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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:Development management from below? Prospects of the Zimbabwean strategy of decentralization at village level
Author:Friedrich, Hans Jörg
Year:1989
Periodical:African Development Perspectives Yearbook
Pages:601-620
Language:English
Geographic term:Zimbabwe
Subjects:rural development
decentralization
Abstract:Can decentralization enhance local capacity for development management? In 1984 the government of Zimbabwe embarked on a programme to incorporate the Communal Lands into the national planning process. Villagers were supposed to elect Village Development Committees (Vidcos), one of whose main functions would be to draft village development plans. In addition, they would act as counterparts for the extension services of the technical ministries, organize public meetings and liaise with the upper echelons of local government. In the planning system Vidcos occupy a legal position halfway between the people and the administration and though basically designed as self-governing bodies, by their mere existence they simultaneously facilitate a stronger presence of the centre in the periphery. The author looks at the Vidcos at work, based on research carried out in 1988 in Bikita District, one of seven subregions forming Masvingo Province in the southeastern part of the country. He found that, save for a failure to deliver inputs for national planning, their record was quite impressive. He examines factors favouring the common basic level of performance of the three sample Vidcos - Mazivandagara, Chimana, and Danha - as well as factors explaining the differences between them. Although there is a need for technical assistance in community and project planning, the potential for communal development management is undoubtedly there. This has consequences for government agencies and NGOs involved in development cooperation. Bibliogr., notes.
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