Chapter one lays the foundation by givmg an overview of what this thesis contains. It begins by stating the rationale of the study, addresses the problem statement, and shows why the study is significant. It also covers the theoretical framework, research questions and the chapter outline. Chapter two, on methodology, gives the reader information on how the research was conducted, the organisations interviewed and why these organisations were chosen. Chapter three covers secondary literature while chapter four focuses on secondary material on the Zimbabwe perspective of civil society. The fifth chapter is on data analysis and chapter six gives the findings, recommendations and a conclusion. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

M.A. (Development Studies) / Between 2000 and 2010, Zimbabwe experienced a protracted socio-economic and political crisis. At the height of the crisis (towards the end of 2008), inflation was at 89.7 sextillion percent year-on-year. The period witnessed an increase in the number of non-governmental organisations operating in rural areas. This study draws from theories of the state to investigate state-NGO and community relations that ensued due to the proliferation of NGO activity. It goes on to explore the extent to which NGOs implemented participatory approaches in their interventions, and how the rural subaltern classes experienced these interventions. The setting for this study is Mangwe, a rural district situated in the south-western part of Zimbabwe. Semi-structured interviews and observations were used as data collection techniques. The participants were villagers, state agricultural extension officers, NGO managers and fieldworkers. My findings are that despite heightened anti-NGO rhetoric spewed by the ruling elite during this period, in Mangwe relations between NGOs and local state structures are amiable and cordial. The study also argues that even though the state works closely with NGOs, it is the latter that are now responsible for delivering basic services to the subaltern. This has not only helped to legitimise the state, but concomitantly de-mobilised subaltern classes by keeping them at the periphery of the political economy. Subaltern classes in the district do appreciate the role NGOs are playing. However, most of the projects are not assertive enough to offset the challenges faced by the subalterns. Hence within the foreseeable future, the subalterns will be caught in a conundrum - dependant on NGOs for limited service provision, but not challenging the state for not playing its constituted role of service delivery.

This study is an interpretive analysis of the roles of NGOs in the social policy process, using the case of postcolonial Zimbabwe. Assessing the period between 2000 and 2010 and the prevailing unique socio-economic and geopolitical crisis, the study engages the major contextual factors influencing evolution of NGOs and their engagement in the policy process. It focuses on the conceptual and state – civil society contestations on the legitimacy of NGO’s as well as an assessment of their impact on the social policy process. NGOs in Zimbabwe have played two major and two minor roles in the social policy process as identified in the study in terms of their prominence and impact on the policy process. That is: policy implementer role complementing state social policy provision, democratisation to pluralism the social policy arena as the major roles; educational role to developing interventions for better social policy and watchdog role monitoring government and other state institutions in meeting the social policy needs of citizens. The thesis argues that analysis of NGOs is embedded in understanding the role of the state and dialectical relationship between state and civil society. Using a neo-Marxist perspective and social democratic approach to the role of the state in social policy, the theoretical generalisations of the study are that NGOs have a legitimate role to play in the social policy process. However, this is defined by the nature and role of the state itself as central driving agent in social policy. Therefore, the roles NGOs are not exclusive in themselves but are anchored within the contextual framework and its definition of societal spheres within it. The thesis established the evolution of the NGO sector in Zimbabwe, its impact on the social, political landscape and argues that the democratisation agenda in Zimbabwe requires a political solution embedded in a transformative state as the panacea for building a redistributive and participatory social policy agenda that engages with non-state actors, NGOs included within a developmental framework. Conclusively, the thesis proposes a theoretical distinction between NGOs as service oriented entities and CSOs as forums for associational life and civic engagement.

Thesis (MDF)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Local non-governmental organisations play an important role in the development processes of Zimbabwe. However, they face an uncertain future, as they depend on volatile external donor funding which leaves them financially unsustainable. This research sought to determine whether local non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe were sustainable, and to analyse the main factors that influenced their financial sustainability. Through a mixed methods research design including literature review, secondary data analysis and a survey using a structured questionnaire, this research revealed that local non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe were financially unsustainable. A regression analysis was employed to determine the relationships between the different factors and financial sustainability. The research focused on four factors of financial sustainability of local non-governmental organisations: sound financial management practices, income diversification, own income generation, and good donor relationship management practices. Data used for the research was from 2009 to 2013. The survey of 52 local non-governmental organisations spread throughout Zimbabwe provided primary data for the research. The research confirmed findings of others that local non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe were not financially sustainable and depended on external donor funds. The research revealed that most local non-governmental organisations were funded entirely by external donors, had no reserve funds, were not generating own income, and depended on average on about three donors. This meant that if the external donors pulled out these organisations would cease operations. The research revealed that on average donor dependency ratios for Zimbabwean non-governmental organisations were above 93 percent, while survival ratios were very low with 22 days being the maximum. These results meant that if external donors completely pulled out their funding, local non-governmental organisations would operate for at most 22 days before closing down. The research also revealed that most local non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe were not leveraging their assets to generate income, and most were not engaged in own income generating activities while their funding sources were not diversified enough to be regarded sustainable. The government of Zimbabwe was not funding local non-governmental organisations and local donors were scant. The regression analysis ascertained that sound financial management practices had the largest influence on financial sustainability of local non-governmental organisations in Zimbabwe, followed by income diversification, then own income generation and good donor relationship management. The research recommends that international donors should provide local non-governmental organisations with some unrestricted income to support start-up of social entrepreneurship activities and small businesses to ensure the financial sustainability of the programmes they fund. The government of Zimbabwe must view local non-governmental organisations as partners that complement its work and are therefore deserving of government funding. Non-governmental organisations need to change their mind-set, start social entrepreneurship and small business activities, and refrain from just seeing external donors as their main source of funding. Networks of non-governmental organisations must fundraise to train and enhance the capacity of their member organisations in running social enterprises and small businesses, and hire staff with expertise in running profit-making activities to complement their non-profit work.

