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ECONOMIC COMMIS0ION FOR AFRICA
Second Conference of African Statisticians 26 June, 1961. Tunis
Item 7 ~a) of the Provisional Agenda
E/CN. 14/Stat/L.21
DOcuMENTS OFFICE
Jl I Ii E VII It r
NO TO BE TAKEN OU I
Adaptation of the Dooument "A SystEHil of National Accounts
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and Supporting hbles" (SUA) for Usc in Africa (Note by the Secretariat)
The first Conference of African St~tisticians reported as follows at paragraph 59 of its report. "In discussi:ng deficiencies in statistics
available in Africa it was noted that additional methodological work was required in connexion with almost all subjects inoluded in the Survey.
Specifically, it was agreed that p~iority should be given to certain aspects of n4tional accounts. It was agreed that it would be useful te co-operate in a meeting in 1960-61 with the International Association for Research in Income and Wealth. An apu-cpr-i.abe subject for this meeting would be the use of national accounts for the formulation of economio policy and development programming."
A meeting of national accounts experts, convened by the Executive Secretary in accordance with this recommendation of the Conference, met in Addis Ababa from the lOth to the 14th January, 1961. At paragraph 26 of it,s report (ECA document No. E/CN .14/84J which is submitted to the seoond Conference of African Statisticians) it made the following recommend- ation
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E!CN.14!Stat!L.21 Page 2'
on the revision of the UN national accounts questionnaire.
liThe Working' C:co,;-p., recogm.z1ng that the annual questionnaire sent by the Statistical Office of the United Nations to every member country, al- though adhering to the hieh standards of nstional accounting theory and pro- viding a useful basis for the standardization of the approach adopted by individual countries to national accounts, nevertheless conSiders tlat this questionnaire does not recognize the limitations of the available statistical material in all or the majority of African countries nor take acco~~t of the particular features of the social and eoonomic, &~d in particular institution- al framework of these (Ountries.
liThe Working Group, having examined this problem in the course of the discussion on the paper prepared by Mr. G.C. Billington and further explored i t in sueceeding dis<'lussion, recommends that the ECA Secretariat and the UN statistical Uffice should make concrete suggestions to the next Conferenoe of Afrioan Statisticians on the possibility of initiating a joint discussion with a view to drawing up a revised simplified version of the questionnaire for use (a) as a standard basis for reporting within Aerica, and (b) as a standard basis for report,ing to the United Nations for those countries not yet in a position to complete the questionnaire in its present form.1I
In accordance with this recommendation the Secretariat of ECA has been in communication with the Director of the U1) Statistical Office and it is now proposed that the requested joint discussion take place in the first quarter of 1962. As the national accounts questionnaire is based on the document
IIA System of National Accounts and SUpporting Taalssll (SM), the Director •
E/CN.14/Stat/L.21 Page 3
of the UN Statistical Uffice suggests that the discussion should be concerned with adapting the SHA for use in Africa. It would be conducted by a small working group, sponsored by the UN Statistical Uffice and EGA, consisting of national accounts experts from African countries.
If this proposal is accepted by the Conference, a paper on the SUbject will be prepared jointly by the UN Statistical Uffice and the Secretariat of EGA and 'all be circulated t8 the members of the working group in advance •
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