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.

This study is an outcome and impact evaluation of Concern Worldwide (CW) community feeding program. Concern Worldwide conducted a community feeding program in Nyanga District in 2012. It was responding to the National Food Report (2011) issued by the government on the food shortages in Nyanga District. The feeding program supported Nyanga communities with nutritional supplements and food provisions to households. The goal of Concern Worldwide was to address the problems of hunger, household food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty which were affecting people in Nyanga. Four evaluation questions about program outcomes were used as a framework for the evaluation and included: How feasible are livelihood feeding schemes as methods of providing food safety net?; How are short-term emergency programmes converted into long term benefits for communities?; What are the interventions available in the program to ensure fulfilment of goals and community empowerment?; What lessons can be derived from the projects that can be used in future by Concern Worldwide and other NGOs involved in emergency and other developmental projects? For the purposes of the study three data sources were consulted. These included program documents, CW officials and beneficiaries. Data collection methods used included face to face interviews and both closed and open ended questionnaires. The qualitative data was analysed through content analysis and presented graphically and descriptively. The findings showed that the community feeding program made some impact through food provisions and agriculture inputs to the beneficiaries which was highly regarded and appreciated. It also managed to provide training on drought resistant crop farming and management of harvests. Monitoring and evaluation of the feeding program was identified as a critical tool in creating efficiency and accountability of the program. Although training was provided to all the beneficiaries, not all were directly involved in the daily routine activities of the program a goal that is not achievable in the context of community feeding program.

The student teacher mentoring programme (STMP) has been an important feature of the Zimbabwean teacher education landscape since 1995. However, this programme has not been evaluated and thus the need for this article, which seeks to evaluate the implementation of the STMP in Zimbabwe. Data were collected through responses to checklists and questionnaires by ten lecturers and sixteen mentors; fifteen student teachers responded to questionnaires, and two school heads were interviewed. The main findings are that: (1) the STMP is being implemented through the key elements (mentors, student teachers and the mentoring context); (2) while the key participants are playing their part in the STMP, the latter is not being effectively implemented because of lack of funding. This has negatively impacted on the STMP, resulting in low mentor morale. In the recommendations it is urged that the status of the mentor is recognised, in a bid to boost the STMP.

In recent years the ownership of public organisations has been transferred from government to the private sector through privatisation owing to the poor performance of parastatals. In Zimbabwe, the privatisation of parastatals has been criticised as a result of the approach which has been adopted to privatise them, the transparency and the paceof the privatisation, the factors pushing for privatisation at the expense of local demand as well as the lack of an institutional framework for privatisation. The main objective of this study was to explore management perceptions regarding the privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe. This study is based on a combination of theories of privatisation and preceding results of studies looking at privatisation of parastatals in developing and developed countries. The secondary sources were the backbone in the formulation of a theoretical model on the management perceptions of privatisation which was used to guide this study. The extensive literature which was analysed revealed that independent factors such as stakeholder consultation, business conditions, government considerations, institutional framework and management of the privatisation process could influence management perceptions regarding privatisation. Perceptions of privatisation were identified as influencing two dependent variables, economic benefits and organisational performance. The variables of the study were operationalised and the hypotheses which identified relationships between the independent variables and perceptions of privatisation were formulated. Hypotheses in respect of perceptions of privatisation and the dependent variables were also formulated. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as the study sought to investigate the relationships between variables. This study collected data through the use of a structured self-administered survey questionnaire which was distributed to 700 managers of parastatals in Zimbabwe. The parastatals which were used in this study were selected using the simple random sampling method whilst convenience sampling technique was used to select the managers. The survey yielded 301 usable questionnaires which were analysed using several statistical analysis techniques. The major findings of this study show that managers, employees and customers participate during privatisation and that privatisation in Zimbabwe is guided by a formal action plan. The study also showed that parastatals in Zimbabwe operate under stable macroeconomic conditions and that information regarding the bidding process is accessible to all parties. However, the results also showed that, in Zimbabwe privatisation is poorly implemented as a result of lack of structural capacity to enhance privatisation, lack of an autonomous institution to manage and lead the privatisation process. The results also show that privatisation in Zimbabwe lacks credibility as the valuation of organisations and assets is poorly done resulting in organisations being acquired at rates which are below market value. In addition, the results indicate that privatisation has failed to improve organisational performance and to change the management style from being reactive to being proactive. The study also found that privatisation brings about economic benefits such as effective governance and economic empowerment. The study recommends that government should ensure that managers, employees and customers participate in the privatisation process and that privatisation is implemented in a transparent manner so as to have a credible programme and achieve the intended objectives. The study also recommends that government should engage people and institutions which have the capacity to efficiently value the organisations and assets identified for privatisation. In addition, the study recommends that the government should appoint board members who possess the requisite skills and competencies, encourage partnerships between local and foreign investors so as to produce quality products and services as well as economic growth. This study has contributed to the existing body of knowledge by developing a theoretical model which can be utilised in other developing countries to test perceptions regarding the privatisation of parastatals. This study could assist the government, parastatals and other stakeholders by providing feedback regarding the privatisation of parastatals in Zimbabwe, so that remedial action can be implemented where deviations are recorded. The findings of this study could also assist the government of Zimbabwe and also other governments, by providing guidelines which can be adopted to implement a successful privatisation programme. This study provides useful and very practical guidelines to parastatals so as to ensure successful privatisation.

This study focuses on rural livelihood diversification and improvement in dry districts of Zimbabwe during the period from 2000 to 2010. It establishes and documents livelihood activities and interventions in three semi-arid districts in Zimbabwe, analyses evidence for rural livelihood diversification and improvement and related challenges, and analyses institutional and policy issues that determine rural livelihood development in the politically charged period from 2000 to 2010. Rural livelihood diversification and improvement is not a recent phenomenon. For years, rural people have diversified their livelihoods for different economic reasons. Despite several studies on rural livelihoods in Zimbabwe, no similar studies have been done to determine the types of livelihood diversification that occur in a politically charged environment and whether they improve people‟s livelihoods. The study was guided by both the sustainable livelihoods framework and the actor oriented approach. Qualitative methodology was used for the overall data collection. Firstly data was collected „from the top‟ through in-depth interviews with officials from government institutions, non-governmental organisations and community leadership structures. Secondly data was collected „from the bottom up‟ through selected participatory methods in study areas. The overall study findings show that despite having increased livelihood interventions in all semi-arid areas, the politically fraught atmosphere constrained livelihood improvement and poverty remained. Although evidence for livelihood diversification is undisputed in the study, the extent to which it contributed to livelihood improvement was limited. The extended period of political constraint reversed some of the livelihood improvement gains recorded by external interventions. As most of the support was targeted at addressing the immediate food needs of the poor in semi-arid districts, this affected the number of long-term interventions targeted at sustainable livelihood development. The study found that the changing policies and institutional arrangements constrained and limited the potential of some of the livelihood strategies adopted during the period under study and as a result most livelihood activities were limited to survival strategies. The study shows that despite a decline in agricultural production during the period under study, it remained the major livelihood activity. Agricultural activities such as cotton and maize production and livestock rearing experienced a decline, but were partially revived through external support from both the government and nongovernmental organisations. Agriculture as a livelihood activity largely benefited from external interventions that rehabilitated irrigation infrastructure and the provision of agricultural inputs during the period. However, despite the dominance of agriculture as a livelihood activity in semi-arid areas non-farm livelihood activities, both locally initiated and externally fostered, played a significant role in supporting rural livelihoods. Poaching and wild fruit harvesting provided food for immediate consumption, whilst gold and diamond panning, wood carving and the commercialisation of non-timber forest products generated cash income for rural livelihoods. Non-farm external livelihood interventions identified resulted in a number of rural livelihood development models important for future rural development. These models were developed around the commercialisation of non-timber forest products for cash income generation, rural human capital development through vocational skills training and rural small livestock asset development. Human capital resulted in the development of rural industry in the form of community based enterprises. Indirectly it also contributed to migrant labour that sent cash and goods back home. The study shows that it is evident that in a politically charged environment livelihood diversification has a range of positive effects. The re-emergence of the barter exchange economy in rural communities contributed to livelihood diversification although sustainability was limited. It is also possible for both barter exchange and the cash market to co-exist in a politically charged environment. The study also shows that traditional leadership and local authorities in study areas became more politicised and militarised and this diverted them from facilitating and supporting rural development and inhibited rural livelihood development efforts by different rural players. The study found that rural livelihoods are not static, and they adapted as best they could in the face of exogenous trends and shocks. Rural areas underwent deep transformations as a result of political dynamics, local livelihood initiatives and external livelihood support. Rural livelihoods changed as rural people devised combined livelihood strategies that went beyond farming. However, in contrast to the widely accepted argument that diversification plays an important role in poverty alleviation, this was clearly not the case in Zimbabwe‟s politically charged environment. This study contributes to the development debate with a case study on the type and extent of livelihood diversification strategies possible in a politically charged environment. Methodologically the study contributes to the possible application of a dual data collection system where data is collected from the top using different methods from those used to collect data from the bottom. This enriched the data at triangulation phase during analysis. The study also contributes to the understanding of the political economy, the type of rural livelihood development possible in politically charged environments, and to how rural people in Zimbabwe react and behave in an endeavour to survive. There was an increased role played by external interventions in livelihood diversification but the extent of their contribution to positive livelihood outcomes was constrained by the politically charged environment that prompted the interventions in the first place. The normal processes of policy development and implementation changed as the role of politicians in planning and implementation became evident and policy aims shifted from rural development to political party self-preservation.

