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APPENDIX 10

REPORT OF THE VICE-PRESIDENT FOR AFRICA, 1973-1977

Africa is a large region with only 6 national societies:    South Africa, Rhodesia, Morooco, Tunisia,

Ghana and Nigeria. The sixth member, the Nigerian Geotechnical Association joined the membership of ISSMFE only in 1976. The South African National Society is by far the largest with a total membership of 516.

During the review period, efforts were madę to stimulate interest in soil mechanics and to encourage the formation of national societies within the region.

In particular letters were sent to eleven universities in various African countries which were without national societies and to a number of individuals in other organisations considered to be connected with the practice of soil mechanics. The response has not been very encouraging, but it is felt that the effort should continue.

Communication between many groups in the region (particularly between the societies in South Africa and Rhodesia and those in the other countries) continued to be a major problem throughout the period under review> and we still have to depend on the literaturę and correspondence from a few national societies to compile our report. It is particularly sad to report that owing to these impediments to communication (arising mainly out of the policies of the various Governments) the Vice-President was not able to participate, in person, in the 6th Regional Conference in Durban.

CONFERENCES AND SYMPOSIA

During the period under review, the major activity in the region was the 6th Regional Conference for Africa which was held in Durban, South Africa from 8th-12th September, 1975. The main themes of the Conference were:

Properties of Soils and Construction Materials

Engineering in Rock

Piled Foundations

Embankments.

The Conference attracted considerable attention, recording the attendance of some 200 delegates, of whom 12 were from overseas. Amongst our distinguished guests were, the Secretary-General of the ISSMFE, Professor J.K.T.L. Nash, Professor V.B.de Mello and Dr. J.B. Burland. A total of 39 papers were presented in the five main sessions. Additional papers and contributions were presented in the speciality sessions. The proceedings of the conference have been published in two volumes. Volume I of the proceedings contained 36 papers on the various topics and Volume II contained the special lectures and a summary of the discussions which took place at the conference. The proceedings are obtainable from the publishers - Messrs. A. A. Balkema of Cape Town, South Africa. Grateful thanks are extended to Mr. George Donaldson and his organising committee for the arrangements for the conference.

At its finał Session the 6th Regional Conference adopted two resolutions for action by the various national societies:

(i)    In view of the increasingly urgent need in all countries of Africa for accurate and comprehen-sive geological maps and the need of such maps for the planning and effective design of devel-opment projects, the national societies should be encouraged through ISSMFE to reąuest the national authorities in their respective countries to undertake the production of geological maps which include the delimitation of superficial and residual materials.

(ii)    The national societies should be encouraged to approach the appropriate educational authorities in their countries to urge the establishment

of training facilities for engineering geologists.

Other symposia included the symposium on Exploration for Rock Engineering and the symposium on Terrain Evaluation.

The Symposium on Exploration for Rock Engineering was held in Johannesburg from the lst to 5th November 1976. This symposium was jointly sponsored by the South African National Society of ISSMFE and the National Group of the ISRM. It was attended by about 170 delegates. A total of uo papers were presented. The proceedings of the symposium have been published in two volumes obtainable from the publishers - Messrs. A.A. Balkema of Cape Town, South Africa.

The Symposium on Terrain Evaluation was arranged jointly by the Association of Engineering Geologists and the National Society of ISSMFE of South Africa in February, 1975.    16 papers were

presented which are being published and which will be available from the Geotechnical Division of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering.

VEN UE FOR THE 7TH REGIONAL CONFERENCE

For much the same reason as that which prevented the Vice-President from attending the 6th Regional Conference in Durban, the task of deciding on the venue for the Seventh Regional Conference has presented rather a seemingly unsurmountable problem. The current situation in the region is such that a strict adherence to the minutę 21 of the Istanbul Executive Committee meeting might make the holding of the conference in any of the member countries almost unacceptable. It is hoped that a decision of the executive committee might help fix a venue for the Seventh Regional Conference.

PUBLICATIONS

Technical papers and articles of interest are regularly published in engineering journals in the member countries. In addition to these journals, we are reliably informed that the South African Society introduced a new letter, "Ground Profile" in 197U.

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