The rise of International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOS) in the post-Cold War era in Africa exerted pressure on conflict resolution mechanisms as governments responded to perceived and real pressure from external, mainly Western countries. INGOs are well resourced and conduct ‘humanitarian’ and other work funded by donors. The issue of funding is critical to control and legitimacy. It is also tied to achievement of intended goals. The study explores the relationships and in some cases conflict between Western NGOs in Zimbabwe and the government during the period when the latter was experiencing diplomatic estrangement with Western countries. The qualitative study seeks to establish whether INGO operations were influenced by political relations. The researcher interviewed twenty experts in NGO and governmental operations using an interview guide. Data was collected and entered into Nvivo software where it was thematically analysed. The major findings of the study are that the political strand is the main relational context that determined the relationship between the government and INGOs. INGOs were viewed as active conflict drivers mostly due to the bias towards certain political parties and being conduits of Western initiatives. Local conflict resolution mechanisms were also established to be inadequate. The study recommends that the government of Zimbabwe needs to work on maladministration and resolve differences with Western countries. Local NGOs and INGOs should not meddle in politics in order to have a trustworthy relationship with government while donor funds are more appreciated when channelled through governments.

The diminishing provision of services by the state, coupled with the escalating numbers of Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Zimbabwe, represents a crucial concern for Non-Governmental Organisations. The socio-economic and political crisis in Zimbabwe has created a vacuum for social service provision. In this gap, Non-Governmental Organisations have stepped in as alternatives playing a critical and positive role in caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. Notwithstanding the generally valid critique of the imperialist role of Non-Governmental Organisations as agents of multi-lateral institutions and dominant western governments, the repressive despotism and the consequent socio-economic crisis in Zimbabwe has necessitated that Save the Children play a prominent role in caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. This study builds upon fieldwork undertaken in the Marondera district in Zimbabwe. This fieldwork was conducted amongst children who have been left orphaned and vulnerable because of various reasons, and investigates the interventions of Save the Children in the lives of these orphans. Ethnographic research, encompassing three kinds of data collection methods, was used. These data collection methods are interviews, observation and documents. This, in turn, produced three kinds of data namely, quotations, descriptions, and excerpts of document on the basis of which narrative descriptions where derived. Interviews were transcribed and later analyzed through content analysis. The findings indicated that, as a consequence of the failure of the state in Zimbabwe, Save the Children has played a primary role in addressing the needs of Orphans and Vulnerable Children despite the idea that non-governmental organisations have expanded and consolidated the neoliberal hegemony, at a global level, in the name of mitigating the social and economic dimensions of Structural Adjustment Programmes (Kothari, 1993). Save the Children’s interventions for orphans and vulnerable children take many forms, including educational assistance, legal protection, HIV/AIDS mitigation programs, psychosocial support and material support. The formal and informal systems also act as safety nets for Orphans and Vulnerable Children. However, these have failed to appropriately assist the Orphans and Vulnerable Children with sustainable initiatives. The vacuum created by the Zimbabwean context has however necessitated the growing importance of the activities of Save the Children in caring for Orphans and Vulnerable Children.

