When Tanzania and Uganda had gained their independence and Kenya was about to gain hers, it was clear that a large number of Africans would be finding themselves placed in positions of considerable responsibility in the public service before they had had the opportunity to acquire any substantial amount of experience in the management of public affairs. Among those who played a prominent part in considering how this problem could best be tackled was the Secretary-General of the East African Common Services Organisation. A. L. Adu had previously served as Commissioner for Africanisation in Ghana and had later been head of the civil service in that country, and he had considerable experience of similar problems in West Africa. He had also been one of the first Africans to attend the Imperial Defence College in the U.K., and had been impressed by the contribution which training of the staff college type could make to the development of administrative skills in those whose experience at the lower levels of the administrative ladder had necessarily been limited.