Theorising Development in Africa

Munyaradzi Mawere

Description

How come Africa is so underdeveloped when it is one of the richest continents on earth? The present volume is an attempt to theorise Africa’s [under-]development with a view to providing a sustainable, enduring framework of operations that will arrest the predicament of the continent while taking it forward from its current passivity. The volume rethinks and re-imagines a number of externally imposed problematic mechanisms used (un-)consciously in Africa, with the intention of raising awareness and fostering critical thinking in scholars of African development. The book is a pacesetter on how to think and research Africa’s [under-]development. It is also an invaluable asset for social scientists, policy makers, development practitioners, civil society activists and politicians.

Informations

• Publié par: Langaa RPCIG
• Date de parution: 17 décembre 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789956764761
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Theorising Development in Africa: Theorising Development in Africa Towards Building an African Framework of Development

Munyaradzi Mawere

Towards Building an African Framework of Development

Munyaradzi Mawere

Theorising Development in Africa: Towards Building an African Framework of Development Munyaradzi Mawere L a ng a a R esea rch & P u blishing CIG Mankon, Bamenda

Publisher: LangaaRPCIG Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group P.O. Box 902 Mankon Bamenda North West Region Cameroon [e-mail] www.langaa-rpcig.net Distributed in and outside N. America by African Books Collective [e-mail] www.africanbookscollective.com

ISBN-10: 9956-764-74-4 ISBN-13: 978-9956-764-74-7  ©Munyaradzi Mawere 2017 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or be stored in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher

Table of Contents Chapter 1 What Development Is and Is Not………………….. 1 Chapter 2 Development and Underdevelopment in Africa: Through the Lenses of Theory………….. 23 Chapter 3 The Blame Game and Politics of Development in Africa……………………………… 59 Chapter 4 Development, Underdevelopment and Globalisation in Africa……………………………… 75 Chapter 5 Poverty and Inequality: Unpacking the Pragmatics of Poverty and Inequality in Africa…………………………………..95 Chapter 6 Development, Agriculture and the Diffusion of Technology in Rural Africa………………………………………….. 117 Chapter 7 Gender and Development in Africa………………... 125

iii

Chapter 8 Social Policy and Development in Africa………….. 137 Chapter 9 Climate Change and Environmental Management Strategies in Africa….......................... 151 Chapter 10 Building Blocks of Development: Towards a Framework of Development for Africa……………………………………………...167 References…………………………………………… 179

iv

Chapter 1 What Development Is and Is Not “Development is not all about building roads, schools, hospitals and towns. It is what we qualitatively do with the roads, the schools, the hospitals and the towns we build. It is not only about the quantities of what is built, but what people benefit from all that is built for them and others to come” (Munyaradzi Mawere 2016). Introduction: Theory and development in Africa While there are many theories and models of development that have been used (and continue to be used) in Africa even today – from modernisation to integration and globalisation theories of development – most if not all of these theories have been developed either in Europe or the Americas? One then wonders if these theories and models, no matter how strong they might be, could be wholesomely applicable to contexts such as Africa which are different from those of the places and people they were developed. Two questions that come to mind thus are: To what extend can the theories developed in the Global North be applicable to Africa? Why is it that we seem to lack development theories and models from Africa and for Africa? In reflecting critically on the first question, one notes that most of the theories and models imported from the Global North are either useless or limited when it comes to contexts such as those of Africa. They are limited because they principally reflect the thinking and the objectives of those who coin them together with their unique circumstances and experiences. This calls for the scholars and theorists of development in Africa to be very swift and meticulous in their theorisation and contribution to development discourse, particularly with regard to Africa. On this note, I argue that “development for conquest” that the Europe and the Americas have 1

imposed (consciously or unconsciously) on the indigenous people of Africa must be substituted by a development paradigm that celebrates their creative and innovative potentials while also recognising their contribution to the global stock of development. Similarly, a critical reflection on the second question reveals that there are a number of factors that have caused Africa to be gullible of all the models and theories – even if they are worst – and bluntly deploy in their contexts. Two factors at the fore are colonialism and colonial education which denied the African people not only their humanity as a people but also their creative and innovative geniuses as well as their right to equally contribute to the global mantra of development. As Santos, Nunes and Meneses argue (2007: xxxiii): This denial of diversity is a constitutive and persistent feature of colonialism. While the political dimension of colonial intervention has been widely criticised, the burden of the colonial epistemic monoculture is still accepted nowadays as a symbol of development and modernity. It is worth noting that the colonists inquisitively considered themselves as the “all knowers” and legitimate producers of all knowledge and development theories and models that unquestionably deserves transcultural application and acceptance. No wonder Santos, Nunes and Meneses (Ibid: xix) had this to say of the imposed Western supremacy on Africa: the epistemological privilege granted to modern science from the seventeenth century onwards, which made possible the technological revolutions that consolidated Western supremacy, was also instrumental in suppressing other, non-scientific forms of knowledges and, at the same time, the subaltern social groups whose social practices were informed by such knowledges. The horrendous and atrocious forces of colonialism and colonial education saw Africa being negatively described in mass media and 2

