INTRODUCTION

1. The last meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) which was held in Pretoria, South Africa in March, 1997 effectively marked the end of the Multinational Programming and Operational Centre (MULPOC) for Eastern and Southern Africa. A report was presented to that meeting on the reform programme which had already been initiated in ECA. This report aims to aprise the Committee on developments which took place since March 1997 in ECA in general, and at the subregional office in particular.

2. The key decisions with direct bearing on this meeting were taken at the Twenty-third Meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers, which was held from 5-8 May, 1997. The first such decision is contained in resolution 826 (XXXII) of 8 May, 1997 on the Reform of the Intergovernmental Machinery of the Economic Commission for Africa in which the Conference retained the ICE as one of the three remaining organs of the Commission. The two other organs retained are: the Conference of African Ministers Responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning (the Commission), and the Conference of African Ministers of Finance.

3. The second relevant decision is contained in resolution 828 (XXXII) of 8 May, 1997 on the Multinational Programming and Operational Centres: Strengthening the Economic Commission for Africa's subregional presence. The decision called for the deployment of additional resources to the subregional offices and the transformation of the MULPOCs into the new Subregional Development Centres (SRDCs). This meeting, therefore, is the first under the new SRDC structure.

4. The above decisions were part of the on-going reform of the Commission to better prepare Africa to face the challenges of the next millennium. They followed thorough consultations within ECA itself and with the member States, subregional organizations and other development partners. In the document, "Serving Africa Better: Strategic Directions for the Economic Commission for Africa", three inter-related guiding principles were articulated: excellence, cost-effectiveness and effective partnership. The theme of this meeting, Building Effective Partnership, thus, focuses on one of these guiding principles.

5. This report is organized into seven sections. Following the introduction, Section II contains a brief overview of the reform programme of the Commission and its implications on the operations of the SRDC. Further details on the organization, functions and management of the SRDC are presented in Section III. Section IV, presents the major activities carried out by the Centre in pursuit of the objective to cultivate effective partnership for promoting development in the region. The status of implementation of the other aspects of the work programme is presented in Section V, while administrative matters of relevance to the operations of the Centre are presented in Section VI. Finally, some thoughts on the future directions of the Centre are presented in the last section.

6. "Reform is a process, not an event", said Mr. Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General. The structural reform of ECA is thus an integral part of the overall reform of the United Nations Secretariat. Similarly, the transformation of MULPOCs into SRDCs is part of the reform of the secretariat of ECA, initiated since 1995, aimed at self renewal to better serve its member States.

2.1. Programme Focus

7. The objective of strategic focus was pursued through extensive consultations among all the staff of ECA, as well as with leading African experts, development partners and member States. These consultations, carried out between 1995 and 1996, culminated in the policy document: Serving Africa Better: Strategic Directions for the Economic Commission for Africa. The document was endorsed by the Commission during its Thirty-first Session in its Resolution 809 (XXXI) of 8 May, 1996.

8. Five programme directions were originally defined in order to focus the work programme of ECA up to the year 2001. These are: (a) facilitating economic and social policy analysis; (b) ensuring food security and sustainable development; (c) strengthening development management; (d) harnessing information for development; and (e) promoting regional cooperation and integration. These were subsequently supplemented in 1998 with the addition of two more programme areas: (f) promoting the advancement of women, and (g) supporting subregional activities for development.

2.2. Organizational Restructuring

9. The principle of cost-effectiveness is reflected in the new organizational structure of the secretariat which accompanied the above programme reform. Six new programme divisions were established and the MULPOCS were transformed into SRDCs. New management has been put in place for the six programme divisions and recruitment action for the new directors for the SRDCs is nearing completion. It is expected that all directors of the SRDCs would be on board before the end of 1998.

10. The focus of the work programme of the Commission for the current Medium-Term Plan period (1998-2001) may be summarized for each programme division as follows:

2.3. Rationalization of Policy Organs

11. The third aspect of the reform programme covered rationalization of the decision making process of the policy organs of the Commission. This combines strategic focus and cost-effectiveness. The intergovernmental machinery of ECA has been reduced to three: the Conference of African Ministers responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning (the Commission) and its Preparatory Technical Committee of the Whole (TEPCOW), the Conference of African Ministers of Finance, and the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts of the Subregional Development Centres (ICE).

