity of staff, some form cf pooling and co-ordination would uridoubtedly prove necessary.
One reason for the proposal that advisers should in the first plaoe be attached to the ECA was that it would be some time before the institute was functioning fl111y. He had already received three re~uests for advisers, one of which had been met by seconding a staff member from Head~uarters.
Mr. RAMANGASOAUINA (Madagascar) appreciated the points of view of the representatives of Nigeria, Ghana and Senegal. He felt, however, that their concern was groundless. The ECA through its meetings of experts, was accus- tomed to dealing with planning of many varieties,and the institute would un- doubtedly be able to handle planning in countries in every stage of develop- ment.
a/~.14(IV)/f/~~1 Page 7
. ' : : C . ~.,AIDlE:P,(MQroooo)paid-.a warm,. tribute to the f?eoretiuiat,f\l3o' its
e:,;e;:l.lent ~d v,aluable wQrk• . On ~he subjeot of oo,-or~n!j.tioll.,[J:l.l' :r~alled c'eo ~s<lf!4.preoeQ.ent 'in a res,olU'tion adopted ..by;theFirst FAO:,Regl.Qnal" COllle-
:ro;)Ce for.Afr;ioa, held atL~os il1Novsmber ;1.960.
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY said that the matter would be dealth with when tL9 joint ECA/FAOprojeots oame up for.disoussion.
loh'.'r,ETICHE' (Seoretariat) in't-roduoed the' projeot,' whioh had its'origin irlRe1301uUcn'30 (HI) of the CoJiunission. The 're Elbluti oit had emerged frenn t,S eoniiI!era"if onst cirie group of Afrioan' 00Ulln'ies'''had fen
the.
t' traail 'was tFid tM'oloselY to the metropolitan terri tor1es; ano'ther'grol1p had ''teared tfl·i'li'tHe ifuDilldia.te establishment' by independEliltcoUnti-iesot' banldhlf'systems11; the sterHng'area. and, 'thef'r'ano zone':inight re'sui'tin' iriflati'6ha~'Pre~sures, and .th'1S fOreig!l, exohange . oont:rols would have a ,disruptive, ip.fluenoe on trade '.reJ.ation~ with EUrope and wi thin Afrioa •
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, 'Re haci''beeiilnvi ted by the 'Exeoutive Seoretary to prepare a' report, ' in coJ.1abo:r&:'ti'oiClffth'the Seoretariat; and had started wo:tk
in
jUne196i.'
After 'OOilB\ll ting a,ll-£heexPerts in the"Afrfoan'ooUntries aniitheir eounteh'attsin othercoUntrieil
f
he was presenting his ma;jor 06ri61ilsiDns to the COJJllJlittee .' at" the present j1inciure ,so that members'could. assist by pointing outanY
'problems'iitlitlt had bElen overlooked.: .
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....
TL role of banking in Afrioan countries had been d.eveloped primarily to take oere of import and export credit, and in that respect the banks had
0.0_.8 good work. They were not directly instrumental in tying'ti'adtl to the metropolitan territory. They ~ad, however, had little influenoe in promqting
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African development generally or in faoilitating medium and long-term
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crodi ts. -
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E!CN.l4:(rv)!P!SR"l Page 8
Nor wasth~re any foundation for the belief that the sstablishment of oentral banks would have an inflationary effect on new oountries, for a
·,·oountry,'bEmt onraptd dev&lopment"oould not be halted by the governor of a oentral bank. With a few important exoeptions inflation, was not at present a danger in Afrioan countries.
