CAB129-45 — Page 404

Bulk buying

17. Each of the three Governments at present carries out bulk buying of certain commodities, in some cases for stockpiling purposes. It is obviously desirable to avoid competition in such purchases between the territorial Govern- ments and, quite apart from this, there may be advantages in certain cases in having commodities purchased for the whole area by the federal depart- ment concerned. In all cases where two territories are involved there should be co-operation in bulk buying. Where appropriate the federal Government should undertake bulk buying on behalf of the territories.

Price and wages control; subsidies on consumer prices; rent and building

control; excise; producer prices; road/rail competition

18. Price and wages control, subsidies, rent and building control and excise should be the responsibility of the territorial Governments and Legisla- tures. At the same time, since the aim is to integrate general economic policy for the whole of Central Africa, it would be essential to establish adequate machinery for the closest co-ordination of policy between the territories in all these spheres, which are closely related to each other. This could be achieved in two ways. In the first place the department of the federal Government responsible for the inter-territorial trade and commerce matters referred to in paragraph 15 above should also have co-ordinating functions, although not executive functions, in relation to price and wages control and the other matters discussed in this paragraph. Secondly, an Economic Advisory Committee, representative of the three territories and the federation, should be set up to keep these questions under general review and to help maintain co-ordination of policy. There are no doubt other matters which this Committee would be required to deal with one of them is the co-ordination of policy with regard to producer prices, a matter which is important both from the development and the price policy points of view; another is road/rail competition and the ques- tion of the control of road traffic on inter-territorial roads. In order to prevent unco-ordinated action by the territorial Governments in any of these matters there should be an agreed list of subjects on which action of material import- ance would not be taken without prior consultation through the Economic Advisory Committee or the federal department dealing with these subjects as the case might be.

DEVELOPMENT

19. Each of the territories has embarked on an extensive development programme for which financial and other resources are in sight and it would be wrong to interfere with these programmes. It is, however, clearly of great importance that effective inter-territorial machinery should be established for the co-ordination of development policies and programmes, and in para- graph 53 of the main Report it is recommended that, for this purpose, there should be established:-

(a) a Development Commission representative of the Governments and

Legislatures of the three territories and the federation; and

(b) a Čentral Planning Staff with the necessary economic and other techni- cal experts attached to it and with appropriate assistance from the federal Department of Statistics: the Central Planning Staff would form part of the appropriate federal Ministry.

(*) See footnote (4) on page 21.

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described in

20. It would be the function of the Development Commission and the Central Planning Staff to co-ordinate and keep under review the development needs and programmes of Central Africa as a whole; the it is suggaged that the organisation should be nothods by which paragraphs 53 and 54 of the main Report. Responsibility for carrying out the various parts of the development programme would lie with the territorial Governments as far as territorial departments are concerned and with the federal Government as far as federal departments are concerned. Individual territories might draw on the services of specialist departments from other territories or the federal Government in appropriate cases; and no doubt the federal Government would equally draw on territorial resources where needed. Agriculture, animal health, forestry and co-operation would be territorial subjects, although general development policy affecting these departments would be fully co-ordinated through the Development Commission and the Central Planning Staff. The water departments should be territorial in so far as urban water supplies and small scale water supplies are concerned; but for major water control and irrigation schemes a federal department should be established. In irrigation and water control matters, moreover, it is thought that Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland might be able to obtain valuable assistance from the Southern Rhodesian Department on an agency basis.

Research

21. Medium and long-term research should be a federal responsibility and an appropriate organisation or organisations should be set up for this purpose to work in close touch with the Development Commission. This would not in any way interfere with the experimental and short-term research activities of individual specialist departments in the territories; indeed, the federal research organisation might in many cases be able to assist in these activities.

Marketing

22. In all three territories marketing boards have been set up under statute with the general object of promoting price stability and expansion of production of particular commodities. The commodities dealt with vary from territory to territory. In the first instance, at any rate, these statutory market- ing boards should in most cases remain a territorial responsibility, although the establishment of federal marketing boards in appropriate cases should not be excluded. Close co-ordination between the territories in connection with general marketing policy is clearly desirable and could be achieved through the Economic Advisory Committee referred to in paragraph 18 above.

Industrial Development

23. Industrial development in the three territories is likely to a very large extent to remain a matter for private enterprise, although Government will no doubt continue to participate in cases where the establishment of an industry is considered to be of great public importance and where private enterprise will either not undertake the risk or will not undertake the risk without a special protection or participation by Government. Where indus- tries are established by private enterprise the decision as to their location must be made by the company concerned, subject, of course, to any arrange- ments which there may be for industrial licensing; but Government can clearly exercise a great influence over the location of industries through the provision of road, rail or water communications, through freight rates or through the supply of power. Under the recommendations made in the Report rail communications, freight rates and power would be a matter for