THE ROLE OF TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP IN SUPPORTING ORPHANS AND VULNERABLE CHILDREN IN ZIMBABWE: AFRICAN TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE

John Ringson

doi:10.15270/56-2-821

Abstract

The experiences of orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) in Zimbabwe find expression in the maxim that says ‘Where two elephants fight, the grass suffers the most’. Orphans and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe have been the casualties of disharmony between traditional and contemporary leadership philosophies for more than three decades. Using a phenomenological approach, the study involved 20 key informants, who included community leaders and OVC caregivers. Underpinned by the traditional leadership perspectives, the study examined the role of traditional leaders in supporting OVC for the purposes of integrating its relevant compatible elements with modern OVC care and support systems. The study showed that there is lack of synchronicity between traditional and contemporary OVC care and support systems, which ultimately compromises the effectiveness of the social care professions in rural communities in Zimbabwe. The study recommends the establishment of an integrated contextually-based OVC care and support model to enhance the relationship between traditional and contemporary leadership in Zimbabwe.

Highlights

The Zimbabwean government has adopted a new constitution which recognises the role of the institution of traditional leadership, which operates alongside the modern state structures (Chigwata, 2016:1).The current constitution of Zimbabwe clearly stipulates that it is there to strengthen, regulate and enforce the status and roles of traditional leadership within their area of jurisdiction (Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013), Despite this upliftment and strict regulation, the role and relevance of the institutions of traditional leadership regarding orphans and vulnerable children have been largely compromised in Zimbabwe
When further probed as what exactly caused this to happen, the respondents revealed that the drastic increase of population, urbanization, colonialism and modern leadership approaches led to this happening
In view of the need for united stakeholders in OVC care and support, the social work profession needs to understand the dynamics of traditional leadership in OVC care and support within the rural communities

Summary

Introduction

The Zimbabwean government has adopted a new constitution which recognises the role of the institution of traditional leadership, which operates alongside the modern state structures (Chigwata, 2016:1).The current constitution of Zimbabwe clearly stipulates that it is there to strengthen, regulate and enforce the status and roles of traditional leadership within their area of jurisdiction (Constitution of Zimbabwe, 2013), Despite this upliftment and strict regulation, the role and relevance of the institutions of traditional leadership regarding orphans and vulnerable children have been largely compromised in Zimbabwe. Broodryk (2004) argued that traditional and modern state leadership structures are often in conflict, largely because of competing claims to resources, power and legitimacy. Banda and Mabvurira (2012) assert that the inception of modern leadership strategies such as human rights approaches, policy and legislative frameworks seriously contradicted and undermined some traditional leadership tendencies. These traditional leadership tendencies which were condemned included human rights abuses, child labour and a dictatorial approach. This study examines prevailing traditional leadership roles in OVC care and support with a view to integrating those elements that are compatible with the contemporary leadership roles in local rural tribal communities of Zimbabwe. The main research question of this study is : How can the traditional and contemporary leadership roles in OVC care and support be integrated for the sustainable livelihood of OVC in Zimbabwe? The two main objectives of the study were as follows: (i) to examine the relevance of the roles of traditional leadership in OVC care and support within the rural communities of Zimbabwe, and (ii) to assess the implications of traditional leadership roles in OVC care and support in the social work profession and social development in Zimbabwe

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion