lO. In vier of Lhe above, the Inspector reconnends that the Executlve Secretary should undertake a review of the quallty and pentlnence of bhe central servlces provided and procedures applicabte to the Decade secreLarlat. Jf. Hhile the low level of ECAts resources nay have had a ne8attve effect on lts ablltty to perforE fully all the taska provlded for ln the mandate conferrlng on lt the role of lead agency for the Decade, the problen of access to lnfornatlon had much nore senloug consequences. In the vanlous documents lgsued by ECA on the progress of the flrst phase of the Decade, it uas stresaed ghat a physlcal 'or even a purely flnanclal, evaluatlon of Lhe proJects vas Dade very dlfflcult' lf not lmposslble, by the lack of relevant lnfornatlon. Varlous nethods of gathering lnformatlon xere trled (questlonnalres to Governments, requesi thaf Governnents appoinU a person or an offlce to ltalge nlth the ECA secretarlat' use of field offices of spectalized agencies and' f1nally' a propooal to nake use of the nebwork of UNDP resident represenbatlv€s ) , but all' of theo seem to come up agalnsL the sane problen : the dlfflcultLes encountered by nany Afrlcan Governments ln provldlng infornatlon on proJect executlon. In auch clrcumstancea 'bhe respons lbilities of 'rco-ordinatlon and monitoringfl of plannin8, lmilenentation and evaluation of proJects obvlously could not be fulty caried out by ECA. 32. Ttls observation raises a number of quesllons on the conceptlon of the Decade and the role of the ECA secretariat vis-i-vts the Covernnents. the rrording of the mandaLe ofECA (see para. 2J above) seens to suggest that' initially, it Has lntended that ECA should play a Leading role ln the implenenLation of the Decade. The facb that llem (b) staLes clearly that ghe secreiariat should be involved ln the plannlng and elabora!1on of tndlvidual
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing the implementation of a decade-long program or initiative, focusing on the role of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) in providing central services and coordinating projects. The text mentions the lack of relevant information, difficulties in evaluating projects, and the need for coordination and monitoring. These themes suggest that the category might be related to international development or cooperation.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade