• Aucun résultat trouvé

Information paper on the activities of the United Nations Development Programme in Africa

N/A
N/A
Protected

Academic year: 2022

Partager "Information paper on the activities of the United Nations Development Programme in Africa"

Copied!
9
0
0

Texte intégral

(1)

UNITED NATIONS

ECONOMIC

SOCIAL COUNCIL AND

Distr, GENERAL

E/CN.I4/INF/4-I

23 January 1969 Original: ENGLISH

ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA Ninth session

Addis Ababa, 3*14 February 1969

Item 10(ii) of the provisional agenda

INFORMATION PAPER ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME IN AFRICA

il

1/ As of 30 November 1968.

M69-173

(2)

General background ,

1, In 1968T the United Nations family was completing a decade of Special Fund activities and almost two decades of Technical Assistance operations. These two activities, which were unified under the United Nations Development Programme in

1966, seek to assist developing countries in the productive use of their human

and natural resources. Towards this end, the UNDP and the United Nations family of agencies work with developing countries, upon their request, in assessing and planning the use of natural resources; in creating or expanding applied research institutes in agriculture, industry and other economic sectors; in establishing and supporting education and training centres; and in a wide spectrum of technical assistance undertakings in virtually all spheres of the economy.

2, ■ The UNDP's pre-investment and technical assistance operations are implemented

in the field by the participating and executing agencies or other designated

organizations within whose competence they fall, Pre-investment projects are

large-scale endeavours, each of which often costs some $2 million in UNDP ear-

markings arid government counterpart contributions and averages some four years in duration. Allocations for these projects provide primarily for experts, equipment and contractual services. Technical assistance projects, by contrast, are rela

tively small-scale undertakings and provide chiefly for expert services and fel

lowship awards.

3, As of 30 November 1968, the UNDP had approved 925 pre-investment, or large-

scale, projects under its Special Fund component and had earmarked $909 million of

UNDP monies for their implementation. These projects, including 58 which were

regional and one which was ihter-regional, were distributed among 136 countries and territories. Recipient countries had undertaken to contribute the equivalent

of,&U3 billion in-counterpart funds to fulfil their contractual obligations in

implementing these projects.

4» Of the 925 projects, 224 had been completed by 30 November 1968. The remainde

were iri various stages of implementation, but 145 projects did not yet have.signed

plans of operation, Host of the projects with unsigned plans of operation had

been approved in 1968. At the June 1969 session of the Governing Council, the UNDP

Administrator will report on all projects approved in January 1967 or earlier

(3)

e/cn.14/inf/41

Page 2

which were not operational by the beginning of 1969. The report will include reasons for the delays .and recommendations for continuation of the projects, possibly with changes, or for their cancellation. In an effort to cut the time span between project approval and the start of field work, the UTOP has recently introduced a. simplified format for plans of operation.

5- .The:UHDP has also earmarked, under its 1967-68 technical assistance bien- nium, $120 million for 2,900 undertakings in 113 countries and territories.

Previous allocations for technical assistance between 1950 and I966 had amounted to more than $470 million. The 1969 Technical Assistance programme will be the first one to be approved under a new system of continuous programming. This system provides for requests to be considered as received and within the limits of an annual target figure for each country and, provisionally, for the three ensuing years. Targets were also established for regional and inter-regional projects for each agency. It is hoped that this system, which replaces programm ing on a biennial basis, will reduce the time gap between., technical assistance project programming and the start of field implementation and, will also enable governments to. plan more confidently for longer-term projects. Up to. 15

September I968, the UNDP secretariat had received from governments and partici pating and.executing agencies requests totalling approximately J55 million for continuing projects in the Technical Assistance component. Earlier in 1968, some

$5.8 million had been earmarked for continuing regional projects in the Technical

Assistance component.

6. The vast majority of countries receiving UNDP assistance in I968 had

average annual Eer capita incomes of less than $300; many of the countries in

this category were below the $100 level. Nevertheless,' low-income countries have made a determined effort t0: finance a substantial part of the total budget of pre-investment/and technical assistance projects. . Recipient countries have contributed approximately $1.50 in counterpart funds for every $1 of assistance received from the Special Fund component and the equivalent of an estimated 50 cents for every $1 from the Technical Assistance component. Total UTOP project expenditures were an estimated $184 million in I968, an increase of $40 million

over I967.

(4)

E/CN.14/INP/41

Page 3

7» Several indicators suggest the impact of the work of the UNDP. By the end of 19671 42 survey projects and four research projects had stimulated reported investment commitments of some $1.2 billion for development undertakings which were directly related to the findings and recommendations of UNDP projects.

Another $900 million of reported Investment commitments through the end of 1967 was identified as consonant with though not directly related to UNDP recommenda tions. In addition, UNDP-supported institutes had graduated or were training about a quarter of a million men and women of the less-developed countries. As regards research projects, most of them have made a positive contribution in help ing recipient countries adapt modern technology to specific national needs and conditions and in. achieving an appropriate technological infrastructure.

8. Technical assistance projects had brought more than 40,000 experts to develop ing countries by the end of I967. More than 40,000 fellowships had also been sup plied under this component to nationals.of developing countries for study and training abroad. In the course of 1968, the figures relating to the impact of the UNDPfs work in both the Special Fund and Technical Assistance components rose

significantly* *

9« The governments of 119 countries made voluntary pledges totalling $183 milli

to support UNDP operations in 1968. Although not all governments have yet announ.

their pledges for 1969, the total may be some 10 per cent higher than the 1968 le UNDP as3istanoe to Africa

10. Between 1959 and the end of 1968, a large proportion of UNDP activity has been devoted, to Africa. Since .1959» 338 pre-investment projects in the Special Fund component, calling for UNDP .earmarkings of $337 million and government coun terpart contributions of the equivalent of $406 million, have been approved for countries in the ECA region. This represents about 37 per cent of all approved projects and earmarkings.

.11. In the I959-I968 period,-a significant proportion of technical assistance activity has also been devoted to Africa* There was a gradual rise in this pro portion over the. decade^ - from 14 per cent of total project costs in 1959 to 37 per cent in I967. This increase reflects the coming to independence of a number ,of African countries-with needs for substantial support from technical assistance

(5)

E/CN.14/INF/41

Page 4

The 1967-68 Technical Assistance programme called for the expenditure of

million for 1,047 undertakings in Africa,

12. As regards the distribution of projects in Africa by economic sector, 138 Special Fund undertakings have been in agriculture, 79 in industry, 51 in public utilities and 39 in education. Smaller numbers of pre-investment projects have been in the public administration, multi-sector, social welfare, health and

physical planning fields. The majors sub-sectors of activity have been concerned with land and water use, multi-purpose agriculture, training and advisory ser vices to industry, transportation and secondary school teacher training.

13. In 1968, 62 projects were approved for the ECA region. The UNDP earmarked

£53 million for the projects and recipient countries undertook to contribute the equivalent of $60 million"in counterpart funds. The UWDP's Governing Council, which approved these projects, included seven countries from the ECA region:

Algeria, Cameroon, Congo (Kinshasa), Liberia, Tunisia, Senegal and the United

Arab Republico

14. In responding to the stated priority needs of African countries and regions,

a number of the pre-investment projects approved in 1968 were in the education

and training sectors. One such project, to be implemented by UNESCO, will estab lish a rurally oriented teacher training institute in Cameroon. This project has been integrated with Government plans to adapt the school system to the special

needs of a primarily rural environment. UTOP/UNESCO undertakings to establish

colleges for training primary school teacher training institutes in Niger and Togo also emphasize rural education. These and similar projects are aimed at improving the rural milieu and at creating an enlarged range of opportunities which may help

slow the movement to urban areas.

15. At the same time, the UNDP has begun to involve itself in the problem of unemployed rural youth in Africa. In the Congo (Braszaville), a UNDP/lLO endeavoui

represents an effort to provide rural employment opportunities for the young and

to create improved economic conditions in selected pilot areas. A rural training centre in-Mali under UTOP/lLO auspices will offer practioal training in a variety of agricultural skills to thousands of young people who have received, at most, a few years of primary education. This project was prepared with the assistance of

UNESCO.

(6)

■E/CN.14/INP/41

Page 5

16* In further efforts to assist recipient countries $o create or improve opportu:

ties in rural areas, UNDP/lLO efforts will.help Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Tunisia

develop a variety of agricultural co-operative institutions. FAO will offer its .assistance with regard to the agricultural extension and credit service laspiects

of these projects.

