Assessment of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty programme in Karaga district,Ghana

This article assesses the contribution of the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme in reducing rural poverty in the Karaga district of Northern Ghana, using a mixed research design to compare the livelihoods of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries. It concludes that the programme is contributing to poverty reduction among the poor and vulnerable, and recommends that school children benefiting from LEAP should be exempted from paying extra expenses such as examination and PTA fees. There should also be a system to provide subsidies for agriculture inputs to enable beneficiaries to engage in agriculture to promote longer term poverty alleviation.     

Reflections on mentoring experiences for evidence-informed decision-making in South Africa and Malawi

This article is based on the consensus that the availability and utilisation of research enhances policy discussions. The article reflects on the experiences within one approach: capacity building through mentoring. The UJ-BCURE programme aimed to increase the capacity of decision-makers to use evidence in decision-making via mentoring models. Mentoring is described as an interactive, facilitated process that promotes learning. The features of the models that have contributed to the programme’s success are orientation workshops with mentees combined with participatory, needs-led, and flexible approaches. UJ-BCURE experiences are relevant to the field of evidence-informed decision-making in an African government context.     

Towards universal health coverage in Zambia: impediments and opportunities

Universal health coverage has been given a prominent place in the post-2015 global development agenda, but there are concerns over its feasibility in low- and middle-income countries. This article assesses successive Zambian governments’ efforts to achieve this agenda. We discuss the recent restructuring of health governance to support policies that re-emphasise the social determinants of health and health equity. This includes a new Ministry of Community Development and Mother and Child Health alongside the Ministry of Health. We argue that recent innovations in policy and practice need to be extended to include ministries which focus on economic development.     

“Empowered patient” or “doctor knows best”? Political economy analysis and ownership

Efforts to incorporate “political thinking” into policy-making and practice in OECD-DAC development agencies have increasingly focused on the use of “political economy analysis” (PEA) frameworks and tools. While recognising the fundamental value of promoting politically informed programming, this article nevertheless highlights how contemporary efforts to this end have largely ignored another central development agenda: the ownership paradigm. Emphasising the highly donor-centric nature of PEA design and methodology, we explore critiques and justifications of this state of affairs, ultimately arguing that donors would benefit from embracing a more flexible and context-specific understanding of ownership.     

Under-development in practice: Nigeria and the enduring problem of corruption

Nigeria's abundant natural resource endowments should earn the country's bragging rights as the “Giant of Africa”. Instead, 52 years of corrupt practices among the often recycled ruling elites in post-independence Nigeria have crippled this giant and turned what should be one of the country's strongest assets – its vast oil wealth – into a curse. This article critically examines the concerns for corruption as an enduring obstacle to Nigeria's development writ large. After providing a historical trajectory of corrupt practices in Nigeria from the mid-1980s to the present, it discusses some of the recent corruption scandals in the country, in particular the issues surrounding the US$6.8 billion that was drained from Nigeria between 2009 and 2012 in the fuel subsidy scam. The conclusion makes a case for the reworking of a pervasive system in Nigeria that “pardons” corruption and “recycles” corrupt rulers.     

Water tariff conflict resolution through indigenous participation in tri-water sector partnerships: Dalun cluster communities in northern Ghana

The paper examines how the perceived ownership of a water resource negatively influenced local people's attitudes towards payment of potable water tariffs and exacerbated conflicts between water users and service providers in the Dalun community of the northern region of Ghana. The paper presents a case study of how community participation and endogenous approaches to conflict resolution contributed to payment of water tariffs. The findings show that the establishment of a tri-water sector partnership (TWSP), consisting of the Ghana Water Company Ltd (GWCL), private sector development practitioners, and community water boards, led to positive mediation of water tariff conflicts using the institution of chieftaincy. Alternative, endogenous conflict resolution methods combined with modern methods in a tripartite partnership showed promise as an approach to managing conflicts in water projects and in broader poverty reduction efforts.     