Every nation exists as a brand with either positive or negative attributes and any other nation and individual that interact with it either will positively or negatively contribute to its nation image. A nation’s brand image may have evolved over many years, shaped by wars, religion, diplomacy or the lack of it, international sporting triumph or disasters, and by the brand itself. Zimbabwe as a nation is suffering from a negative image gained during 2000-2008 that has been characterised by inter alia the fast track land reform programme, political instability, corruption, hyperinflation, and so forth. The country has experienced a major transformation in its political environment that has had a positive effect on all sectors of national development. The new inclusive government, thriving on national unity has seen the people of Zimbabwe combining effort to work together to sustain the development of the country. The aim of this study was to investigate how nation branding for Zimbabwe can help the country to brand itself as a safe destination for tourists, investors, and visitors. The major question therefore, pertains to how all sectors in the economy of Zimbabwe can combine their efforts to brand Zimbabwe and make it compete more efficiently at all levels. Empirical findings revealed that tourist attractions have a positive relationship with nation branding. The empirical results also indicated that entertainment events have a positive relationship with nation branding. It can be recommended that Zimbabwe needs to identify tourist attractions and entertainment events to increase its nation branding. The empirical results of the study also indicated that nation branding has a positive relationship with nation building in Zimbabwe. It was also shown that nation branding has a positive relationship with good governance in Zimbabwe. These results indicate that it would be easier to build the Zimbabwean nation when its brand is strong. Good governance, on the other hand, will increase if the nation’s branding improves.

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.

Migrant remittances have been cited as one of the most rising forms of development financing. Migration-development scholarly debates have often made comparisons between migrant remittances and some of the most popular forms of development financing such as development aid. The development-migration debates have often contended that migrant remittances are fast growing and surpassing the popular forms of development financing. This study sought to examine the developmental role of migrant remittances in the rural district of Tsholotsho in Zimbabwe. Given that there are millions of Zimbabwean migrants working in South Africa, the study sought to examine the possible use of migrant remittances in the creation of sustainable livelihoods. In addition, the study focused on examining the skills and opportunities that are necessary in the creation of an enabling environment for investment as well as assessing the multiplier effect that result from the inflow of migrant remittances within the local economy. The study followed a mixed methods methodological approach wherein a quantitative survey and qualitative in-depth interviews were used to gather data. The findings of this study revealed that migrant remittances are central in the livelihoods of poor people in Tsholotsho and they have potential to create sustainable livelihoods. While skills and opportunities to drive entrepreneurial activity exist, there is need to deal with structural barriers in order to create an enabling environment for the creation of sustainable livelihoods through savings and investment. The study recommends the prioritization of education, improved access to the credit system and the development of cooperatives. These could assist in achieving sustainable livelihoods through migrant remittances.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of a Master of Arts (MA) in Migration and Displacement by research and coursework, School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, University of the Witwatersrand, March 2018 / In this paper, I argue that the denationalization project which occurred in Zimbabwe between 2001 to 2013 brought with it new forms of citizenship, with the stateless persons engaging in network-building in order to navigate space and claim rights. Through a ‘mini-ethnographic study’ involving six participants who stayed in Zimbabwe despite being rendered stateless, this paper argues that spatial navigation and rights claiming is done through the assertion of agency akin to Ranciere’s ‘dissensus’, with stateless individuals fulfilling their revolutionary potential. This paper goes further to rebut current international and state centric strategies when dealing with statelessness. I suggest that a more community-based approach will assist in ensuring that statelessness and its inimical effects are addressed at the appropriate level. / XL2019

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment, University of the Witwatersrand, in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Built Environment in Housing Johannesburg May 2018 / The implementation of site and service schemes (S & SS) as a low cost sustainable housing arrangement in Beitbridge may not succeed in a depressed economy entrenched with both formal and informal approaches to project implementation. The delivery of low cost houses though S & SS as a low cost sustainable housing delivery approach has not lived up to its expectations, leaving much be desired except to arouse people’s concerted efforts to project implementation. This is in spite of a partnership which promised to be a potential success in providing serviced sites with infrastructure and services and reduce the housing backlog in Beitbridge. The depressed economy eroded household incomes, reduced government public funding of housing development and reduced municipal capacity to provide infrastructure which corresponds with the increased rate of housing development. Following an insightful in-depth interview methodology and several transect walk to the Dulivhadzimu West S & SS Project site, I argue that implementation of the scheme in terms of administrative, infrastructure provision and financial aspects were weak to enable successful implementation of the conventional approach to the scheme. The implementation inadvertently shifted to informal and unplanned approach to the dismay of the municipality and implementing partner and ended up benefiting the high income people who could afford paying for the services. As such, there were no clear regulatory mechanisms and modalities to enable the targeted low-income people to be beneficiaries of the scheme which was hijacked and benefited the high income people in Beitbridge. As a result, this has resulted in self-help approaches as resulting in self built houses through parallel and incremental development and informal adoption of alternative conventional infrastructure like septic tanks for sanitation facilities. Although the scheme is still in the early stages of project implementation, it clear that the trajectory of the implementation has changed and that the low income people, as the target population, might have been missed. / MT 2018