Tonga Timeline: Appraising Sixty Years of Multidisciplinary Research in Zambia and Zimbabwe

XII. Syaacivwule Mwangu: NGOs and People Empowerment in the Gwembe Valley

CHAPTER XII Syaacivwule Mwangu1 : NGOs and People Empowerment in the Gwembe Valley Lawrence Maumbi Michelo2 Introduction Development3 discourse speaks to how the state in African countries has not met challenges to transform and improve the livelihoods of its citizens. Disappointment with state-led development and its lack of ‘good governance’ prompted the international donor community – specifically the World Bank and International Monetary Fund – to seek alternative means of overcoming government limitations. Non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, emerged as the key actors receiving funds from the international community for development interventions and they assumed responsibilitiesthatwerepreviouslythedomainofgovernment. NGOs argued that they were more rooted in communities and 1. A Tonga proverb depicting a greedy, selfish person who thinks of his own stomach (his needs) at the cost of other people. This epitomizes someone who lacks bunyina or ubuntu, which is an African philosophy of compassion, solidarity and brotherliness. 2. Lawrence Michelo (deceased) was Lecturer of International Relations and Development at Mulungushi University, Kabwe, Zambia. 3. This paper will not go into detail to discuss the wider definitions, concepts and debates that surround the notion of development. 282 lawrence maumbi michelo that their programmes were a truer reflection of what people desired. Funds were given directly to these organizations, sidestepping the state in the hope that resources would reach andbenefitcommunities:poorpeoplewould‘own’development. Three decades later, this is far from the reality. Rural transformation has not been achieved, despite massive NGO funding. Using the case study of a World Vision project in the Gwembedistrict,Zambia,thisarticleexamineslocalperceptions of whether NGOs have lived up to the expectations of the governance debate and delivered on their development promises of the 1990s. How did World Vision implement its projects to ensure community participation, accountability andownershipoftheinterventions?Whatroledidcommunities play in day-to-day implementations? If NGOs are still assisting Gwembe communities after three decades’ worth of projects, canitbesaidthattheyhavesucceededinbringingdevelopment? Study Methods The material presented in this article comes from a study conducted between 1 October and 14 December 2006. During the two and half months spent in the Luumbo area of the Gwembe Valley (Zambia), the history and current activities of the World Vision International Zambia programmes were discussed with local residents. Fieldwork during these months was funded via self-financing from the author’s resident university at Cape Town to Lusaka, Zambia, and eventually to the Gwembe Valley. The benefits of a qualitative research methodology lie in that it ‘can be used to answer questions about the complex nature of the phenomenon, often with purpose of describing and understanding the phenomenon from the participants’ point of view’ Leedy and Ormrod (2001: 100). This study used chapter xii 283 the interpretative method in data collection and analysis. This method allows the researcher to benefit from hindsight where the study is done in a situation where one ‘enters the setting with an open mind, prepared to immense themselves in the complexityofthesituation,andinteractswiththeirparticipants’ (Leedy and Ormrod 2001: 102). Thestudyusedbothprimary-andsecondary-data-collection techniques. For primary data, semi-structured interviews, focus-group discussions, and field direct observations were usedasinstrumentsandmethodsforcollectingdata.Interviews were conducted on a face-to-face basis at national level, mainly withWorldVisionproject staff.Thefollowingwereinterviewed at district level in Gwembe; the Ministry of Agriculture (three participants); Ministry of Health (one participant), Ministry of Community Development and Social Welfare (one participant); District Administrators Office (one participant); and the Ministry of Education (one participant). Interviews were conducted at district level and aimed to gain further insights into other aspects of World Vision International Zambia. Government officials and other relevant partners in development were interviewed. At the community level, project beneficiaries, non-beneficiaries and community leaders (village headmen, ward councillors, church leaders, teachers and health workers, including ordinary community members) were interviewed. Five of the ten community projects were interviewed. Focus groups’ member composition was about 50 per cent male and 50 per cent female, and the group numbers ranged from nine to fourteen. Sessions took no more than two hours of discussions and exchange. The researcher took notes during the interviews and recorded the discussions on tape. The recorded interviews were transcribed, typed and read several times to ensure a correct understanding of their meaning. Interviews were conducted in the local language, of which the researcher is a 284 lawrence maumbi michelo native speaker. Analysis of the data was done to extract patterns, themes and deep-seated meanings in the responses of the interviewees. The interviews were complemented by a desktop review of studies...