150 BOOK REVIEWS^^S^t^^^^^J^^?^^.^ * -therI have a few other quibbles with the book. The basic layout is pleasingbut the tracings while generally good, are sometimes a littleinconsistentand confusing. For instance, in some cases the unshaded areas representwhite on the actual painting and, in others, light red. The outHnes ofseveral depictions could also have been smoothed off As I Kw frompersona experience, kinked outlines are often the resulfo SferentiSweathering of the rock itself as well as the steadiness (or otherwiseToShetracer's hand It is the principles behind the art that we aimTcopy so asmoothing off of the depictions would improve their visuatapaci Kgreatest criticism of the book, however, is that the circles used to indicateusfdTnstead ^tO Standard PraCtice- Bar Scales should have beendTnsteadNevertheless, this is an excellent book and it is very reasonably oricedftPnJpl7^r oneHconsiders the number of coloured pElSedTn3?e Pam*fd Caves deserves a place on the bookshelf of anyone interestedin the prehistoric art of Zimbabwe. <"*yone interestedSt George's College R. BURRETTCultural Struggle and Development in Southern Africa Edited bv PrebenKaarsholm. Harare, Baobab; London, James CurreyPoVis^uthHeinemann, 1991, x, 258 pp., ISBN 0-85255-211-4 (pbk), Z$30,00Cultural Struggle and Development in Southern Africa is a fascinating andtopical study which brings together research in various discipHnes suSas history, literature, art, development studies, political science religionconstitutional law and sociology. It is based on the proceedings £ aworkshop or. Culture and Development in Southern Afrfc? wWch. Lheld at the University of Copenhagen in April 1988In this book researchers and development workers call for the returnof culture to its rightful place in people's everyday lives Arguing tha"culture plays an important role in the development process 'of^ocety andtoTh7sSbookCo^in eCOn°mlC devel°Pment Programmes. The contStorsto this book offer some practical ways in which culture (including fornstance customs, beliefs and taboos) can be used to faciHtate theimplementation of development programmes in a country The majority oiSwhaluRiKTt *H rCraI EurOpean ^ NbrffAinSSKS*about what is believed to determine economic development in the so-nf thP hrS^f °Ped' °*, 'develoPinS' countries. The Si argumemof the book is that a consideration of culture, especially the role of Walanguage and related communication processes, is missfng in the wes°ernmodel of economic development. These scholars argue that the assistanceof local customs, beliefs and language should be sought t\thlimplementation of development programmes. Culture may be regarded alBOOK REVIEWS 151central to development programmes because it arises 'mechanically outof economic growth and accumulation' (p. 3), helps human beings toidentify communities that need to be 'developed' (the target group), andhelps to define what constitutes development in a particular community.Cultural Struggle and Development in Southern Africa calls for a revisionof the present model in which Western countries deliberately ignore thecultural element in development programmes. The various scholars pointout that anyone working in the 'development enterprise', to borrow KateCrehan's terminology, should operate within a society's value-system andits history, so that that society supports the enterprise.The book is divided into three sections, in each of which one scholar'sviews are counter-balanced by those of another. The debate is prefacedby an excellent introduction which sets out the theoretical framework ofthe book. The first section deals with the colonial experience of SouthernAfrican communities, the second focuses on Black African nationaliststruggles, and the third on the impact of imposed development programmeson the populace in independent countries. Contributors to each sectioncome from various countries and cultures.The first article, by MacKenzie, is particularly interesting in that heargues that the European settler in Rhodesia exploited African naturalresources, especially wildlife, and denied the Black population access togame since African hunting methods were despised as 'savage andbarbaric'. Game parks and hunting licences, therefore, turned Africansinto poachers. He argues that the current international problem of poachingwas created by Europeans when they ignored local cultural traditions andpractices relating to wildlife conservation and utilization. The contra-dictions between African and European cultures have, therefore, madethe problem of poaching difficult to solve. Unfortunately some Africangovernments, and many development agencies, have simply adopted thesecolonial practices without scrutiny. As a result some of these programmeshave not been sustainable because they do not receive support from thelocal people.In his chapter, 'Fantasies and Mythologies of War', Kaarsholm pointsout that the liberation war in Rhodesia merged the African and Europeancultures and resulted in the adoption of what he calls 'independent criticalmodernist thinking' as found in the novels of Ndabezinhle Sigogo, CharlesMungoshi and Stanley Nyamfukudza. Another contributor and literarycritic who shares this view is David Caute, who states that it was thecontradictions of the political situation in Rhodesia in the 1970s thatproduced the famous writer Dambudzo Marechera. Both scholars revealthe fact that the colonial system created much disorder, much of whichwas, unfortunately, inadequately addressed at Independence. Some ofthese political, economic, cultural and social problems are adverselyaffecting development programmes.On the political side, the colonial legacy created constitutionalheadaches for independent Zimbabwe. This is the subject of the contri-bution by Welshman Ncube and Shepherd Nzombe. Ncube and Nzombeexplain how and why most of the constitutional changes in Zimbabwefrom 1980 to 1990 actually entrenched the economic control and interest152 BOOK REVIEWSof White Zimbabweans. The government of Zimbabwe was pledged