asseasnent of the personnel and other resource requlremengs of the Decadesecretariat. (d) As eoon as posslbla, one of the Exlsllng vacanclea ln the Decedesecpetarlal should be flUed by an evatuatl.on speclallst, to be asslsted asnecessary by consultants. the functlona of thls saall evaluatLon unlE rouldbe prharlly go canny out the Hork pnograe[e nenH.on€d ln (b) above and a! the sane tloe to ensupe that regular repopts on the Docade proJect flnanctng andphysical executlon are prepared, African governoenta should facj,litale theactlvi.ties of thls unlt by guaranteelng Lt access to lnfopnatlon. (e) Whenever posslbLe, asalstance should also be provlded go govet n.n€ntswlshln8 lo sei up thelr own evaluatlon Eachlnery, especlally r.rlth nespect toactlvltles Ln the area ol transport and cooEunlcatLons. Ihe exlEtence ofnatlonaL evaluallon unlts could greatLy faclutate ECA's evaluatlon responsi-biLity, wtth respect to the Decade and, beyond thls lEoedlate concern, lrouldlncrease the effectlveness of the Unlted Natlons systeDrs actlvlltes ln Afrlca. 2. Quantltatlve data on flrst-phase proJects 54. l?le present report auffers frod the saEa lldllatlons as have affecged ghe ECA Secretanlat wlth respect to quantltatlve data on the advancenen! of the Decade projectg. At present, the available Inforoatlon Hhich olght be usedin attenptlng an ovenall assesanent of the resu).ls are 11n!ted and not veryrellable: (a) Quantj.tatlve lnlorDAtlon on lhe nullber of proJects and the linancing oblalned by node and by type of proJect, whlch has been publlshed on a nunberof occaslons. (b) Atienpts at qualltatlve anatysls concenned mElnly wllh ghe de8ree to whlch projects confo!.B to the obJectlves of the Etrategy lof lhe Decade. Ihenost exhauselve (and crltlcal) analysls knolrn to JIU 1s contalned 1n the docuoententltLed 'rEvaluatlon of lhe lnpleqentallon of the pnograEEe of the flrst phase'r,!.hlch r{as subnltted to the parl8 Round Table fn June i9g, (docuneng DEc/ThANScoM/Bt/t ) .(c) lhe allempt to analyze the physlcal impLenentatlon rnentLoned ln
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the evaluation and management of a project related to economic development in Africa. It mentions the Decade secretariat, the need for evaluation specialists, and the importance of regular reporting on project financing and physical execution. The text also mentions the need for quantitative data on first-phase projects, which suggests a focus on project management and evaluation.

**Category**
Economic development, Transport and communication