The real problem was more serious: how oould the finanoial institutions help to speed up technical training and oapital formation. Hitherto, banking systems had not been ablo to deal with African economfo stabilization and , ,growth beeauee. eoonomio nuotuation!il had, been almost entirely dependent on
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the intlj1:r;!,lationaJ.. '1S'9~()Ill~O Ilitua~iqrtr,,~hus jhe essential role of modern
A:friO~!l bank:inl! instHu~j,9n.i¥houldbe.1;0 )lelp t.o q.evelop anddiversify;
.A:fr~ca.n. Elconomies"..".. to explj.lll1.intl!,:t'nal pz-oduc td.on and oonsumption. For that
pu~o~~meC4<um.-and 10ng-teFlI!,ca~i,Jalwall"y:t,tal , and indigQnous banking
i~stitutions. " , .. would have to pr0vide,lI!()llt,of,~he,_ " '"' .._.\ _,1. .. , _ . " ,necessary oredi.. , t •
The differenciation between in';estment int:raini~g and the ned for capi- tal equi::>mont in agriculture and industry was fictit:touss.s far as Africa was concerned, The great lack of managerial and administrative skills called for a c~mbination of training and Loana , It was importa.nt,,:!,here.fore,f.<>r Afrioan
8ountries~0 use existing Q~ngin£\t1tut,~onsas to .\ilst,a:blish new ones, to ,1llj-tillf;Ytlleneell;.for. short-term, (l!j.pita,l and, the import~tionof lOng-term,
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oapi i;a;I. from all parts of the world.. c. .,:.... ,.... .._.J .... ,._ .. : : ' . ' .r, ,It was also important to ;!,;ntegrate the• .. .. .- ' ..c. . . " , ..
exchange and monetary arrangements of the different .zones .to help the,expan-
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sion of trade among the English-speaking and the Frenoh-speaking countries of
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, H:l"lJ,repo:t:t would be in two parts:
"'I.'
An' appra:fsal of the ope;ati6~~'6f A:rrio~. finanoial institutions in the sterli~g area; in the franc zone; ' .i~ nations 'that had close relations with both zones, and in nations whioh had never belonged to either zone;E!CN.14(IV)!P!sa.l Page 9 ..
2. Reoommendations, on the oasis of the experienoe and needs of Afrioan oountries, as to how banking institutions oould be used to ·aooelerate Afrioan eoonomio development.
The report was expeoted to be ready before the end of the year.
Mr. LAR~NER (Nigeria) said he was interested in the effeots of different monetary systems on groups of States in the region. West Afrioa, for example, had a variety of ourrenoies whioh were to a large extent regulated by the metropolitan oountries oonoerned. He wondered how that situation would affeot the desire of oountries in the sUb-regions to develop their own trade and . eoonomy.Aooounting to his reoolleotion ,the discussions out of whioh t"e
resolution had arisen had been oonoerned with the development of trade and how it would be influenoed by monetary systems tied to other oountries; He asked that that point should be mentioned in the report.
The ~CUTIVE SECRETARY oonfirmed the reoolleotion of the Nige~ian repre- sentative and aasur-e.d him that the point would be oovered in the repQrt.
Mr. LETICHE (Se~retariat) said that the problem of how to integrate the ourrencies of ihe French and Eng1ish spee~ing territories so as to expand their development was & key point in his report.
Mr. AITKINS (Sierra Leona) fully supported the programme as a whole. It might be aeked, however, why inflation and savings were to be dealt with separately (project 02-12) since they would undoubtedly be inoluded in the
reorgani:;at~o"of tho b.,iUd.ng systems, which had already started in many countries.
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY said that the question would be dealt with unc:.e~' project 02-12.
Mr. AMADOU (Senegal) said with referenoe to Mr. Letiche's oritioisms of banks that al tho",gh some of them war a no", unfounded, a fairer picture would
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14(!I:V)j:P/l!lIi.1 page 10have bee~·presentodif attention had been drawn to the different funotions of different types of bank and to the fact that they were not all interchange- able.
The EXECUTIVE GBCRETARY explained that the report was only in preparation and could not, thereforo, be discussed in detail. Delegates would have their opportunity of dealing with it fully at the 1963 Session.
02-02 PUblio Finanoe
Mr. ST~IENKOVIC (Seoretariat) said that it was a two-fold projeot, both parts of which were of great importanoe to the African oountries.
