Development Projects In Africa Research Articles

3 - The food security concept

The concept of food security appeared in policy forums and documents during the 1970s as a concern largely for developing countries. Today, food security stands centre stage in developing and developed nations. It is a multidimensional concept, which rests on the four pillars of availability, access, utilisation and stability. As our understanding of this complex concept deepens, there are persuasive arguments to add the elements of food agency, food sovereignty and food sustainability, to make it a six-pillar framework. The argument is that this framework better informs policy and global responses to short- and long-term food security challenges. One of the main challenges of the concept of food security is its measurement. This arises due to the fact that there are multiple units of analysis at macro, meso and micro levels. Even the pillars of food security are measured at different scales. This has resulted in the proliferation of hundreds of food security metrics and definitions. The currently accepted definition of food security encapsulates the complexity of the concept but does not assist in developing appropriate metrics. Development projects in Africa that state food security as an objective need to develop relevant food security definitions to guide the assessment of achieving that objective, otherwise measuring its success is reduced to an evaluation of increase in food production—yet we know food security goes beyond production.

Infrastructural Development and Neo-Colonialism in Africa: The Case of the Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya

Abstract The paper argues that funding and development of mega projects in Africa is the new way through which neo-colonialism is manifesting itself. Development partners are increasingly using infrastructural development aid as the means to continue exploiting and dominating Africa’s political economy. Using the Chinese funded Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya as a case study, the paper confirms that to some extent infrastructural development projects are replicating colonial structures. The role of foreign funding, multinational corporations, and co-option of elites provides neo-colonial anxieties. However, through sensitivity to Africa’s mounting external debt, and its policy on shared prosperity, China demonstrates that not all its activities on the continent have neo-colonial characteristics. It renegotiates loan repayment, converts loans to grants, and withholds loans to assessed recipient’s abilities to repay. The concept of neo-colonialism provides a framework through which to analyze externally funded development projects in Africa. The study analyzed secondary sources of data.

New Media, Women Empowerment, and Community Development Projects in Africa: Insights from Nigeria

New Media, Women Empowerment, and Community Development Projects in Africa: Insights from Nigeria

Beyond Ubuntu: Nnoboa and Sankofa as Decolonizing and Indigenous Evaluation Epistemic Foundations from Ghana

Background: Evaluation is an increasingly vital component of community and economic development projects in Africa. Yet questions remain about how relevant most evaluation approaches for the African evaluation context. Within the ‘Made in Africa’ (MAE) approach, ubuntu is frequently cited as an African philosophical concept with salience to MAE. There is a need to further expand and explicate other African philosophies that can serve as epistemological guideposts for African evaluation—and other decolonizing, indigenous evaluation approaches more broadly.
 Purpose: Drawing on Ghanaian epistemologies and frameworks, the purpose of this paper is to propose the Nnoboa system of communal collaboration in farming and industry, as well as the notion of Sankofa as a traditional philosophical concept that irrupts and challenges hegemonic Eurocentric notions of the linearity of time, to yield a Ghanaian indigenous knowledge of evaluation.
 Setting: Not applicable.
 Intervention: Not applicable.
 Research Design: This conceptual study draws on literature on culturally responsive evaluation (CRE), MAE, and (from beyond the field of evaluation), descriptions of Nnoboa and Sankofa to propose a conceptual synthesis applicable to decolonizing, indigenous evaluation.
 Data Collection and Analysis: Not applicable.
 Findings: We propose that Nnoboa and Sankofa represent an addition to the decolonizing and indigenous evaluation knowledge base, building on and going beyond the reliance of CRE and MAE in ubuntu. We propose this Ghanaian approach has potential applications across MAE and CRE more broadly.