12. The Conference of African Ministers responsible for Economic and Social Development and Planning, in its role as the Commission, will: provide legislative mandate and policy guidance for the work of ECA as a whole; approve the work programme; serve as a forum for articulating Africa's position on development issues on the Agenda of the United Nations; and decide upon recommendations of the subsidiary bodies. The Commission meets every other year, with a Follow-up Committee that will meet in the inter-sessional year.

13. The Conference of African Ministers of Finance, which reports to the Commission, will convene biennially in alternate years to the meeting of the ECA Conference of Ministers.

14. The Intergovernmental Committee of Experts of the Subregional Development Centre (ICE) is charged with overseeing the overall formulation and implementation of the programme of work and priorities of the respective SRDCs and making recommendations on important development issues as well as the strengthening of subregional economic cooperation and integration. The ICE will meet every year and report to the ECA Conference of Ministers through TEPCOW and the Follow-up Committee. The terms of reference of the ICE will be presented in the section on SRDCs.

15. All the other Conferences of Ministers in the past have been abolished, namely: Conference of African Ministers responsible for Human Development; Conference of African Ministers responsible for Sustainable Development and Environment; Conference of African Ministers of Trade and Regional Cooperation and Integration; Conference of African Ministers of Transport and Communications; and Conference of African Ministers of Industry. In addition, three subsidiary bodies were also abolished: United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Africa; African Regional Conference on Science and Technology; and Joint Conference of African Planners, Statisticians, Population and Information Specialists.

16. At the same time, a total of seven subsidiary committees of the Commission were created or retained, namely: Committee on Women in Development; Committee on Development Information; Committee on Sustainable Development; Committee on Human Development and Civil Society; Committee on Industry and Private Sector Development; Committee on Natural Resources, Science and Technology; and Committee on Regional Cooperation and Integration.

17. The above changes in the policy organs of ECA is aimed at rationalization of the decision making process of the Commission. The abolition of all sectoral conferences of ministers is aimed at reducing the number of meetings usually held simply to comply with the statutory requirements. Sectoral Ministers may still be convened, as need arises, to discuss specific issues of regional concern.

III. SUB-REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRES (SRDCs)

18. The promotion of regional cooperation and integration has been a cornerstone of Africa's strategy for achieving sustainable development and ECA has supported this strategy by establishing offices in the various subregions of Africa. The transformation of the MULPOCs into the SRDCs, therefore, is intended to strengthen the regional offices. Five SRDCs were established for the following subregions:

3.1. Functions

19. The establishment of the SRDCs is more than a change in name; it is a fundamental change in the operations of ECA. This change is intended to bring ECA closer to the member States in order for it to play a more effective role in the development and integration of their economies. Its terms of reference require the SRDC to perform the following functions:

3.2. Management

20. The policy organ for the SRDCs is the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) and will have the following terms of reference as approved by the ECA Conference of Ministers in resolution 826 (XXXII) of 8 May, 1997:

IV. THEME: CULTIVATING EFFECTIVE PARTNERSHIP IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

21. This is one of the tenements of the guiding principles of ECA: excellence, cost- effectiveness and effective partnership. Indeed, the success of regional cooperation and integration as envisaged in the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community, will depend, to a large extent, on effective cooperation among all the development partners. Effective partnership was chosen as the theme for the fifth meeting of the ICE for Southern

Africa in order to highlight the importance which the subregion accords to cooperation for development. Thus, the meeting of the ICE will consider, among other things, the modalities for effective collaboration between ECA/SRDC with its partners in order to effectively contribute to the development of the subregion.

22. It is important to emphasize that ECA, as the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, is dedicated to the service of Africa. Since all African States are members of the United Nations, ECA may indeed be considered as an African institution. This is one of the major comparative advantages that ECA brings to the region. As an African institution, ECA can deploy its convening power to provide a forum for informed policy dialogue on Africa's development issues among African governments and the civil and inter-governmental organizations on the one hand, and their development partners on the other. ECA can also leverage its membership in the UN to galvanize other UN agencies in support of specific priority programmes such as UN-NADAF and the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa. As an institution of the United Nations located in Africa, ECA literally lives the development challenges of Africa.

23. The goal of forging effective partnerships is to respond better to the needs of ECA's main clients: the peoples of Africa and their governments. This marks a shift in focus of the activities of ECA from self-contained centre for studies on economic development to a networker of ideas for development. In establishing this partnership, however, ECA will not surrender its vision of what is best for Africa. The SRDC, as the arm of ECA in the field, is guided by the same principles.

24. There are five main categories of partners with which ECA and the SRDCs will seek to strengthen cooperation. These are: (i) African intergovernmental organizations (COMESA, SADC, SACU, IOC, OAU and ADB); (ii) agencies of the UN system; (iii) African universities and centres of excellence (ESAMI, ESAMRDC, etc); (iv) bilateral development agencies; and (v) civil society groups in Africa, including the private sector.

25. Several actions have already been taken to strengthen the SRDC for Southern Africa. Since 1997, a total of 12 professional posts have been allocated to the Centre. This is about three times the number of staff in the MULPOC for the whole of Eastern and Southern Africa in March, 1997. Nine of the staff members are already on board as of October 1998. It is expected that the full complement of twelve will be in place by the end of the year. In addition to the staff of the SRDC, the Centre has access to technical back-up from ECA headquarters in Addis Ababa.

26. In pursuit of its mission, the Centre took several actions aimed at forging effective partnership for development in the region. The initial actions focused on the major RECs and UN agencies in Zambia. Future actions will build on these foundations. The following is a summary of some specific actions taken during the period under review.

4.1. Cooperation with COMESA

27. Regular consultations were held with the Secretariat of COMESA throughout 1997 and 1998. High-level visits from ECA to COMESA included those by the Deputy Executive Secretary and a senior consultant on regional integration.

28. In order to ensure coordination with COMESA, SRDC for Southern Africa participated in meetings of the various policy organs of COMESA: Sectoral Committees, Special Meeting of Ministers of Telecommunications, and Meetings of the Council and Summit of the Authority in Lusaka (April, 1997) and Kinshasa (June 1998). It is from these meetings that ECA can identify areas of intervention in the priority programmes of COMESA.

29. At the operational level, the SRDC undertook the following activities in support to COMESA:

4.2. Cooperation with SADC

30. Two high-level consultative missions were undertaken to SADC Secretariat in order to strengthen partnership between SADC and SRDC. The first was in association with Mrs. Helen Johnson Sirleaf, special consultant (November, 1997). A follow-up mission was undertaken by the SRDC in March, 1998 and several areas for cooperation were identified, including possibility of preparation of a joint annual report on economic and social conditions in Southern Africa.

31. The SRDC also participated in the meetings of the policy organs of SADC in Malawi (1997) and Mauritius (1998) in order to identify areas of cooperation in implementing the work programme. Cooperation at the operational level consisted of the following activities carried out in support of SADC Secretariat and SATCC Technical Unit:

4.3. Cooperation with UN Agencies

32. In the first year of operations, the Centre actively participated in general coordination activities with heads of agencies of the UN Country Team in Zambia and in the following Inter-agency Working Groups for implementing UN programmes in the country (UN lead agency in brackets): Agriculture Sector Investment Programme - ASIP (FAO), Road Sector Investment Programme - RoadSIP (ILO), Sustainable Human Development - SHD (UNDP), Gender (UNFPA), Good Governance (UNDP), Private Sector Development Programme - PSDP (UNIDO), and Population and Development (UNFPA). Future cooperation with UN agencies will include implementation of selected aspects from the United Nations System-wide Special Initiative on Africa.

33. Initial contacts have also been made with the UN Resident Coordinators in the following countries in the subregion: Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. In Malawi, the Centre participated in an ECA multidisciplinary identification mission which identified several areas of intervention for ECA's technical assistance. The Centre plans to build on these contacts and develop practical cooperation arrangements in these countries within the next year.

4.4. Cooperation with African Universities and Centres of Excellence

34. The Centre also initiated cooperation activities with selected institutions in the subregion, notably the Eastern and Southern African Management Institute (ESAMI), the Eastern and Southern African Minerals Research and Development Centre (ESAMRDC), the Minerals and Energy Policy Centre (MEPC) in South Africa, and the Commonwealth Youth Programme Africa Centre.

35. Cooperation with ESAMI covered two key areas: gender issues and transport management. The cooperation on gender issues consisted of exchange of information on technology institutions and organizations which support women entrepreneurs in food processing. In the area of transportation management, the roads expert at the Centre delivered lectures at several management courses organized by ESAMI in member countries in the subregion, namely, Swaziland, Mozambique and Malawi.

36. The Centre also undertook a mission to ESAMRDC and closely consulted the Minerals and Energy Policy Centre (MEPC), in preparation of a report on the institutional framework for cooperation in minerals development in Southern Africa.

37. Experts from the University of Botswana and University of Zimbabwe, along with experts from elsewhere in the subregion, were involved in the preparation of a policy document on the nexus issues of population, food security and environment for sustainable development in Southern Africa. The Centre will endeavour to utilize experts from the subregion to undertake such studies in future.