The first was a study of taxation systems in Afrioa and haw they oould be improved to meet the needs of ooonomio development. An analysis had already been made of the inoome and revenuo systems of oighteen countries, and a report appeared in the seoond issue of the Economist Bulletin for Afrioa. In view of the importanoo of tho subjeot, however, it was hoped to
start a new study during the cur~ent year, with tho help of a regional _ adviser who would shortly be joining the Seoretariat.
The second was a study of the costs of government servioes, sinoe sevoral participants in the reoent BUdget Workshop had drawn attention to the very high costs in many African countries. The task was a difficult one, but it was hoped to recruit a consultant for the purpose.
Mr. LARDNER (Nigeria) agreed that the studies would be useful, but only as part of the whole question of government resources, and not as a first step. The first essential was to establish national acoounting syste~s, so as to be able to compare tho extent and utilization of government resouroes and the proportion used for eoonomio development. For that purpose, a wide varietY of systems would have to bo examined to find out whioh was most
suited to the African countrios -- the one used in the United Nations was not necessarily the most appropriate. Such a study would be beyond the resources of the Secretariat, with its limited staff, and it would be advisable to enlist the help of the universities, in the countries where they existed. In any case, tho question of govornment salaries was adelioate one for an out- side body- to hand.l o , _Thoro was an urgentnfied for austerity measures;
Nigeria was awaro of it and ho hoped that more stress would be placed on it
E/CN.14 (IV)/P/3R.1 Page n
in the future. The real problem was to build up resources and use them in the best possible way.
Mr. AITKINS (Sierra Leone) agreed with the preoeding speaker's estimate of the relevance and importance of the project as at present designed. If the underlying idea was to improve public finance in order to mobilize greater resources for economic development, it would be better first to undertake a study of national public accounts systems, so as to be able to assess the significance of government spending.
Bearing in mind, too, the need for staff economy, he would therefore strongly advocate deletion of the project, or substitution of SOme more meaningful study.
Mr. AlilllliD (Morocco) also supported the Niberian representative's views.
Experience in some African countries had shown that study of the p~ttern
of government income and expenditure was an essential preliminary to the establishment of long-term forecasts.
Mr. AMADCU (Senegal), commenting on the sugge.stion that African
universities should be asked to co-operate in the proposed studies, stated that the University of Dakar, which had originally been intended to serve an\b.e terti tories formerly comprised in French lest Africa, might contribute
'usef~ly
to' 'that work through its Institute of Economic Studies.Tbe EXECUTIVE SECRETARY remarked that the opposition to the project was not altogether unexpected. In concluding it in the proposed programme 'h~ had been'influenoed by the recent repeated pronouncements of eminent
economists that' Africa, to deliver .the goods, would ;.'3.'1e to tighten belts.
In other words, g0vernments must find additional funds from revenue tt
promote economic development. Two matters reg.uired particular investigation:
government spending on administration (government salaries) and taxation systems (to determine whether taxation was e~uitable and gave a fair yield).
There thus seemed excellent grounds for undertaking the two studies comprising the project.
The present issue was whether ECA should go ahead immediately with the proposed stUdies, or first make a preliminary study of national public
E/CN.14(IV)/P/SR.l Page 12
aoonunts systems before a final recommendation was reached he would like to hear more views. The Secretariat had already made some relevant studies, but even a perfect system would not by itself show how national expenditure could be saved.
Mr. LARDNER (Nigeria) explained that he did not advocate that the project be dropped. He Was in full agreement with the Executive Secretary that there was room for concern at the high cost of administration in African countries. Some countries, however, already realized the
significance for economic development of the mal-distribution of national resources under the inherited administrative syste~; the Nigerian Govern- ment,_ for instance, had become convinced of the need for an austerity
programme. The essential aim of such a programme, however, was not merely to effect savings but to redistribute real resources in order ~o promote
economic development. Nothing worth while would be achieved simply by transferring allocations from one unproduotive sector to another.
