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THE FOURTH MEETING OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT (UNCTAD) IN NAIROBI IN MAY 1976 SAW THE OFFICIAL UNVEILING OF A PROPOSAL KNOWN AS THE 'INTEGRATED PROGRAMME FOR COMMODITIES', THE KEY ELEMENT IN WHICH WAS THE COMMON FUND. THE HISTORY OF THE COMMON FUND PROPOSAL TO FINANCE AN INTEGRATED COMMODITY PRICE SUPPORT SCHEME TELLS A GREAT DEAL ABOUT THE POLITICS OF THE DEVELOPED AND OF THE DEVELOPING WORLD, AND HOW RELATIONS BETWEEN THEM ARE MANAGED. THIS ARTICLE EXAMINES THE CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH LED TO THE FORMATION OF THE COMMON FUND, AND OFFERS A PROSPECTUS FOR SUCCESS OF ITS IMPLEMENTATION.

Based on a chapter of his forthcoming book, "The politics of economic interdependence." History of the proposal to finance an integrated commodity price support scheme, initiated at the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, May 1976.

LIKE MANY OTHER DEVELOPED COUNTRIES, AUSTRALIA WAS INITIALLY RELUCTANT TO ENDORSE THE IDEA OF A COMMON FUND. BUT BY EARLY 1978, IT HAD EMERGED AS ONE OF THE STRONGEST ADVOCATES OF THE FUND AMONG THE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES. THIS PAPER ATTEMPTS TO EXPLAIN WHY AUSTRALIA PROVIDED SUCH STRONG SUPPORT FOR THE COMMON FUND.

This study sought to examine the performance of District Assemblies' consultants on Common Fund projects in Ghana. The study employed cross-sectional design and quantitative research approach using a structured questionnaire based on a list of roles of building consultants developed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority to collect the primary data for analysis. The questionnaire was administered by postal survey to 80 District Assemblies (DAs) in Ghana. A system of weights and rating were used to assess the importance of each role and how well the consultants had performed in the same roles. The results showed that under project-related roles, the DA consultants performed very well in quality of recommendations, presentation of reports, design solutions and quality of tender documents, and under general roles they performed very well in effectiveness in surmounting problems, relationship with clients and responsiveness. Major roles requiring improvement include final drawings, presentation of drawings and collection of information during the design phase. The overall performance of the consultants in project-related and general roles was each 62% of maximum score. This indicates that more room exists for continual improvement in performance on project-related and general roles. The findings point to the need for regular performance evaluation of consultants of DAs in order to ensure delivery of quality service and value for money. It is also important to regularly train and educate District Assembly officials involved in recruitment of consultants on why evaluation of consultants is so vital in drawing up contracts. The findings are of value to local government entities seeking to obtain greater satisfaction from their consultants, and also to consultants wishing to improve quality of their service and deliver on their roles. District Assemblies, Consultants, Performance, Common Fund Projects.