4.5. Cooperation with OAU

38. Cooperation with OAU was in the form of participation by the Centre in two meetings organized by OAU: (a) the OAU Second General Assembly of the African Population Commission (APC) in Addis Ababa, June 1997; and (b) the OAU Twenty-first Labour and Social Affairs Commission in Pretoria, April 1998. The Centre also represented ECA as part of the Joint OAU/ECA/ADB Secretariat in support to SADC and COMESA.

4.6. Bilateral Cooperation with Governments

39. Several countries provided financial and material support to the Centre. The Government of the Republic of Zambia continued to host the Centre as it has done since the establishment of the ECA Regional Office in Lusaka in 1966. In addition to providing office space and requisite hosting facilities, Zambia also continued to provide staff for the Eastern and Southern African Development Information Service (ESADIS) which is based at the SRDC. Given the important role that information technology has assumed in recent times, ESADIS provides a foundation on which Southern Africa can build in order to be connected into the global information infrastructure. This is the wave of the future as we approach the information society of the Twenty-first Century.

40. The Government of the Republic of South Africa also provided valuable support to the Centre during this period. After hosting the last meeting of the ICE in Pretoria in March, 1997, South Africa contributed the sum of US50,000 to the United Nations Trust Fund for African Development (UNTFAD). Half of this amount (US$25,000) was allocated specifically to support the activities of the Centre and will be used as seed money to undertake activities of common concern in the subregion. The Centre will ensure that this resource is effectively used for the benefit of the member States.

V. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WORK PROGRAMME

41. In addition to the actions to strengthen partnerships already summarized above, the Centre also carried out other activities to implement the work programme for 1997 and 1998. The work programme for 1997 was derived from a revision of the 1996-1997 biennium work programme of the Commission, which was approved by the UN General Assembly. The revision was in accordance with resolution 809 (XXI) of 8 May, 1996 by which the ECA Conference of Ministers requested the Executive Secretary to revise the 1997 work programme to reflect the new programme orientation of the Commission and ensure a smooth transition in 1997 to the next Medium-Term Plan, 1998-2001.

42. Similarly, the activities in 1998 were derived from the 1998-1999 biennium work programme. A programme fair was organized at headquarters to provide opportunities for consultation and coordination among all the divisions of ECA to achieve synergy for more impact. This exercise was preceded by extensive preparations at the SRDC level.

43. The work programmes were implemented in the framework of four areas of focus: (a) providing technical support to and cooperation with the Regional Economic Communities; (b) facilitating networking and information exchange between governments, civil society and the private sector; (c) facilitating integration activities of the UN system in the subregion; and (d) strengthening ECA's outreach in Southern Africa. The activities undertaken during the period under review are summarized below:

5.1. Providing Technical Support to the RECs

44. This category of activities is designed to forge partnership through international cooperation, organization of meetings of the ICE and advisory services to member States.

The cooperation aspect has been presented in Section III above on partnership. This meeting of the ICE is organized in line with this requirement and appropriate reports have been prepared for consideration by the Committee under the appropriate items of the agenda.

45. In addition, the experts of the Centre also provided advisory services to some member States. In the transport sector, the SRDC in collaboration with ESAMI, conducted the following training workshops:

46. At the continental level, the Centre was invited to prepare and present a paper to the Annual Transport Conference on the Modalities for Implementing "the African Road Safety Initiative in Africa", which was held in South Africa in September 1997 .

47. Technical assistance was also rendered to Zambia in undertaking a National Road Safety Study which focused on: diagnostic analysis of the current road safety situation; capacity building requirements for the National Road Safety Council; and sustainability and financing of road safety programmes. The study was undertaken as an integral part of the

Road Sector Investment Programme (ROADSIP), a ten year programme with a goal of providing a well maintained road infrastructure as a prerequisite to economic growth and diversification.

48. The Centre also produced two technical reports on economic cooperation in the subregion:

5.2. Facilitating Networking and Information Exchange

49. Networking and information exchange may be achieved through recurrent publications, information materials and organization of workshops and seminars. The major activities in this category are summarized in the sections that follow.

(a) Recurrent Publications

50. Report on Social and Economic Conditions in Southern Africa. The above report was prepared to assess the status of economic and social conditions in the countries of the subregion in 1996 and 1997 and identify priority issues which may form the basis for drawing the future work of the SRDC. A special emphasis was placed on poverty alleviation policies and programmes in the member States. The report will be presented and discussed under the relevant item of the agenda.