17. As another phase of its assistance to education, the UNBP and UNESCO are help ing Ethiopia, and Sudan implement work-oriented adult literacy projects which are closely connected with specific activities in urban and rural development•' These efforts.will help the Governments organize, initiate and evaluate pilot literacy projects linked to vocational training, agricultural extension services arid home economics. In .an attempt to create a reservoir of basic skills, vocational train- . ing projects in Ethiopia, Ghana, Senegal and Zambia will help produce rural artist::

. and agricultural extension and social workers. The United Nations systenf :is also helping governments up-grade skills in other critical areas. For example, a UNDP/

IIX) effort Thrill help Morocco develop and expand a training centre for office

, employees. •: !

18. The modest though multifaceted efforts of the United Nations system to improv:

rural conditions in Africa are related to the immediate need for increasing food

production. A UNDP/PAO project, which stems from the experience gained through

the fertilizer experiments under the Freedom From Hunger Campaign, will attempt to help Ghana increase its farm production through the more efficient use * of fertili zer. Small quantities of fertilizer will be sold to farmers and the income gained will be used to create a fund to extend project activities, which will- be carried ,;put in co-operation with national agricultural extension services. The Government;

. will also be assisted in carrying out an evaluation of its fertilizer needs for thz next few years which, in turn, will form part of a broad study of the region's investment needs for fertilizer production. In another project, an agricultural training centre in Upper Volta (Phase II) will continue to offer basic instruction at the level of a subsistence economy. It is hoped that this wj.ll result in in creased production and supply a model which could be extended to the agricultural sector as a whole in Upper Volta or in other regions with similar problems•

■: . 19«. In its limited efforts to stimulate industrial activity through pilot pro jects, the UNDP and UNIDO are helping the United Arab Republic establish a demon stration pesticide production plant and set up operational training and supervisor,

(7)

E/CN.14/INF/41

Page "6

procedures for the expansion of such an enterprise. UNIDO will help Ivory- Coast and Algeria undertake feasibility and marketing studies geared to invest ment possibilities. UNIDO is also responsible for industrial studies projects approved prior to 1968 in. Algeria and for a regional centre of industrial studies in the Maghreb area.

20. In response to the desires of the African countries to build a foundation for future economic integration, the UWDP earmarked funds in 1968 for three regional transportation projects. One project, which stemmed from work done by the World Bank, the ECA and the African Development Bank, will survey already existing transport studies, examine proposals for future studies and determine the additional work required to improve regional transportation facilities. Two other transportation projects - training and development of the railway and har bour system in East Africa, with Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda participating, and studies for the engineering designs of a proposed Tanzania-Zambia railway link - will also help lay a foundation for economic integration^possibilities in East Africa. The African Development Bank, which helped draw up the request for this latter project, will be the supervising organization.

21. Daring I968, work also proceeded on a vast number of individual technical assistance projects in all economic sectors. The variety of this technical assistance may be illustrated by reference to 1968 undertakings in Chad. Experts offered training and advisory services in rural handicrafts, nutrition, home eco nomics, public administration, public health, telecommunications, sanitation, agrometeorology and other fields. As another example of the scope of technical assistance endeavours, 45 experts were scheduled to spenda total of 416- maa-montlu in Algeria in I968. These experts were working in more than 30 different fields.

22. Of the 338 pre-investment projects programmed for Africa, 67 had been com pleted by 30 November I968. T'any of these projects have already played a signi ficant role in the" development progress of the recipient country. For instance, of the $1.2 billion of reported investment commitments directly related to the recommendations of UNDP projects in all regions, about $600 million occurred in Africa. The major part of this commitment related to three projects. A land

reclamation undertaking in the United Arab Republic helped bring forth $239 millioi.

(8)

e/cnv.14/inf/4i

Page 7

in commitments; a survey project in Nigeria helped produce.$216 million for dam construction; an electric power survey in Sudan was followed /by $47 million of direct investment for development of power facilities.

■: 23. J Nearly 10,'000 Africans have received fellowships under .the Special ?und and i;; Technical Assistance components,. In addition, more than 42,000 Africans have

graduated from or were studying at tMDP-^upported institutes by the end of 1967.

