Lecture 7 and 8- Zimbabwe And Natural Resource Managment Flashcards
What does sen describe substantive freedoms as? (Sen, 1985)
Ability to engage (in politics, economic transactions etc)
What were Sen’s five components in assessing capabilities?
1) the importance of real freedoms in assessment of a persons advantage
2) individual differences in the ability to transform resource into valuable activities
3) the multi variate nature of activities giving rise to happiness
4) a balance of materialistic and no materialistic factors in evaluating human welfare
5) concern for the distribution of opportunities within society
What where some of the issues with development programmes? (Booth 2011)
They often reflect what ministers and parliaments in donor countries have to say (little practical knowledge and experience in context)
They are concerned with liberal democratic ideology and NOT context
What is the African power and politics programme (APPP)? (Booth, 2011)
They are concerned with what works in the context of Africa (best fit governance)
Challenges assumptions that have influenced leaders and intellects in Africa
Why has there been a shift from ‘best practice’ to ‘best fit’? (Booth, 2011)
There is not institutional templates that are valid for every country at every state- rather the right approach to governance
What is ‘best fit’ according to the APPP? (Booth, 2011)
Building on existing institutional arrangements that have recognisable arrangements
A shift from direct support to facilitating local problem solving
What do ‘best fits’ involve? (Booth, 2011)
Do not import from a generic concept of good practice
Usually practical hybrids (professional, scientific, with moral economy practices)
What factors should donors consider when funding in self help initiatives?(Booth, 2011)
Money needs to be directed correctly, thus the initiatives need to be both technically sensible and locally anchored to be more efficient
What were some of the compromises that Booth discusses in the ‘best fit model’? (Booth, 2011)
Democracy is desirable in the long term but not the route to better public policy in the short/median term
Can act as a distraction for the main goals
(Think about Changs discussion on corruption)
What is clientism? (Booth, 2011)
Buying votes during elections. An example of where democracy isn’t the ‘best practice’
Power hungry politicians buying votes from poor
What are the fundamental requirements for best practice to work? (Booth, 2011)
1) understanding the prevailing institutional arrangements
2) what works well for development rather then applying prefabricated norms and expectations
Less than perfect standards if transparency are acceptable as long as there is….
Peace
Development is visible and benefits to all society
Why has ‘best fit’ come under scrutiny?
Aid agencies under pressure to disburse funds and show the results
But adapting the programme individual locations takes time
NGOs and donors cannot make many changes on their own
What are some of the solutions for the problems of ‘best fit’?
Rather then making propensities for each individual country why not make propositions for particular types of context
Why is collective action important to understand in relation to natural resource management? (Cleaver, 2012)
Deeply embedded int culture, history and Argo-ecological conditions
Ever changing and adapting
People create social continuity and moral order through institutions
Why are mainstream institutions not enough when trying to understand NR? (Cleaver, 2012)
More to it then technical and economical and political spheres
Impossible to detangle private action, formal, informal management
New institutions are legitimised by referencing existing ones
Why is it important to understand cultural institutions? (Cleaver, 2012)
Resource optimisation- cooperating and helping to ensure compliance
Potentials and limits of negotiability and innovation
Helps understand why rules are upheld or broken
Helps understand how it should be implemented (booth ‘best fit’) and maintained
Where did cleaver (2012) conduct her studies?
Nkayi, Zimbabwe - Mtswirini
Various rules are in place for the water pump, do they work for the people? (Cleaver, 2012)
Yes! Despite drought and extreme pressure on the pump these arrangements seems to be relatively effectiv
What are some of the maintenance rules? (Cleaver, 2012)
Keep it clean
Those who constructed it can access water twice a day
Water to be used for domestic purposes only
Rationing rules are applied during dry seasons
How are these rules and regulations for water pump established? (Cleaver, 2012)
Various cultural/ economic and institutional factors. Complex embedded approach (peters 1987)
What was granovetters (1992) argument?
Flexible conceptualisation of embeddness involving the importance of networks of personal relations in shaping action
How does (Cleaver, 2012) define institutions?
Suggests that institutions are partial,intermittent and often invisible,, being located in the daily interactions of ordinary lives
How does Giddens 1984 suggests institutions gain there leg impact?
Survive partly to the legitimacy bestowed by tradition, the moral command of what went before over the past
What was the -invisible institution’ for the nkayi people? (Cleaver, 2012)
Shangani river (45min walk from the well)
How was the shangani river a ‘invisible institution’?
Like the well there were accepted systems of rules governing use at the river, these practices resembled the rules that went in at the well
How did (Cleaver, 2012) explain the similarities in rules in the shagnai river and the nkayi well ?
The political history of planned resettlement meant the people were moved inland, taking there moral ecological practices with them
What are some of the examples where the rules for the river and the well were the same?
Conditional access
Water was for domestic use
Preserving the quality
What were some of the ‘formal’ institutions managing the well?