(b) Information Material and Services

51. Two issues of Development Bulletin were published during this period. The bulletin is a medium for dissemination and exchange of information on economic and social development among member States and organizations in the subregion.

(c) Group Training (Workshops and Seminars)

52. The Centre organized the following activities in this category:

5.3 Facilitating Integration Activities of UN System

53. Non-recurrent Publications - Four issues of Briefing Notes on developments in Southern Africa were prepared in 1997. These notes are intended to provide timely information to the management of ECA on key developments in the subregion which could have implications on the work of the Commission.

54. As already reported under partnership, the Centre actively participated in the UN Country Team in Zambia and has initiated contacts with UN Resident Coordinators in other countries to extend this activity.

5.4. Strengthening ECA's Outreach in Southern Africa

55. The Centre participated in several ECA missions, notably, in Lesotho, Malawi and Zambia. It is expected that more such missions will be organized as part of the improved services by ECA. Experts from the Centre also undertook data collection and sensitization missions to Botswana, Swaziland and Zimbabwe.

VI. ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

56. 1997 may, indeed, be considered as a transition period. The activities of the Centre consequently focused on the transition from the old to the new; from MULPOC for Eastern and Southern Africa to the SRDC for Southern Africa. Additional staff and financial resources were deployed to the Centre in order to transform it into an effective operational arm of the Commission. In all, the professional staff complement has been increased from four to twelve, with nine already on board as of August 1998. Seven new staff members were redeployed from headquarters, while two former MULPOC staff members were reassigned to headquarters. It is expected that the full complement of twelve professional staff members will be on board by the end of 1998 or early in 1999. In the category of support staff, a new Administrative Assistant was deployed to the Centre from headquarters. Consultations are under way for allocation of more regular posts for support staff to the Centre instead of the current practice of temporary assignments. This would improve the morale and quality of the staff.

57. New operational guidelines for programme management have been issued setting out the rules within which programme managers will operate. Among other things, the guidelines give greater operational autonomy to the SRDC to plan the strategic directions, programme activities, budget and allocate resources, in order to ensure that the work produced is timely, cost-effective and of high standards. Closely linked to the greater autonomy granted to the SRDC is the concomitant responsibility: the management of the SRDC will be accountable for the results achieved. Consequently, the ICE as the policy organ for the SRDC assumes greater responsibility for the success of ECA.

58. A major maintenance work was carried out in the office building. New computers were installed and work is in progress to install a local area network for improved use of communications technology in the activities of the Centre. Member States and institutions will have the opportunity to use these facilities as well.

VII. FUTURE DIRECTIONS

59. The establishment of the SRDC is more than just a change in name. As documented in the preceding pages, it represents a fundamental change in the operations of the Commission as a whole. ECA has taken decisive steps to improve its functions to better serve the member States. The deployment of additional resources from headquarters and devolution of responsibilities to the SRDC is intended to improve its effectiveness in the field.

60. As indicated earlier, 1998 should be considered as the beginning of the operational phase of the on-going change in ECA. The biennium work programme for 1998-1999 was designed to reflect the priorities of the subregion. This objective may not have been fully achieved, however, since the work programme was largely drawn up in Addis Ababa. Future work programmes of ECA in this subregion must derive from the priorities identified by the member States and must be harmonized with those of the RECs, namely SADC and COMESA. As the policy organ of the SRDC, the ICE has the responsibility to provide guidance in this regard.

61. The resources so far allocated to the SRDC for Southern Africa may not be sufficient to meet all the development needs, but, properly deployed, they should make a difference. The SRDC should endeavour to leverage these resources with those of cooperating partners in order to provide more effective assistance to the countries. In this regard, member States are called upon to contribute to the activities of the Centre, in terms of financial resources or material support, so that ECA may continue to serve you better. In this regard, member States may consider seconding some national experts to the Centre. Member States are particularly encouraged to collaborate with the SRDC in the provision of information for the development of data base and information systems on economic and social developments. Such a data base should form the basis for high quality analytical studies and as a reference for the work of other development partners.

62. The professional staff deployed to the Centre come from varied professional backgrounds. The management will continuously seek to tailor the expertise to the requirements of the member States.

63. Finally, it is essential to emphasize that the usefulness of the SRDC will, to a large extent, be determined by the member States, represented by the ICE. The ECA secretariat will do its part as mandated by the member States. Member States may utilize the services of the SRDC, and indeed, the services of ECA, as they deem necessary.

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