Development in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990's : orthodoxies and alternatives with reference to Zimbabwe

Abstract

Amidst a lingering economic and social crisis in Africa, theories and approaches to development have been expounded. This thesis argues that as much as an observed crisis persists, a range of failures and deficits in theory and praxis also prevails. The main strand of development thinking for sub-Saharan Africa--the structural adjustment approach of the World Bank and IMF--is critically examined and determined to have been both inappropriate and unsuccessful. For their part, the major continent-wide African development frameworks have failed to offer a way out of the crisis. This exigent situation is illustrated in the case of Zimbabwe where the process of development is framed by both structural adjustment and its apparent local alternatives. The former constitutes the orthodox approach, yet prominent alternatives in theory and praxis share certain orthodoxies, namely the presumption of dynamic capitalist development. A critical challenge to this conception is presented.