870.00/7–1653
The Second Secretary of the Embassy in the United Kingdom (Tibbetts) to the Department of State1
No. 325
Subject:
- Lisbon Meeting of the CCTA in June 1953
There are summarized below the informal comments of an officer of the Colonial Office about the meeting of the CCTA (Commission on Technical Cooperation for Africa) in Lisbon in June 1953. This officer said that this meeting was more constructive than usual, although undramatic, and the British were pleased with its outcome. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in London in January 1954.
- 1.
- The Constitution: Agreement was reached on the document giving formal status to the CCTA, and it is to be signed next January in London by representatives of governments. No changes of substance were made, and the final agreement confirms the existing situation. The major advantage in having a final and formal constitution will be to put the Secretary General of the CCTA in a stronger position to deal with the various specialized agencies of the UN.
- 2.
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The CCTA and the CSA: Slight progress was made in the problem of bringing the CCTA and the CSA (Council on Scientific Cooperation in Africa) more closely together. Some CCTA members insist on integration of the two, but, since the CSA is shortly to move from Nairobi to the Belgian Congo, the difficulties of integration are obvious. It was agreed that the two secretariats would exchange information and work together closely.
It was also decided to cut the CSA Budget by about £2000. The CSA has not accomplished as much to date as hoped and in the opinion of the member governments needs tightening up from the administrative point of view. The budget cut will not affect its substantive work but may induce more caution in the Secretary General.
- 3.
- The Labor Bureau: The African Labor Bureau was thoroughly discussed also; it too has been disappointing. It was decided to give it more money and to assist it in the securing of better personnel. If the necessary talent can be recruited, it is hoped that a study of labor techniques and productivity in certain sections of Africa can be launched. It was emphasized that an organization so limited in resources must work on small scale and can accomplish more in basic research than in trying to make sweeping studies of continent-wide problems.
- 4.
- The International Research Bureau: Discussion also took place about setting up a Research Bureau to which non-CCTA members such as the Carnegie Foundation could contribute. The hope is that, if an international research (scientific) bureau is created, the charitable and wealthy foundations will find this a convenient way to contribute to worthy causes. Governments, of course, can also contribute. Privately the British think it is unlikely that “much game will be caught by this bait” since in their experience private organizations [Page 48] prefer to be sole or major sponsors in order to get the lion’s share of the credit. The British have in mind as the first project the preparation of a climatology atlas.
- 5.
- Administrative Arrangements: The schedule of meetings for the next two years was discussed with tentative arrangements about expenses, host countries, etc. The meetings are all on technical subjects such as soils, nutrition, and statistics. There was also some discussion as to the possibility of a meeting on Transport the year after next.
There was no discussion of political problems. The British are pleased that they have managed to keep the CCTA confined to technical matters.
- This despatch was approved by the First Secretary of the Embassy in London, Benjamin M. Hulley.↩