by some theorists of the North as a continent characterised by social chaos, political instability, abject poverty, social unrest, civil wars, and diseases. A manifold question can, however, be raised in view of this characterisation: How far true are these characterisations? Isn’t it that Africa is more than this characterisation and certainly different from the negative image portrayed in some circles? Isn’t it from Africa that we had the cradle of civilisation in pre-colonial era? Isn’t it from Africa that we get cultural, philosophical, and spiritual diversity with great potentials to contribute to global peace and justice? Isn’t it in Africa where we have a long history of successful struggle against colonialism and human exploitation? Isn’t it in Africa where we find the rich deposits of minerals, flourishing forests, wildlife, mountains and rivers? In fact, as Lamb (1983:20) reminds us: 40% of the world’s potential hydroelectric power supply; the bulk of the world’s diamonds ...; 30% of the uranium in the non- communist world; 50% of the world’s gold; 90% of its cobalt; 50% of its phosphates; ... 7.5% of its coal; ... 3% of its iron ore; and millions upon millions of acres of untilled farmland […] Africa has 60% of the world’s cultivatable land. Arguably, there is no other continent blessed with such abundance and diversity. Scholars like Kaberuka (2013) add that: Africa has more than 122 billion barrels of proven oil reserves (13% of world’s oil), 500 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves (12% of global gas) and 90% of chromium and platinum group metals; 20% of the world’s copper and significant deposits of bauxite, tantalum and other minerals. In addition, it has 64% of the world’s manganese, and vast nickel, lead, tungsten and cobalt; rutile (titanium ore), emeralds, lithium and tin (p.3). In addition to the above, Ayittey (1999: 6), notes that Africa also accounts for “70% of cocoa, 60% of coffee, 50% of palm oil, and 3

20% of the total petroleum traded in the world market, excluding the United States and Russia.” If it is indeed the case that Africa is blooming with all the riches mentioned in my question above, why then do Africa’s doomsters contradict this logic? Is there any spite and scheming against Africa 1 that is possibly inspired by the quest of the Global North to exploit Africa forever as it has done before national independence? By what and whose measurement is Africa characterised as such? From this critical questioning, it is at least clear that the question whether Africa is truly underdeveloped or not is more of a dichotomous matter that needs to be looked at from both sides of the coin. It is not a question to approach from a monolithic view point. At another level, questions that continue troubling us are: With all its richness in natural resources and human capital of quality and strength, how can Africa contribute meaningfully to global development, especially in a world that is dominated by hegemonic narratives of the North? How could Africa’s contribution help resolve the social and environmental ills, eliminate the political and economic traumas, and eradicate the laden sprouts of civil unrest on the continent and the global world? And lastly, what exactly can be labelled as “real” development given that many theories from the North and their attendant forces of change such as capitalism, colonialism, neo-colonialism and globalisation, which all came in the guise of civilisation and development, have arguably inflicted untold sufferings and agony to the societies of the South? In fact, there is need to trouble the concept and conceptualisation of [under-]development before we 1  While I acknowledge that the Western scholars have come to label the Africans as the “Global South,” even without acknowledging the pillaging and plundering done during slave trade and colonialism, I emphasise here that in this book I use the terms “Global South” and “Global North” neutrally to mean Africa (and all other continents in the southern hemisphere that suffered colonialism) and the countries in the northern hemisphere (including North America) that participated in the enslavement and colonisation of Africa. I thus use the terms “Global South” and “Global North” chiefly with respect to their geographical locations and their respective roles and positions during colonialism. Also, sometimes I use the terms North and South to refer to the Global North and Global South respectively. 4

seek solutions to come out of its box. It needs to be written in bold that while the idea of development as applied to Africa presupposes that Africa’s major problem is lack of development, the truth is that Africa’s primary predicament is one of continual exploitation and looting of its resources – natural and human of quality – by the capitalist imperialists of the Global North, who in most either connive (explicitly or implicitly) with the African elite or do so forcibly through their lopsided draconian so-called international laws. Also, it needs to be said loud and clear that by emphasising on matters of poverty, the idea of development presupposes that Africa’s major problem is simply that of poverty when in actual fact the prime problem that Africa has suffered and continue to suffer even today is that of pillaging or exploitation of its precious resources, denial of compensation from by its former colonisers, privileging business entrepreneurs from the Global North at the expense of those from the South, continued machinations and scheming through the deployment of such forces as globalisation, robbery, and looting. This presupposition sadly conceals and sweeps under carpet the real problem that haunts Africa. It also diverts attention of committed African theorists and development practitioners on the real problem that Africa faces, making it even more difficult to find enduring solutions. It is indeed in the light of this background and critical reflection that the quotation above was formulated. The quotation was adopted from a vignette by one of my interlocutors during fieldwork in southern Zimbabwe in 2011. It troubles and teases out the conceptualisation and traditional definition of development as inclined towards materiality and poverty-related issues. Most importantly, the vignette clearly depicts that the term “development” though has gained tremendous prominence in intellectual discourse over the years in both Africa and beyond, remains peculiarly difficult to unpack and define with precision. This is chiefly because, on one hand, the term is elastic and pragmatic such that it cuts across contexts and life situations and, on the other hand, it means different things to different people. In fact, it should be underlined that 5