Communication and Ward Development Committees in Chipata: a Zambian Case-Study of Administrative Inertia

Abstract

A consultant is not expected to report that he cannot explain why things are the way they are. Such a conclusion tends to undermine belief in the expert as well as on the part of the client. It can, however, be the true state of affairs. In our opinion there is ample reason to admit to ignorance as regards the causes of widespread administrative inertia in the Third World, where bureaucracies often just do not function: letters are not replied to, appointments are kept haphazardly, and rules are either absent or referred to in the extreme. Bureaucratic behaviour is, as a result, often highly unpredictable for citizens. This is especially painful when it concerns necessities. In Zambia, for example, it is virtually impossible to travel or look for work without identification documents, but in the rural areas, people may have cycled for 20 or 30 kilometres to the headquarters of the District in order to get a National Registration Card only to find that the civil servant responsible is away for an undetermined period.