This thesis investigates the perceptions of development held by the supposed beneficiaries of various interventions over time. Development (or maendeleo) has been central to Tanzanian political discourse since the late-colonial era and is still drawn on by government, Civil Society and Non-governmental Organizations alike. This research investigates the period from late-colonialism until the present day, discussing the way in which wazee (older people) in South-Eastern Tanzania interpret development. In other words, this thesis centres on the views held by a group often overlooked in development research in a region that is similarly sidelined. In order to delimit the study in certain important ways, this thesis is framed by three dimensions that are seen as critical to reading development: materiality, place and ‘the past’.Material aspirations are seen as significant herein and are placed alongside the material inequalities between people and places that help to frame older people’s readings of development. These inequalities are partly played out in the differences between places, as in two proximate villages in South-Eastern Tanzania, and the perceptions of place and space are also fundamental to interpreting development. History/‘the past’ and the way in which this is understood and represented is a third and equally important dimension which structures the way in which development is understood by older people, based on their experience of ‘the past’ rather than through historical distinctions imposed from ‘outside’. This thesis offers a multi-disciplinary approach to investigating development, and demonstrates that a thorough engagement with people who have lived through numerous different eras and experienced various interventions, generates complex, place-specific readings of development. Through ethnographic research I have been able to demonstrate the importance of ‘localized’ knowledge although many of those who were interviewed draw from attendant discourses at regional, national and global scales in order to exemplify their arguments. Development is largely understood through absence rather than presence by wazee in South-Eastern Tanzania and with far greater complexity than is often allowed for in more mainstream research into development. Expectations for development have been created over time by various promises of intervention but the perceived failure of many such attempts is seen to further emphasize the absence rather than the presence of development, with older people arguing that they are isolated and ostracised and written out of contemporary development and materially poor. The value placed on uncovering voices that are otherwise lost from debates cannot be overemphasized and this illustrates that development tropes appear far different when the perspectives of wazee are fully analyzed. This thesis, then, challenges mainstream discourse and conventional histories of development and argues for a more engaged and grounded reading of the concept.

<p>In the village'of Citing in the northern highlands of Tanzania, the factors: social stratification, land tenure, production strategies, investment patterns and the economic uncertainties of society are studied and their relationship to land degradation is examined. The main assumption of the study is that the causes of land degradation are so complex that a methodology that emphasises contextualisation has to be used. A methodological framework that considers inter-linkages between all these factors is developed and tested. The result of the test shows that contextualisation gives a more in-depth and complex explanation than conventional, positivist research. The study gives a detailed account of the relationship that various wealth groups have to land and land degradation in the village. It is found that all wealth groups are destructive to the land but in varying ways. The rich farmers are over-cultivating land marginal to agriculture, the middle peasants have too many cattle in the village while the poor peasants are so marginalised socially that they hardly influence land management. Those identified as having economic as well as social incentives to maintain soil fertility are the middle peasants, while the rich farmers are shown to be consciously soil-mining the former grazing areas.</p>

In the village'of Citing in the northern highlands of Tanzania, the factors: social stratification, land tenure, production strategies, investment patterns and the economic uncertainties of society are studied and their relationship to land degradation is examined. The main assumption of the study is that the causes of land degradation are so complex that a methodology that emphasises contextualisation has to be used. A methodological framework that considers inter-linkages between all these factors is developed and tested. The result of the test shows that contextualisation gives a more in-depth and complex explanation than conventional, positivist research. The study gives a detailed account of the relationship that various wealth groups have to land and land degradation in the village. It is found that all wealth groups are destructive to the land but in varying ways. The rich farmers are over-cultivating land marginal to agriculture, the middle peasants have too many cattle in the village while the poor peasants are so marginalised socially that they hardly influence land management. Those identified as having economic as well as social incentives to maintain soil fertility are the middle peasants, while the rich farmers are shown to be consciously soil-mining the former grazing areas.

The major objective of this empirical research is to identify and explain the level of regional development and analyse the challenges of policy implementation with special focus on Tigray and Gambella Regions from 1995 to 2015. In line with the research objectives and statement of the problem, this study was designed to determine the level of development of the two regional states, the critical factors of regional growth in the regions, and what the major challenges were in the implementation of regional development policy. This research was explanatory cross-sectional in its design. In this research, both primary and secondary sources were consulted. Key informant interview, document review and observation were used to collect the necessary information. Accordingly, based on their expertise knowledge, and the position they held, a total of 24 regional and federal key informants were purposively selected and interviewed. The findings of the study showed that both regions made remarkable improvements and changes in health, education, road network, agricultural and revenue collection performance. However, contrary to the perceptions of the respondents, the secondary data when divided by regional population showed that in the past 20 years Gambella has been better off in terms of health, education, road networks and some agricultural indicators than Tigray. Tigray, however, grew more in terms of infrastructure than Gambella during the same period. The study found that the Government regional development policy designed and implemented as measured by growth-oriented indicators brought encouraging results. The most important determinant factors for regional economic development between the two sampled regions were: initial historical level of development; capacity of resource utilisation; leadership commitment, cultural differences, recurrent conflicts and insecurity, governance issues, political will, capacity of the regional government authorities; and rent-seeking attitude of politicians and civil servants. To address some of the challenges, few recommendations are made: designing a regional specific development policy, strengthening intergovernmental relations, protecting the environment, ensuring good governance, maintaining peace and security, strengthening capacity building, supporting infrastructural development for Gambella and the provision of additional financial incentives to regions. / Development Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Development Studies)