Journal of Social Development in Africa (1996), 11,1,3-4 
Editorial 
This issue of the Journal brings together a variety of articles from various parts of 
the Continent The first article by Karger, who spent a period during 1995 as Senior 
Fulbright Scholar with the School of Social Work in Zimbabwe, examines the 
relationship between the 'public good' and the welfare state in Africa. As he points 
out, in the context of the post-socialist period, the current era of structural 
adjustment and harsh policies of economic liberalisation, African nations are faced 
with the difficult tasks of protecting the socially disadvantaged (which is likely to 
constitute the majority of their populations) against unregulated market reforms 
and unbridled capitalism. How can they go about doing this? Rather than despairing 
of Africa's plight within the global economy, and elaborating on the multiple 
disadvantages of Africa on the world stage, an all-too-common response these 
days, Karger suggests that African social planners build on the already existing 
positive values such as reciprocity and social cohesion, to develop creative new 
strategies which will enhance the ability of social programmes to contribute to the 
public good and the economic life of African countries. 
Kadzere provides an insight into the relationship between social development 
and livestock production, noting that although a tremendous potential exists for 
livestock production, this has not been translated into fact. He examines the reasons 
for this, including bias towards agricultural extension and a neglect of smallholder 
livestock productivity, lack of socially suitable grazing scheme models and a lack 
of involvement of rural communities in policy decisions concerning livestock 
production. The article concludes with some useful points, which, if implemented, 
could improve and increase the smallholder communal production of livestock. 
The involvement of social workers in social development initiatives is examined 
in the article by Gray, Mazibuko and O'Brien. The authors define the concept 
of social development and then consider its relationship to social work. They point 
out that this requires a shift in values and ethos, a change in thinking, rather than 
simply practice, to activities which encourage "empowerment, education, facilitation, 
brokering, prevention and policy development". This begins with the basic 
education and training of social workers, so the authors focus on some of the 
parameters involved in this, including the teaching of social policy and promoting 
appropriate fieldwork training experiences for students, which they have developed 
in their own training at the University of Natal in Durban. 
Zindi is concerned in his article with the educational disparities which exist in 
two countries: Zimbabwe and South Africa. Genuine social development is 
predicated on educational advancement (a point also elaborated by Kadzere in the
4 Editorial 
context of increased livestock productivity). The colonial history of Zimbabwe 
created inequality of opportunity and a two-tier system consisting of those 
privileged by virtue of race, and those marginalised. Although significant efforts 
to eradicate these inequalities have been made, they continue to persist in various 
ways. The apartheid system of South Africa created similar inequalities, which are 
now being addressed through the Reconstruction and Development Programme of 
the new government However the legacy of the past, the zoning system, economic 
and political factors all continue to erode the gains already made. Zindi draws our 
attention to these and stresses the urgent need "to identify, investigate and 
eliminate all the existing disparities that seem to make education a privilege for 
only a few". 
Kalipeni and Kamlongera provide a very interesting and detailed account of 
their experience in using popular theatre as a means of communication and 
education. Writing from Malawi, they explain the role of "Theatre for Development" 
in motivating residents of two rural communities to actively involve 
themselves in primary health care initiatives. The important lesson coming from 
this account is the need to mobilise and motivate communities to diagnose and 
suggest solutions to the problems that they face. The authors show, using statistical 
data, how a bottom-up, grassroots approach has actually improved and accelerated 
the PHC programmes in the communities in which it was used. 
This concern with health and social development is elaborated further in the 
article by Drew, Foster and Chitima who examine the cultural changes that have 
taken place in Zimbabwe in the context of the advancing AIDS pandemic. The 
concern of the authors lies with the changing cultural practices with regard, in 
particular, to women and children following the death of the husband and father. 
Traditional cultural practices such as wife inheritance and the taking on the care of 
orphaned children seem to be changing in ways described by the authors, although 
they still raise questions which need further investigation if they are to be satisfactorily 
answered. 
The final paper continues the discussion on the role of the family and the erosion 
of some of its traditional caring functions in the face of the current tough economic 
climate. In extrapolating this, Kaseke provides a reflection on the meaning for 
Africa of the United Nations' 1994 International Year of the Family. He suggests 
that in view of the social costs of structural adjustment, there is a growing 
consensus that there is need to protect poor families and vulnerable groups. This 
can be done through Social Dimension Funds, meaningful social security provision 
and control of population to offset the heavy burden on families. His concluding 
remark that the protection of the family will be an elusive goal unless African 
governments develop concrete programmes of action that are in harmony with 
Africa realities really sums up all the conclusions with these disparate papers - that 
Africa needs to set the agenda and Africans need to be fully involved if social 
development initiatives are to have any hope of succeeding.