A Model of International Development Cooperation: The Case of Slovenia

Abstract Development aid, one of the most important mechanisms for the redistribution of global wealth, represents financial flows with economic growth and social improvement as their primary objective. Recently, international development cooperation has been in the process of change that requires the involvement of new actors, the use of new instruments, and expanding the fields of work. In this article, the authors introduce the Slovenian model of international development cooperation, emphasising the criteria for deciding the direction of development cooperation. The criteria are clear interest of the beneficiary state, content priority fields, and geographical priority areas. The authors also discuss Slovenia’s active collaboration with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in international development cooperation. Special attention is given to three successful development projects in Africa that Slovenia recently financed. All three selected projects are based on principles of sustainable development and were realized in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda.

A Systematic Literature Review on Local Sustainability Assessment Processes for Infrastructure Development Projects in Africa

Reviews on sustainability assessment research have shown that Africa is lagging in this research area. As a result, few African countries have local sustainability assessment processes for infrastructure development. Considering the vital role of infrastructure to Africa’s development, the identification of only a few countries with local sustainability assessment processes raises questions on the overall state of sustainability assessment in the continent. To date, there is no study that gives a definite account of which African countries have local sustainability assessment processes for infrastructure. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic literature review to identify and analyze local sustainability assessment process for infrastructure development in an African country. Using PRISMA to guide the review process, the study showed that six processes have been created for infrastructure development in Africa. The African countries with these processes are Egypt (three), Nigeria (one), Malawi and Kenya (one) and South Africa (one). The results showed that the sustainability assessment process correspond to most of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets with social and economic considerations taking the lead in the processes created for energy and transport infrastructure development projects, whereas the sustainability assessment processes created for water supply, waste and communications infrastructure development projects have a balance of social, economic and environmental sustainability considerations. The review has revealed a need to create energy, transport and water supply infrastructure sustainability assessment processes that address current sustainability concerns such as climate change, social justice, equity, fairness and equality.

The World Bank and China: Comparing the Impacts of Their Development Projects in Africa

The World Bank and China: Comparing the Impacts of Their Development Projects in Africa

Changing Realities: China-Africa Infrastructure Development

Changing Realities:China-Africa Infrastructure Development Mandira Bagwandeen (bio) Through an extensive portfolio of infrastructure investments, China has played a crucial role in helping Africa reduce deficits in its infrastructure. Over the past decade and a half, Chinese state-owned or state-aligned construction and engineering companies have strategically entered African markets with assistance from the Chinese government. Under China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese companies took on mega-infrastructure projects, especially in the energy and transport sectors, that could aid African countries with achieving higher levels of development. However, these mega-BRI projects came with hefty price tags that have contributed to compounding the debt stress of several African nations. In this regard, many international (and especially Western) actors have accused China of predatory lending practices and debt-trap diplomacy. This narrative has been further amplified amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had significant ramifications for BRI projects in Africa and around the world. The pandemic has created some doubt about whether Chinese-funded and–built infrastructure projects can be completed and, more importantly, whether African states have the fiscal capacity to repay these development loans. With reduced revenues available to African governments, the risk of defaulting on loan repayments is high. Moreover, because of the burden of loan repayments, African states are handicapped in their response measures to Covid-19 and its economic consequences. The Eighth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in November 2021 demonstrated that due to changing realities—including China's domestic economic concerns, U.S.-China trade tensions, the global economic impact of Covid-19, and Africa's pandemic-induced debt stress—Beijing seems to have realized that it cannot continue to be Africa's go-to bank for financing infrastructure development. This essay outlines that China may not be as willing as it was in past years to finance infrastructure development projects in Africa. It explores the impact of Covid-19 on the development of BRI infrastructure projects in Africa and briefly assesses the validity of the debt-trap and predatory lending accusations leveled against China. Additionally, the essay addresses [End Page 18] the Eighth FOCAC summit, which indicated that China is likely to reduce its focus on development financing for hard infrastructure in its cooperation with African countries. China's Belt and Road Infrastructure in Africa and Covid-19 As of 2019, China was the single-largest source of finance for African infrastructure, having "finance[d] one in five projects and construct[ed] one in three."1 Although the continent's enormous infrastructural investment gap cannot solely be met by Chinese financing, Beijing's role in contributing to the development of the region's infrastructure has been crucial. The China-Africa infrastructure partnership was strengthened under the impetus of BRI, which was introduced in 2013. The initiative closely centers on the Chinese proverb that "if you want to get rich, build a road first" and the argument that "infrastructure investments presuppose economic growth and enhance quality of life."2 This logic is particularly appealing to African states that are desperate to reduce their deficits in infrastructure. Several African scholars have opined that BRI could play a critical role in Africa's industrialization and infrastructure development through the building of synergies between Agenda 2063, the pan-African development plan of the African Union (AU), and BRI.3 Even individual African leaders and the AU welcomed China's infrastructural drive on the continent motivated by BRI. In January 2015, China and the AU signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on developing major transport infrastructure networks (high-speed railways, aviation, and highways) and industrialization infrastructure. With the ambition to connect all 54 African states through transport infrastructure projects, this memorandum complements and aligns with Agenda 2063, which in turn aims to accelerate continental integration through the development of transport infrastructure and industrialization. Massive national and regional projects worth billions of dollars, mostly in the transport and [End Page 19] energy sectors, began to pop up across the continent. As of April 2019, China had BRI projects in 42 different African countries,4 and by January 2021 a total of 46 out of 54 African countries had signed on to become official...