In line with national policy the well was managed by the ‘water point committee’
Line is only connected twice a day forcing all to collect water at the same time and allows regulation
The well was dug up by a NGO
Give a brief history on the water access for the nkayi people. (Cleaver, 2012)
Troubled history of water access (droughts, low rainfall, war etc)
Forced migration n 1940-50s during political instability
How has the troubled political history of the nkayi impacted well management?
Constrain their willingness to provide collective labour and volunteer for positions of authority
Political conflict mean that people have deeply embedded preferences to avoid confrontations
(Think about sen 1985 and human agency in the capability approach, freedom to engage)
How has the history of droughts had an impact on current regulation
Long experiences of drought has emphasised the importance of people maintaining access to a variety of sources
And being very careful with water use
Is current traditions take same as previous traditions?
No past experiences shape rather than determine
Modified by negotiations and practice
People do not accept everything that went on before
Through using past experiences, current negotiations and various forms of institutions, what is achieved?
The most natural and desirable process (best fit)
This is not to suggest that this is always strategic, rather as a place based identity and social status
Give an example of where a traditional Norm has been changed and adapted from (Cleaver, 2012)
Traditional no one was to be excluded from water use, but in reality people are excluded (the people that are not from the area)
There are rules for time of water access but expecting are made
(Cleaver, 2012) discusses when exceptions are made for water access for a woman, why did this occur?
She had many children and was unable to access pump during hours
She was seen to be a hard working individual
No one disputed it
(Cleaver, 2012) argues that when rules are adapted and negotiated it is often what?
Not water access that is negotiated rather notions of authority, rights and citizenships and gender roles
Why is community decision making important for the community (practice)?
Collective decisions ensure collective compliance
Consequences will also be for everyone (fence needs fixing- will need to be fixed or no one gets water)
Lessens the need to monitor and sanctions
Is collective community based decisions easily achieved?
No- very laborious decision making process, meetings go on for hours
(Rather than having opaque, non confrontation meetings)
There is a danger of over romanticising the process, what are some of the problems with these ways of management ?
Some actions are only achieved because they are over looking the underlying differences and inequalities
Less powerful members of the community are unable to express dissent (Scott 1985)
Who are the various actors and ‘institutions’ in negotiations and decisions making? (5 points)
1) traditional chiefs
2) modern systems of authority (ward, village district chairman)
3) new players (teachers, nurses)
4) supernatural and religious beliefs
5) community norms
How do they come to an agreement?
Drawing on the past legitimises the present
Reflecting back on the war and cooperation between people
What is the moral ecological framework?
Paying attention to the moral meanings and values attached to human environment interactions and the exercise of power
Why is looking at the moral community important?
Moral fundamental in orientating human action (Hyden, 2006)
Exercise of power is often legitimised or challenged within moral rather than functional frames of references
Many African societies in an ecological ethnic is embedded with physical, spiritual, and social,landscape
Moral motives are central to human agency
Bricolage is important, why?
Water management would have been impossible within rigid boundaries- there needs to be a flexible application if rules
It is constructed not through leaders and authority, rather a wider system of the ‘right way of doing things’
Linking human action with natural and supernatural environments
Why has there been actors in negotiating statehood? (Hagmann and Peclard, 2010)
Societies copying with limited statehood and political turmoil in the 1990s
Saps and democratisation and decentralisation = local centres
Prolonged absence of the political state
Is the idea that the state are external to society a correct assumption? (Hagmann and Peclard, 2010)
No- a wide range of actors, state officials and non state actors are involved in both cooperation and competition
Is legitimisation important for state an non state actors? (Hagmann and Peclard, 2010)
Yes, they both need to appear legit but have different legitimisation strategises.
Is there one power in negotiating state hood? (Hagmann and Peclard, 2010)
No- domination in never or rarely exerted exclusively by one power (even the poor have power- Scott 2011)
Resources can be both tangible and intangible assets such as…(Hagmann and Peclard, 2010
Bureaucratic capacities
Knowledge
Control over violence
International networks etc etc
How do resource determine who has power? (Hagmann and Peclard, 2010)
Resources vary proportionally amounts different groups p, this determines who has power
What are some of the ways to legitimise and gain popular support? (Hagmann and Peclard, 2010)
Good governance Human rights Democracy Anti western ideology Religious and cultural ideologies Nationalism
What are the limitations of managing stuff (resources etc) (Hagmann and Peclard, 2010)
The process of negotiating
Resources (accessing and being able to use them)
And conflicting actors
What are mainstream institutions approach to development at the local level? (Cleaver, 2012)
Main stream institutions disagree with states being involved in locals in community level action
Describe Zimbabwe between the years 1990 and 2010.