His main concern Was to avoid any study of taxation systems that would lead merely to the construction of a model system. The emphasis in the study should be on tax administration procedures and tax yields. Moreover, to cover some fifty African countries would undoubtedly strain ECA's staff r-e.aour ce s and take a long time. That was his essential reason for advocating enlistment of the cooperation of universities.
The EXECUTIVE S~CRETARY made it plain that the Secretariat had never me~nt to cover every African country. The study was designed to cover a
cross-section of the Continent chosen to reflect the varying practices.
Moreover, some countries had no university,
The Whole object of the study was to increase national savings in order to promote economic development. It would obviously not be the fault of the study if governments subseQuently proceeded to apply savings
to unproductive ends.
f
E/CN.14(IV)/P/SR.l Page 13
1
I
!1~. LARDNER (Nigeria) said his point was precisely that in the first instanco more nooded to bo dono to bring African governments and countries
· ..to aee the noed to husband resources and to use them, together with foreign
· aid,to the best advantage in rolation to needs. Moasuros could then be taken
· to show governments whoro money could logitimatcly be saved and applied. The Committee would be failing1n its duty if it recommonded the study without first examining the conse~uences.
Mr. STkiJNKOVIC (Secretariat) was sure that no member of the Socretariat
·would.disagree; but the Nigerian representative had in fact evoked the highly comple;g: problem of how to finance economic development in all its· component parts,. A meeting of experts was to study that problem in late 1963.
Despite the objeotions, he still thought the projeot would serve a useful purpose, and he appealed to members to give further serieus considoration to the·issues before finally rejecting it. Perhaps the consesus would favour dropcd ng the first study rather than the whole project.
Mr. HAJNRI (Tunisia) felt that ECA should undertake the study. It was better e~uipped to do so, sinco many of the countries had no economic insti- tutions of re~uislte calibro. The project was one of tho most important in the programme and should be maintained as it stoed.
Mr. MAYAKI (Niger) said that, as the Executive Seeretary had not re- jected the Nigerian representative's suggegtion outright, his delegation would support action based on a synthosis of the various views. All delega- tions were conoerned at the high cost of administratien in African countries!
and most Africans fully approciated tho neod for a policy of austerity to remedy tho unfortunatG economic situation left behind by the former colonial administrations. Indoed, in their relativsly short period of independence
E/CN.14(IV)/P/sa.l
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some countries had already done'much towards re-organizing their administra- tive systems in line with national needs. His delegation accordingly held that the Executive Secretary should be instructed to undertake the proposed studies with the help of African universities and regional advisersl the results might enable the African countries to emerge sooner from their in- herited eoonomio diffioulties.
Mr. AEOU (Dahomey)'held that what the new administrations in Afrioa needed at onoe was guidance on austerity measures that would not cause undue difficulties or problems. The projeot should therefore be maintained among programme priorities, and study of national public accounts systems postponed.
Mr. HACEN (Mauritania) and Mr. PARKER (Liberia) endorsed the Niger representative's suggestions for action.
Mr. AMADOU(Senegal)reg~egrettod that his earlier remarks seemed to have etarted a controversy between countries with universities and those with none.
He had mentioned the University of Dakar purely because he believed it had a contribution to maks, !IIoreover,the Secretariat would no doubt seek the co- operation of national ooonomic institutes in countries without Universities.