El método MACTOR para analizar los procesos de gestión de los proyectos y programas de desarrollo en África

The proliferation of development projects in Africa in general and in Cameroon in particular over the last decade contrasts with their performance, which in most cases remains mixed. These performances depend to a large extent on the strategies and decisions taken by the interacting actors. Strategic analysis is therefore a fundamental approach to better understand the performance of development programs. The MACTOR method (Godet, 2007) fits into this framework; an application of actantial rationality in the analysis of human interactions. It makes it possible to identify all of the active and passive actors involved in a project and to define the matrix of alliances, conflicts, strategies, tactics, and objectives pursued by these actors. This method opens the way to an actancial analysis of the management of development projects in order to better identify their strengths and weaknesses. This article is a systematic review of the issues at stake in this method and its application in the Cameroonian context. It highlights the theoretical determinants of the method and its relevance in the managerial analysis of projects under an actantial rationality.

Multinationals, Capital Export, and the Inclusive Development Debate in Developing Countries: The Nigerian Insight

In this paper, we employed a blend of multiple and historical case study design, and a mix of institutional, behavioral, resource-based, and multinational theories, to examine the nature of multinational companies’ (MNC) engagements in local economic development and capital export practices in an African context. Evidence from our Nigerian case analysis (FrieslandCampina, Nigerian Breweries Plc. and Dangote Cement) confirms the proposition that, faced with a similar degree of uncertainty and constrained institutional environment and laying claims to differing sources of competitive advantage, both local and foreign MNCs would repatriate profits and limit exposures to local value chains (LVCs) mainly as a strategy for mitigating country risks and preserving corporate value. Such limited exposures detach MNCs, especially the foreign ones, from the LVCs, and by doing so push them to deeper reliance on the global value chains (GVCs). Linking local businesses to the GVCs is central in the inclusive development (ID) debate essentially because it allows for the redistribution of economic benefits, helps in building a complementary (rather than competitive) relationship between MNCs and local businesses, and facilitates local businesses’ access to international markets. We, therefore, recommend that in pursuit of the inclusive and sustainable development projects in Africa, industrial policies need to be tailored toward stabilizing the policy environment, protecting investments from risk of expropriation, and incentivizing MNCs’ participation in the LVCs.

The IMF or the AMF: Defining the Future of Financing for Investment and Development Projects in Africa

Since independence the government of many African countries have depended on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as their main sources of finance for major developmental and investment projects in their respective countries. Accordingly, besides the granting of loans to Low Income Countries (LICs) at zero interest rate, the IMF also assists member countries to resolve their balance of payment challenges as well as granting interest-bearing loans to both member and non-member countries. Similarly, the African Monetary Fund (AMF) which is a prototype of the IMF was created by the African Union (AU) and is not yet operational. Just like the IMF, the AMF is intended to fund major developmental projects in Africa. This article examines the IMF loans conditionality and the award of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) to African Countries as seen during the COVID-19 crisis. It argues that the AMF would not be the African countries’ panacea as far as funding for developmental projects in Africa is concerned. In this regard, the article further examines Agenda 2063 as a future development model for Africa, as well as the various sources of project finance as envisioned in the Frameworks Document of Agenda 2063. It concludes that IMF still has the financial muscle to fund developmental projects and resolved balance of payment problems in Africa despite alternative sources of finance recommended by Agenda 2063.