Donors and exogenous versus endogenous development

Economic and social development has occurred through the millennia. The post-World War II and post-colonial periods have ushered in a new era of donor-led development assistance policies and of professional development practice. Since the 1950s, development has been conceived of as rich and technologically advanced countries helping poor countries develop – a delivery system of development. The dominant development priority has been economic growth as opposed to livelihoods and social/human development. With some interesting exceptions, development, seen as development assistance, has been largely top down, or exogenously driven. In recent decades, scholars, practitioners, and even donors have called for participatory approaches, building on local institutions, culture, capacity, and local ownership. There remains a gap between the rhetoric and the practice of development. If we want to move from top-down, exogenous development to development that encompasses endogenous approaches, we must understand the barriers posed by practices in both donor and recipient country development organisations. This paper explores the barriers and possible remedies open to practitioners, policymakers, and academics at different levels.     

African philanthropy,pan-Africanism,and Africa's development

Reflective and theoretical, this article explores the foundations and principles of African philanthropy and juxtaposes them with pan-African-led development. It pays particular attention to new continental initiatives, such as Agenda 2063. It points out that African philanthropy, by its definition and practice, is the foundation for development. This is because the identity of an African is premised on philanthropic notions of solidarity, interconnectedness, interdependencies, reciprocity, mutuality, and a continuum of relationships. No one embodies these better than Nelson Mandela in his demonstration of the link that exists between pan-Africanism and African philanthropy in the development process.     

Mining revenue and access to health care in Africa: could the revenue drawn from well-managed mining sectors finance exemption from payment for health?

Various reforms undertaken during the 1980s significantly reduced the capacity of states to regulate health systems. Of the many policies implemented since then to increase access to health care, policies of exemption from direct payment are among the most important. These can be very effective in a well-funded and managed context. Beyond political will, are African states unable to afford policies of exemption from payment for health care? Our analysis, based mostly but not exclusively on research carried out in West Africa, leads us to suggest the importance of a well-managed extractive sector in Africa as a potential source to finance policies of exemption from payment for health care. This could come about if all actors concerned, whether from the private sector or the donor community, were required to follow the same rules and requirements of transparency and accountability being asked of the countries concerned.     

Reconciling cultural practices and progress: childbirth in Dove,Ghana

Women are forbidden from giving birth within the community in Dove, Ghana because it is against their culture. Such cultural practice is scarce in contemporary societies so studies on the impact of the practice are currently limited in development literature. This article uses key informant interviews and focus group discussion guides to gather data. Findings reveal that the Chief, the Queenmother, and other community members maintain that the practice is not negatively affecting the socio-economic development of Dove as they have strategies to mitigate the practice.     

Indigenous languages and Africa's development dilemma

Most African states like The Gambia use European languages for state activities and formal education. Africa has been a global pilot site for “transplanted” development initiatives with apparently consistent outcomes: failure, medium triumph, or unsustainable “success stories”. Its natural resources have been fully exploited, perhaps at the expense of resources like mother-tongue languages. Sidelining mother-tongue languages as the medium for the translation of the voice of the state, explains the gap in cultural relevance of many borrowed development initiatives, but also the neglect of workable endogenous practices. Africa must look inwards and exploit its indigenous language assets to benefit sustained development.     

Wellness and illness: the aftermath of urban mass housing in Lagos,Nigeria

Mass housing policy and an attendant population increase play a vital role in the socio-economic profile of Lagos. The article, using data from mass housing projects, explains the effects of these projects on intra-urban dynamics and the implications in Lagos. The pace of urban growth is increasing, and there is an absence of supporting infrastructures. The areas where populations are decreasing happen to be where contemporary housing construction is concentrated. Therefore, programmes aimed at providing housing and improving quality of life should, as a priority, deal with factors affecting population growth and spatial distribution.     

High food prices in urban Cameroon: coping strategies and suggested policy actions

Governments tend to focus on short-term policies to address the immediate effects of high food prices when spikes occur, while in the long term, urban residents are left to their own devices struggling to ensure adequate household food consumption. Using data collected in three cities in Cameroon among 300 households, this article documents participants’ opinions on appropriate policies to address high food prices as well as how households cope with chronic high food prices. It emphasises the importance of long-term government strategies such as improved farm-to-market roads and agricultural sector supports as means to improve food security.     

