Browsing by Author "IDS"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Decentralisations in practice in southern Africa
    IDS (Brighton, U.K.: Kensington Press, 2003)
    Different forms of decentralisation are occurring in parallel, often in ways that cause confusion, ambiguity, high transaction costs and conflict, in southern Africa. Case studies in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe show how political authorities with downward accountability to electorates co-exist and sometimes conflict with decentralised service delivery (through line ministries, NGOs or donor projects). Multiple decentralisations have also brought conflicts between new local government authorities and "traditional" authorities - often further complicated by party-related affiliations. Rather than relying on idealised notions of decentralisation, the case studies suggest that efforts should be made to avoid the creation of parallel authority structures. Local government reform must take account of existing social and economic complexity and local power dynamics and not wish them away in the development of new systems of local governance. And, without providing adequate resources, and attempting to build capacity beyond councils, new elected authorities may quickly lose legitimacy, and fail to provide the development benefits they claim.
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    Livelihood dynamics: Rural Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe
    IDS (Brighton, U.K.: Kensington Press, 2003)
    Drawing on research carried out by the Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa (SLSA) programme, this article gives a brief overview of some of the diverse ways people make a living in harsh physical and economic environments in Zambézia province, Mozambique, Chiredzi district Zimbabwe, and South Africa's Wild Coast. It describes the contexts of increasing vulnerability, including the impact of economic reform programmes, the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of extreme climatic events. It explores the livelihood strategies of rural people and the emergence of new institutional and governance arrangements that facilitate or constrain these strategies. It demonstrates that gaining access to natural resources continues to play, alongside a portfolio of other activities, a crucial part in rural people's livelihood strategies.
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    Rights talk and rights practice: Challenges for southern Africa
    IDS (Brighton, U.K.: Kensington Press, 2003)
    Rights are increasingly enshrined in legislative frameworks in southern Africa and rights-based approaches are increasingly seen as a core component of development. But how can rights be made real for poor people in rural areas? Research in Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe sheds light on the practice of rights claiming on the ground, in the context of "legal pluralism" and complex, politicised institutional settings. Rather than an emphasis on rights in abstract legal or constitutional terms, the research has explored instead the practices of rights claiming and the complex politics of actors and institutions that affect this. In the southern African context, rights are formulated and claimed in a very unlevel playing field and are highly contested. In practice, rights are realised through complex negotiations about access to resources at a local level. Broader rights frameworks enshrined in the constitution, in legislation and in policy can - despite their progressive nature - be irrelevant, unless the local institutional context is conducive to encouraging effective rights claiming by poor people. A rights-based approach for sustainable livelihoods must therefore concentrate on institutional mechanisms for gaining access to resources, rather than only on establishing universalised legalistic rights frameworks.
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    The rural poor, the private sector and markets: Changing interactions in southern Africa
    IDS (Brighton, U.K.: Kensington Press, 2003)
    Drawing on case study material from the Sustainable Livelihoods in Southern Africa programme, this article examines the turn to strategies for development in southern Africa, which seek to boost the access of the rural poor to new markets and investment opportunities. It investigates the prospects for "pro-poor" engagement with the private sector, and lists a number of policy measures needed in order to make such initiatives work for the benefit of rural livelihoods. Markets are highly politicised, the playing field is uneven and, without regulation and protection, poor communities are vulnerable to potential exploitation. Without concerted attention to improving the capacity of poor people to enter and engage with markets and to the distribution of benefits - through active state support and redistributive measures - the ideals of "pro-poor growth" and "private sector partnership" for development will remain more rhetorical gloss than reality.