From Pilot to Scale - A Framework for Development Practitioners for Market Driven Vocational Training

Partnerships bringing together both the private and the public sector, as well as development actors might play an important role in facilitating the acquisition of skills and thereby support sustainable socio-economic development, notably in the manufacturing sector. The participation of the private sector in such partnerships contributes to enhance the adequacy between skills supply and demand and thereby spurs employability and economic activity. This paper makes use of the case study method to analyse the role of this kind of partnership in skills acquisition in five industrial development projects in Africa. We hypothesize that the Market System Development (MSD) approach offers potential to enhance the impact of skills acquisition partnerships. We conclude by proposing an innovative framework to support policymakers and development practitioners to conceptualise new skills development partnerships through the application of the MSD approach contributing to systemic change and long-term sustainability.

Rapid economic evaluation technology for oil and gas development projects in Africa

Africa is a key area for overseas oil and gas investment cooperation due to the low degree of oil and gas exploration and great resource potential. All oil and gas resource countries have certain common characteristics in contract modes, fiscal and tax terms, economic conditions, infrastructure and bidding methods. A theoretical system of rapid economic evaluation technology suitable for the characteristics of Africa can be established to provide the methods and basis for investment decisions of oil and gas development projects in Africa. In this paper, on the basis of a systematic study on oil contract modes in Africa and the legal terms, sales market, actual operations and evaluation and prediction parameters to be focused on, an economic evaluation index system has been established, including analysis framework establishment, financial benefit analysis and uncertainty analysis; finally, an oil and gas development project in Africa is taken as an example to verify the above-mentioned rapid economic evaluation technology. This technology system is applicable to economic evaluation of most oil and gas development projects in Africa, covering the possible factors, scenarios and problems in the process of project evaluation, facilitating the realization of a rapid and effective economic evaluation process and the achievement of scientific and reasonable results.

Chinese Aid to Africa: Distinguishing Features and Local Effects

Drawing on our recent work on local effects of Chinese development projects in Africa, this review article highlights a number of distinguishing features of Chinese aid, and discusses how these may translate into local aid impacts that differ from those of other donors. Unlike aid from other major donors, Chinese aid projects were found to fuel local corruption, discourage trade union involvement, to not increase political incumbency support, and to make ethnic identities more salient in the local areas. As such, our findings highlight important donor heterogeneities as well as the need to consider not only to what extent aid achieves its explicit objectives, but also its potential unintended effects, or externalities.

Aid and Conflict at the Subnational Level – Evidence from World Bank and Chinese Development Projects in Africa

China’s development model challenges the approaches of traditional Western donors like the World Bank. We argue that both aim at stability, but differ in the norms propagated to achieve that. Using fixed effects and IV estimations, we analyze a broad range of subnational stability measures in Africa. Aid by both the WB and China does not increase outright conflict nor any type of citizen protest, on average. Both even reduce outright conflict by governments against civilians. Still, Chinese aid is associated with more government repression and an increased acceptance of authoritarian norms, while the World Bank projects strengthen democratic values.

Capacities of African-oriented Polish NGOs: a quantitative approach

AbstractThe aim of the paper is to investigate the capacity of Polish non-governmental organisations implementing development projects in Africa. Drawing on an integrated systemic perspective of capacity that recognises internal and external factors, this paper focuses on internal factors. Using a quantitative approach to operationalise capacity, the study suggests that those non-governmental organisations implementing the Polish development policy in Africa are highly polarised and can be divided in two groups. Whilst the first group comprises two fairly large organisations with long track records and the ability to fundraise internationally, the second group consists of smaller NGOs of different capacities and working strategies. Most Polish NGOs operate within independent networks – Catholic and secular ones. The study identifies a research gap related to the lack of comprehensive study of religious organisations’ contribution to development assistance in Africa.