The thesis offers an original sociological understanding of intermediary Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the modern world. This is pursued through a study of NGOs and land reform in contemporary Zimbabwe. The prevailing literature on NGOs is marked by a sociological behaviourism that analyses NGOs in terms of external relations and the object-subject dualism. This behaviourism has both ‘structuralist’ and ‘empiricist’ trends that lead to instrumentalist and functionalist forms of argumentation. The thesis details an alternative conceptual corpus that draws upon the epistemological and theoretical insights of Marx and Weber. The epistemological reasoning of Marx involves processes of deconstruction and reconstruction. This entails conceptualizing NGOs as social forms that embody contradictory relations and, for analytical purposes, the thesis privileges the contradiction between ‘the global’ and ‘the local’. In this regard, it speaks about processes of ‘glocalization’ and ‘glocal modernities’ in which NGOs become immersed. The social field of NGOs is marked by ambiguities and tensions, and NGOs seek to ‘negotiate’ and manoeuvre their way through this field by a variety of organizational practices. Understanding these practices necessitates studying NGOs ‘from within’ and drawing specifically on Weber’s notion of ‘meaning’. These practices often entail activities that stabilize and simplify the world and work of NGOs, and this involves NGOs in prioritizing their own organizational sustainability. In handling the tension between ‘the global’ and ‘the local’, NGOs also tend to privilege global trajectories over local initiatives. The thesis illustrates these points in relation to the work of intermediary NGOs in Zimbabwe over the past ten years. Since the year 2000, a radical restructuring of agrarian relations has occurred, and this has been based upon the massive redistribution of land. In this respect, local empowering initiatives have dramatically asserted themselves against globalizing trajectories. These changes have posed serious challenges to ‘land’ NGOs, that is, NGOs involved in land reform either as advocates for reform or as rural development NGOs. The thesis shows how a range of diverse ‘land’ NGOs has ‘handled’ the heightened contradictions in their social field in ways that maintain their organizational coherence and integrity.

The problem this research seeks to address is about the ineffectiveness of NGOs’ strategies implemented in the rural areas of Binga District in Zimbabwe. The research has been basically influenced by personal concerns which I believe have influenced the selection of the research problem. My main concern is the deepening of poverty in Binga District. Lack of infrastructure like roads, shortage of schools leading to high illiteracy levels, shortage of clinics and hospitals, lack of clean water, high unemployment levels are the indicators of poverty in Binga. Country wide, the district is regarded as one of the poorest districts. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the poverty alleviation strategies implemented by NGOs in the rural areas of Zimbabwe specifically in Binga. Today there are more than fifteen NGOs that operate in Binga and they specialise in different areas ranging from food distribution, education, agriculture, conservation and advocacy. What matters most is that despite the number of NGOs operating in Binga, poverty is still intensifying and widening. Through the research, it was found that most NGOs’ strategies in Binga focus on relief than developmental aid. Also when addressing poverty, NGOs use the trickle down approach than the bottom up approach. Moreover, the strategies implemented in Binga do not address the needs of the poor. The political instability in Zimbabwe is also believed to be a serious stumbling block to the operation of NGOs in Binga and the rest of the country. Finally, the research recommends NGOs to use the participatory approach as well as the sustainable livelihoods approach in dealing with poverty. Again, NGOs need to monitor and evaluate their projects because most of their projects are not monitored and evaluated properly. Above all the NGOs’ strategies for alleviating poverty need to be reviewed.

The aim of the study was to carry out an investigation into the impact of donor-funded community empowerment projects on poverty alleviation. The data for this study were from the use of triangulation method of data collection which enhanced the assessment of the impact of donor funded community empowerment projects on poverty alleviation with specific focus on selected projects in the Chiredzi district of Zimbabwe. The findings of the study show the need for adoption of empowerment inclined practices by the local NGOs. There is need for community involvement in decision making, project ownership, and clear lines of communication with the NGOs, among others. However the findings also show the strength in linking project members with relevant institutions, and training, in order to ensure sustainability of community projects in ensuring community empowerment towards poverty eradication.

Zimbabwe as a country has successively been faced with a number of challenges that others argue to be a result of either poor governance or colonial imbalances. However, despite the contestation with regards to the cause of the crisis situation, several armed struggles continued to wreck the economy. This continuous collapse of the economy resulted in the ruling government slowly becoming unpopular to the people, thus it paved way to the formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); an opposition political party to the dominant Zimbabwe African National Union –Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). The formation of the opposition party then triggered tensions, which later saw the March 2008 elections’ tension calling for a power-sharing agreement. Therefore, it is against this background that the research critically examines the role played by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in conflict transformation since the formation of the unity government. In addition, the study is also conducted against the background of scholarly interest to understand the relationship between CSOs and the Zimbabwean government, during the period that marked the introduction of the inclusive government 2009-2012. The study will also look at the key competencies of CSOs, which are complimentary to the process of conflict transformation and further outline the need for active participation from CSOs and other stakeholders to the process. In addition, it is worth noting that while CSOs make numerous attempts to vigorously participate in conflict transformation, factors such as restrictive government policies, lack of funding and government interference continually undermines their contribution. Autonomous and sustainable operations of CSOs in such limiting environments is virtually impossible hence, there is need for drastic measures to be employed in order to address this contradiction. / Thesis (M.Com.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2013.