tokeep the Lancaster House Constitution intact throughout this period. Inthis way the colonial society, including its economic and political system,was preserved, especially 'the constitutional registration and recognitionof the sanctity of private property' (p. 173, see also section 16 of theConstitution).While most writers regard the colonial system as having had a negativeimpact on Black Zimbabweans, Stephen Williams contends that, in factthey gained something from acculturation. He states that African cultureswould have been forced to change anyway since change was inevitable.Africans would, at a certain future period, have had to deal with the'technological needs' of the modern world. The impact of colonialismresulted in new social formations and mediums of cultural expression. Inother words, colonization brought with it a new economic, political andsocial system from Europe and the two systems were eventually fused toproduce a new way of life. New ways of communication or expressionemerged within this new system and development personnel should usethese methods when they interact with the people they are meant todevelop.Another contributor who writes on this issue is Kimani Gecau whocalls for the inculcation in people of a scientific world-view, and the beliefthat the world can be changed by the purposeful actions of people and notmerely by the wilful activity of nature and fate. This change, he argues,could be achieved through the use of the arts whose educative roleexisted in indigenous African societies before they were colonized, andwhich exists today in the teaching of history and the performance ofmusic and popular theatre.The contradictions of the colonial experience and the war of liberationin Rhodesia are illustrated in K. D. Manungo and Norma Kriger's conflictinginterpretations of the role of the peasants in that war. The traditional viewis that the peasants took orders from the guerrillas. Kriger, however,highlights the fact that some peasants used guerrilla troops to furthertheir own, not necessarily military, interests, for example, to solve familyconflicts. Manungo, on the other hand, sees the peasants as having beenthe guerrillas' subjects or instruments.Terence Ranger also explodes another generally-held belief in hiscontribution when he reveals that Christianity is not the most commonreligious belief in Zimbabwe but rather traditional African religionincorporating the veneration of ancestral spirits and the consultation ofn'angas and spirit mediums. Such practices need to be taken into accountin the implementation of development programmes. For instance,development planners should be aware that some people may respond toeconomic disparities within their communities by accusing their moreprosperous neighbours of witchcraft.The four articles by Kate Crehan, Luke Mhlaba, Bodil Folke Frederiksenand Jeff Guy and Motlatsi Thabane in the last section offer practical waysof changing planners' attitudes towards the communities that they aremeant to develop. Crehan points out that most programmes fail becausethey are imposed on local communities by outsiders, rather than beingBOOK REVIEWS 153willingly adopted by the community which the programme is intended tobenefit. Similarly, inappropriate theories and communication methods areapplied in the analysis of development needs of local communities. One ofthe solutions to some of the media problems is to produce newspapers inlocal African languages, using grassroots resources. In addition, effectivelocal government should be left in the hands of local communities in orderto avoid people's indifference to imposed leadership from centralgovernment.Although this is a useful book for development practitioners andacademics of development studies, it has certain weaknesses. The articleswritten by Crehan and Gecau end abruptly, at a point where one mightreasonably expect a conclusion. Mhlaba's analysis of texts is veryinadequate in that he hardly looks at the language, themes and ideologicalorientation of those texts. The use of racist and inappropriate terms andinterpretations is also somewhat disturbing and flaws an otherwise usefultext.University of Zimbabwe C. DUBEDecentralizing for Participatory Planning? Edited by K. H. Wekwete andP. de Valk. Aldershot, Avebury, 1990, xvi, 277 pp., ISBN 0-566-07113-4,£33,50.This analysis of decentralization, planning and participation covers fiveeastern, central and Southern African countries: Botswana, Kenya,Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The similarities and differences betweenthese countries' experiences with regard to policies on decentralizationand participation are described in a stimulating and provocative manner.The work is provocative because the writers raise important issues thatneed further study: for instance, the nature of the state and its relationswith its people. The writers argue that the state's political party structuresare not as yet contolled by people at the grassroots level, adding that suchpolitical parties cannot, therefore, be useful mechanisms for the mobiliz-ation of these people. It is stimulating because of its fresh approach to thethemes of participation, decentralization and planning.In the five case studies reviewed, changes were introduced at themicro- or sub-national level as a result of administrative arguments thatthese changes would improve efficiency and effectiveness. But the changes'came about without personal involvement and most of the time without[an] understanding of the rationale behind them' (p. 256)The implications of adopting such an approach are that the people forwhom planning is done view the centre, the capital, as the place where alldecisions affecting them are made. This may cause instability. In addition,these changes or reforms were not adequately supported by manpowerand the necessary finances, thus raising the question that governmentswanted decentralization on paper without effective devolution in practice.The book rightly places an emphasis on this issue because the success or