Chinese Aid in Africa: Attitudes and Conflict

Chinese development projects in Africa are often portrayed as exploitative, self-serving and conflict provoking. In this paper we answer the question of whether Chinese aid in Africa really does affect conflict and changes attitudes towards China. We combine geo-located information on the number, size and type of Chinese aid projects between 2000 and 2012 with panel data on conflict on the African continent to estimate the impact of the presence of Chinese development projects on violence at the district level. We also exploit a large cross-sectional data set about Africans' attitudes towards China from the 6th wave of the Afrobarometer survey to differentiate between two possible mechanisms: conflict as a competition for resources or conflict as a result of cultural animosity towards China. We use two types of instrumental variables to argue for a causal relationship. In line with the previous literature, we find that the presence of aid projects increases conflict, particularly civilian riots, in Western, Eastern- and Southern African districts. However, we also show that aid projects with no physical Chinese presence (purely financial flows, such as budget support) are the driver behind the increase in conflict, which is suggestive evidence for the rent-seeking channel. Moreover, we do not find that the presence of aid projects provokes a particular hostility towards China. Districts with more Chinese aid projects in the previous 15 years do not hold more unfavorable views towards China than districts with fewer projects.

Biomass-Based Innovations in Demand Driven Research and Development Projects in Africa

The case for demand-driven research and development has received important considerations among governments, donors and programme implementing partners in development planning and implementation. Addressing demand is believed to be a bottom-top approach for designing and responding to development priorities and is good for achieving development outcomes. In this paper, we discuss the concept and application of demand-driven research and development (DDRD) in Africa. We use evidence of six projects implemented under the BiomassWeb Project in Africa. We focus on parameters on level of engagement of stakeholders—whose demand is being articulated, the processes for demand articulation, capacity building and implementation processes, innovativeness of the project, reporting and sustainability of the project. We find that the nature of the institutions involved in articulation and implementation of demand-driven research and development projects and their partnerships influence the impact and reporting of demand-driven projects.

Climate change and adaptation-induced engineering design and innovations in water development projects in Africa

In this paper, a framework for best practice for incorporating climate change and adaption in Africa is presented from mainly the water resources design and management perspectives to chart systematically ways of incorporating climate change in engineering design of water development projects. This will enable engineers to address the challenges of Africa’s vulnerability to climate change and variability which has direct impacts on water availability, access and use which is the source of food and livelihood security for millions of the continent’s population. Climate change and variability is projected to affect the hydrological cycle, which, in turn, may alter the balance between water availability leading to uncertainty as to the onset of rainy seasons, dry spells, and more frequent extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods. Using case studies, the authors outline adaptation strategies to be adopted using an integrated approach in the consideration of climate change in engineering design and management of water resources systems that also link to operational aspects of water development projects. The paper also provides a set of suggested best practices in engineering design and innovative approaches to water development involving operation and management of dams and catchments in the face of climate change and variability.

Advocacy for Monitoring and Evaluation in Community Development Projects in Africa

Much of retrospection and reassessment of past undertakings and activities is necessary so to gain confidence in future tasks and ensure success. Review is mandatory and important in development projects. Many projects and programs suffer losses because of lack of or inefficient and ineffective monitoring and evaluation. Monitoring and evaluation helps in identifying the problem before hand or in time, hence, taking precautionary and even corrective measures in time. To win the favour of the donors and creditors, the evidence that the projects and programmes initiated are succeeding is inevitable. The type of evaluation depends on the object being evaluated and the purpose of the evaluation. Monitoring and evaluation should be incorporated in the planning of a project or programme. The monitoring and evaluation process may be presented in several phases. Methodology adopted was review of literature and the conclusions were made based on arguments elicited in the paper. Key Words: monitoring; evaluation; community; development; project; Africa