Decline in reputation and characterised as the worst African state
Despite thins developments in infrastructure, child mortality etc
But the decade was a huge hault for for development over all
From the late 1990s what other factors impacted the Zimbabwe economy and development? (7 reasons)
Government turned bankrupt after paying war veterans in 1997 ($50 000 each)
SAPS
Fees for health and education
HIV endemic (economical stress on families)
Political conflict with the emergence of the opposition movement in the 90s
2000/2001 (following the disputed elections) international sanctions were imposed on the regime (donor agencies only provide bare minimum aid)
= economic collapse hyper inflation, political oppression, brian drain
2008 elections- violence, shortage of food break down of infrastructure
How was 2010 a turning point in Zimbabwe?
A government of national unity was established
Zimbabwe dollar was abandoned = improved the availability of goods
What problems does Zimbabwe still face?
Rehabilitation of infrastructure, economy and political system was going to be a long-term challenge
Slow progress on political governance
The district of nkayi was also impacted since 1990, what were some of the impacts/ changes? (Cleaver, 2012)
1992 suffered droughts
Withdrawal from the donor community= setbacks
Nkayi district never reflected the national trajectory of post independence development (was a marginal area)
Water sector reforms (catering to the everyone across the water boundaries) stakeholder participation
Zimbabwe principle was to redress colonial injustices so it was those who were previously disadvantaged that were helped p
The changes an politics occurrences in the 1990s did what to water resource management ?
The need for self reliant creativity was imperative
Necessity to demonstrate the legitimacy of their impoverished arrangements
What were some of the issues that cleaver identifies in nkayi? (Political/ institutions)
Village development communities collapsed due to political strife
Rural district council just began to revive after years down due to lack of funding
What were some of the issues that cleaver identifies in nkayi? (General problems)
1 out of 81 dams that actually stored water
80% of boreholes were dysfunctional
31% sanitation coverage
Shortage of skills to manage pump maintain ace (out migrated)
What were the impacts for the people of nkayi?
Households relying on remittances (SA and Bostwana)
High dependency ratio
Aids death
Food relief was stopped
During national decline and crisis, how have social institutions of resource management continued at village level? (Cleaver, 2012)
A borehole built by the community known as ‘creche’ was maintained (fenced, collected funds for)
The what was the difference between the 90s and 2010 between management of water?
The collection of fees.
Previously was thought to be universal access
Drought and development policy advocated ‘community ownership’
Have there been problems with this ‘fee collection method? (Cleaver, 2012)
Yes- people have opposed and resisted calling in their human rights
Some thought the no exception rule was inhumane (old woman with orphaned grandchildren)
But exceptions were made
Main argument that is made is the over riding jurisdictional reach and how rules should be applied equally and impersonally
But there was no sanctions for not paying, why?
People needed to get use to the new system
Ethically and constitutionally wrong to exculde people
How did they get people to pay then?
Persuasion ( traditional headmen and elders were requested to persuade people to pay)
Patriarchal nature
Found that poorer people were more ready to pay then the richer ones
Where were the funds for the borehole put?
After the hyper inflation and change in the currency when all savings were frozen, people lost faith in banks
Money was put in a plastic bag with a piece of paper writing the sum on it
Rules were regarded as flexible and varied according to circumstances rather than upheld impersonally and swiftly, why is this a food feature?
Certain amount of reduction in confrontations
There were concerns for public accountability therefore…
Institutional arrangements were transparent and legitimate (treasurer would be accompanied when counting the money)
What old arrangements remained?
Whole community meetings
Did mainstream institutions (like the Red Cross who set up the borehole) do?
Proposed models of consensus (new ways to manage the water)
Old traditions + model of consensus meant what?
Shifted norms
Give an example where norms had shifted
Committee proposed a constitution
In the 90s there was a great effort to incorporate everyone into the meetings
But by 2010 they agreed that the constitution should be made even if all households were not present
Why were they agreeing to having meetings without every household being present?
Significant out migration
Adult mortality
Stresses of securing living during economic crisis
To be taken seriously the community need to respond to NGOs quickly (remember booth 2011)
The constitutions held various stamps on it, why was this ?
Reflects anxiety about shifting balance of power in politically unstable contexts
The need to demonstrate legitimacy for public meetings
Whilst the constitution did introduce new fees the main things stayed the same…what stayed the same?
Underlying principle of conflict resolution to ensure peaceful relations
Constant concern for respect
The headman and elders would still try solve problems
There was also continuity of authority in social relations…
Committee chair members where children of of former chairman
What were the changes in authority and linage?
1990s a variety of people holding offices related to state were publicly prominent in authorities decision making
2010 - traditional authorities figure dominated (political troubles)
Give an example of where externally imposed institutions don’t fully integrate into the community
VIDCO
There was a shift in moral rationalities by 2010 compared to 1990s, give example s
Despite droughts the village had not had a rainmaking ceremony (expensive, people not believing in old traditions anymore)
Collective action remained the same, where able to get pump fixed when broken but this was in resilience rather than progress
Institutional arrangements are shaped by allocative resources (hagmann and Peclard 2010) resources become weak= institutional channels become weak
(Plurality of overlapping arrangements doesn’t always help either)
