AID and African capacity building

This report examines a subset of these systems and outlines a set of action recommendations for A.I.D. intervention. Treated in detail are economic policymaking and management capabilites in Botswana, Tanzania, Zaire, and Senegal. Treated more briefly are the capabilities of the Southern African Development Coordination Conference, the African Economic Research Consortium, the Eastern and Southern Africa Management Institute, and the Ivorian Center for Economic and Social Research. Major conclusions are as follows. (1) Throughout much of the continent the demand for economic analysts is growing faster than the supply, necessitating major investments to improve training in economics and related fields. Government and university personnel also need considerable retraining in analytical skills and techniques. (2) Although corruption and poor performance on the part of civil service personnel often render sound policies useless, inadequate implementation procedures are an even worse problem. Investments in policy implementation activities could have as significant a long run impact as the policies themselves. (3) Improving government service must be complemented by by stimulation of the private sector. (4) Regional institutions in Africa have a checkered history, but can fruitfully complement one another. (5) Resident advisors and visiting consultants will have an important role to play for some time to come. These findings suggest two principal types of interventions: those designed to increase the supply of policy analysts and managers, and those designed to improve the use of current resources. Since this task is complicated by the geographical realities of Africa, ways are needed to maximize the use of regional organizations.