Pro-poor budget analysis of Kenya's free primary education policy

This practical note outlines Concern's approach to pro-poor budget analysis using the case of the Kenya Free Primary Education (FPE) policy. Analysis conducted on the outcomes of the FPE policy for Nairobi's urban slum-based poor suggests that the policy is not being implemented evenly within the city. The reasons stem from poor allocation and planning approaches, to political interference and unwillingness of teachers to work in slum-based schools. These have the unintended effect of increasing inequities for the urban poor, the reverse of the policy intention. The note outlines the pitfalls and practicalities of conducting this type of analysis.     

Endogenous development: naïve romanticism or practical route to sustainable African development?

Development theory and practice in developing countries are dominated by the power of Western ideas, worldviews, actors, tools, models, and frameworks. Consequently, the resulting development interventions may too rarely be locally rooted, locally driven, or resonant with local context. Another reality is that theories and practice from developing countries rarely travel to the Western agencies dominating development, undermining the possibility of a beneficial synergy that could be obtained from the best of the two worlds: West and developing countries. There are many reasons why the experience of locally driven development is not communicated back to global development actors, including but not limited to the marginal role of Southern voices in global fora. Perhaps the greatest unwelcome and unintended outcome is that by trying to create, or perhaps better said, “clone” development in developing countries in the image of Western “development”, development efforts defeat their own purpose through undermining their own relevance, legitimacy, and sustainability.     

Land restitution and income generation in protected areas in Mpumalanga,South Africa

In many cases protected areas in South Africa have been established with little or no regard for communities living in or adjacent to them. The new challenge to protection of biodiversity is to find an equitable balance between conservation, beneficiation of the new land owners, and “balancing the books”. This article discusses the Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve as a case study to illustrate some of the potential outcomes that co-management of protected areas can offer towards income generation, and highlights challenges towards success: it asks, can co-management be financially sustainable for both the conservation agency and the land claimants?     

A positive notion of power for citizen voice and state accountability

This article explores the notion of power within citizen–state relations. A positive notion of power is presented as an addition to evolving development discourse which has predominantly defined power as a finite resource transferred from state to citizen in a process of ‘‘changing the balance of power’’. A positive notion of power is concerned with maximising and connecting citizen power and affirming state power, for synergistic change. The article draws on development discourse and practical examples to outline a positive notion of power, prioritising relational dialogue and joint citizen state action for development outcomes.     

Urban governance and service delivery in Nigeria

This article examines the inadequate delivery of social services by city governments in Nigeria. It identifies three problems: lack of transparency and accountability in governance; under-qualified staff and administration; and the tenuous relationship (an ‘us’ versus ‘them’ dichotomy) between the urban residents and local governments. It can no longer be argued that lack of funds is the key constraint.     

Donor-induced depoliticisation of development implementation: the case of Ghana’s Compact I

Based on empirical evidence from a donor-funded project in Ghana, this article demonstrates that when development implementation is depoliticised, targets will likely be achieved within budget and on time. Funded and supervised by the Millennium Challenge Corporation of the United States, Ghana Compact I has been recommended as a model for future development implementation. This article is an attempt to explain this success, compared to select social programmes. It argues that Compact I was implemented successfully because it was insulated from political interference, and suggests that donor-induced depoliticisation offers a route to successful development implementation in recipient countries.     

The welfare impacts of market channel choice by smallholder farmers in Tanzania

This article analyses the impact of market channel choice on household welfare by maize and pigeon pea smallholder farmers in Tanzania, using a multinomial endogenous treatment approach. The study utilises farm household-level data collected from a randomly selected sample of 700 smallholder farmers. The results show that participation with traders in nearby markets and wholesalers in nearby towns have a positive effect on consumption expenditure per capita relative to brokers at the farmgate, for both maize and pigeon pea-farming households. The study suggests that interventions that aimed at inclusion of smallholder farmers in more profitable markets could improve household welfare and reduce poverty among rural households.