E!CN.14(IV)!P!SR·l Page 15
Mr. AIT"KTINS(Sierra Leone) remarked that one point had so far been entirely overlooked: the intrinsic worth of the studies. Any study might be of interest in itself; but the important question was the value of the information. The project would end in a blind alley, for
the simple reason that there was no value in knowing the pattern of government spending without also knowing the total resources available;
an accurate assessment of total resources required an adequate system of national public accounts. Moreover, the proposed studies would,not oover resources mobilization, or indicate the proportion of resources that governments should allocate fer economic development; they would be meaningless because they would throw no light on whether governments should raise more or less revenue by taxation. That was his underlying reason for suggesting that the project be dropped from the priority list and a preliminary study of national public accounts systems undertaken. After that, a study of government spending under the different sectors might be appropriately made by universities or other interested bodies.
v~. LA-~NER (Nigeria) suggested that the two proposed studies be re-forlllulated as follows: "{t ) J_ study of the existing taxation systems in Africa, with special referenoe to ways 0:" improving ta'('adminis·tra- tion )2roccdures and yields; (ii) A study of the cost and benefj.ts of government services, with special reference to the possibili tie,s of mobil izing further re_sources for economic development",
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY welcomed the changed formulation as stating more clearly the whole object of the proposed studies, namely to find·
ways and means of mobilizing further resouroes for economic development.
The Secretariat would have no difficulty in aocepting it.
With reference to the remsrks of the Sierra Leone representative, he trusted that ECA was not thought to be doing no work whatsoe7er on natronal accounts. The seotion on Statistios showed that one important
:mIeN
.14(IV)/P!SR.l Page 16meeting,of national accountants of the Region and Seoretariat experts had already been held; that the International Assooiation for Researoh in Income ~~d Wealth had decided, largely at the instanoe of the
Seoretaria'l;, to hold its 1962 meeting in Addis Ababa; and that the National Aoocunts Section of the $ecretariat wculd be providing help in the matter to interested governments.
Seoondly, he fully sppreciated the vital importance to Afrioa of ooordinating ECA's research with work in universities or research
insti~tions,both in Africa and elsewhere. Every endeavour was and would be made to maintain olose liaison in work on matters of common interest.,
Mr. HAJERI (Tunisia) welcomed the latest suggestion of the
Nigerian representative' the changes substantially broadened the scope of the studies.
Xr. ACQUAli (Ghana) remarked that both sides in the discussion obViously shared the same conC~l that the problem cf mobilizing resources fcr eccnomic development should be broached; their sole,' difference was cver me thod, Tho studies as formulated in the report seemed to moot all podzits at issue. ECA was competent to undertake those studies, and also to impress' on governments the need to tra;tn national research wo:c~ers to undar-sake other similar studass , so that
there \iOuldbe Les a need in the futUre to oall on it :for helP,. ' in _suoh work.
02 - 03 Foreign aid
Mr. S~lAl~OVIC (Secretarie,t) explained that the project was a long-standing one, datingback to the first session of: the Commission.
Undor i tJuhe Secretariat wasrequirad to ,;resent eaoh year to the
Commission a report on bilateral and. multilateral· assistanoeto Afrioan oountriesand territories. The :r'eports had·hitherto been-prepared
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E/CN.14(IV)/P/sa.l Page 17
mainly by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs at Headquarters.
The current report, to be submitted under agenda item 12(0.), would be found in document E/CN.14/152.
Mr. BENTLEY (United King~om) pointed out that the Organization for Economio Co-operation and Development had also drawn up statistios on such assistanoe for the years 1956-59, and was preparing similar data for 1960. No doubt the Executive Seoretary would wish to take that souroe of information and other similar into aooount in preparing the annual report for the Commission.
The EXECUTIVE SECRETARY oonfirmed that that would be done automatically.
02 - 04 Legal and legislative aspects cf economio and sooial develOpment Mr. ST~iKOVIC (Secretariat) recalled that the project had been diScussed at length in the Committee the previous year and a more preoise formulation drafted. He regretted that no work had yet been done under the project because of ilifficulty in finding the right person to do it. He hoped that during the year the servioes of a oompetent oonsultant might be obtained and a etart made on the preliminary work.
Mr. Iu\RDNER (Nigeria) drew attention to the pressing need for a
oomparati~e study of commercial legislation in Africa, based on
geographical grouy:t- ::::"::3:::' than 0., individual countries. Priority