.In Ghana, for example, UNDP/jnited Nations efforts to help create facilities for

.... post-graduate study and research in public administration has produced more than

3pO,,graduat-es.. UNDP/UNESCO assistance hac helped Sudan establish a Secondary

■ School Teacher Training Institute Which had graduated nearly 400 teachers by mid- 19.68*. An account of the status of all projects in the Special Fund component com- , pleted through 19^7 is given in previously published UNDP documents (DP/L.4l/Add.2 . and DP/L,67/Add.3).

Mobilizing for tomorrow

24*/.-The UNDP has tried to adopt a dynamic response to the changing development -.needs of the recipient countries. As one aspect of this evolving response, the rUNDF:has given greater attention tc the promotion of follow-up investment. An

attempt" is being made to investigate investment potential as early.as possible in

■-,:■.-the-dife" of a project and to bring investment opportunities to the attention of capital sourceso

25*.. ,In order to help UNDP Resident Representatives fill their pivotal ,role, more

effectively, selected field offices were augmented in 1968 with agricultural ad visers. In the"EGA region, agricultural advisers have now been assigned to UNDP field offices in Algeria^ Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Madagascar. .

26.! During 1^68, work proceeded on a study of the.administrative capacity of the United Rations system to programme and implement an increasing amount of develop ment assistance. This study, which has been entrusted to a Commissioner'and'which will take into account the views expressed and work done by various groups, pro mises to be of great significance in helping the United Nations system gear itself for work in the second United Nations Development Decade.

27. In an effort to study the effectiveness of project implementation, the UNDP

created a small evaluation unit in 1967. With the co-operation of the recipient

(9)

E/CN.14/INP/41

Page 8

governments and ths participating and executing agencies, this unit has. now com pleted a number of project, sectoral ,and country programme studies.

28. In 1968, for the first time, the UNDP went outside the United Nations family and designated the African Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank as executing agencies for projects in the Special Fund component.

29. In terms of project procedures, the UNDP has adopted the use of preliminary operations, under which the Administrator of the UNDP can depart from normal ap proval methods and allocate up to 1300,000 for field operations for those pre- mvestment projects where immediate action is essential. The Governing Council usually earmarks funds for the full project at one of its next two sessions. The UNDP has also limited the scope of projects in those instances where more informa- txon is needed to determine if larger involvement is justified. Such an approach

can be particularly useful for survey-type undertakings. . , :

30. At the same time, the UNDP recognizes the need for further increasing the co-ordxnation and effectiveness of the assistance efforts it helps sponsor. Weak nesses in project design, gaps.in the liaison between United Nations family mem

bers, inability to keep to scheduled timetables because of recruitment and other difficulties, ineffective integration of projects into national development plans

and numerous other problems have yet to be overcome.

31. If the UNDP is to play its full role in the coming second United Nations Development Decade, it is imperative that these problems be solved and that future operations be as efficient as possible. But it is equally important that UNDP resources be increased so as to enable it to function more ade<Iuately as a catalyst for development progress. While UNDP resources have been growing, available funds are still far below the immediate needs of developing countries for pre-investment and technical assistance. If these needs are to be more fully met, the level of annual pledges to the UNDP must be substantially increased

within the next several years.

Références

Documents relatifs

modalities to carry out such work. Based on the annual report of the Secretary-General on follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and on mainstreaming a gender

(a) that Member Governments concur- i.n the opinion that advantagos would accrue from utilizing the services of the Commission in iho economic and social field as frequently as

(b) The activities of the United Nations at the subregional level should mainly be geared toward capacity-building for the regional economic communities and intergovernmental

This task cannot be satisfactorily undertaken unless we arrive at a common understanding on precisely those issues which explain the political convulsions and social upheavals

The objective of the Decade is to ensure first and foremost that each country develop its own training facilities to provide courses catering for its basic training requirements,

Based on this &#34;bottom-up approach&#34;, the institutional framework for the implementation of the programme decade appears to be a pyramid whose base is made up, through

The available information shows that statistics of crop areas and production are still largely biased since they relate to biological yield with no estimates provided for

The Plan of Action for the Inte~~ation of Women in Development adopt eo at Addis Acaba in 1974, the World Plan of Action adopted at Mexico City in 1975 and the Programme of