Preparatory Committee and the Executive Secretary and his staff, for which the Conference was profoundly grateful; special thanks also went to the Secretary-General ad interim of OAU and his staff. 318. The hard substance of Africa's economic and social issues did not lend itself to rhetoric: plans and alternative strategies were required. There was a need to examine national policies, to pursue them vigorously if they were right and sustainable; to modify them if they were wrong and unsustainable, not so much because the World Bank or IMF said so, but because that was what ought to be done. - 73 - 319. Finally, he thanked the other officers of the Conference, the support staff, and all those who had quietly and anonymously facilitated the work of the Conference. He reiterated his deep feelings of gratitude to the host country and in particular to Comrade Mengistu Haile-Mariam, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers1 Party of Ethiopia, Chairman of the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC) and Commander-in-Chief of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Socialist Ethiopia for his continued unfaltering support to all efforts within ECA and elsewhere. 320. He then declared the Conference closed. D. Programme of work and priorities 321. In 1984 the secretariat of the Commission serviced the fifth meeting of the Technical Preparatory Committee of the Whole and the nineteenth session of the Commission/tenth meeting of the Conference of Ministers held at Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 322. It organized jointly with the Centre of African Studies, Dalhousie University, a Conference on the theme 'The Lagos Plan of Action and the Final Act of Lagos and the future of Africa's international economic relations: Projections and implications for policy-makers". 323. In 1984, the secretariat prepared and submitted proposals to the Planning, Programming and Budgeting Board for inclusion in the Secretary-
**Analysis**
The text appears to be a summary of a conference or meeting related to economic and social issues in Africa. The language used suggests that the discussion focused on policy-making, planning, and implementation, with an emphasis on sustainability and international cooperation. The mention of organizations such as the World Bank and IMF also points towards economic development.

**Category**
Economic development, International trade