Sessional Paper No.77 of 1956/1957 on the Development Programme (1957-1960)

Abstract

A development programme sets out the concrete tasks to be achieved in a given period. The preparation of a programme enables general objectives to be seen more clearly and co-ordination to be achieved between the various aspects of development, while the programme itself shows how the objectives of policy can be reached. The first two decisions which the Government has to make when considering a development programme are, firstly, how far ahead to plan, and secondly, what resources can be assumed to be available. In taking these decisions, the Government must bring into account the activities of the private sector of the economy, the resources of the country which are awaiting development, and the probable effects of the public investment programme on the private investor. In an underdeveloped country, development planning is particularly an exercise in directing to the best possible uses all available resources—whether of land, manpower, capital, or managerial and administrative ability.