COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS: CONCEPTIONS AND PRACTICES WITH EMPHASIS ON EAST AFRICA COMMUNITY

Abstract

Community Development Policy aims to mobilize and empower the Rwandan community to exercise its powers in decision making in order to promote development, commensurate with the progress of decentralization. The policy is formulated in response to the challenges the community still confronts: extreme poverty, illiteracy, a culture of deference to authority and the widespread use of traditional farming methods which constrain significant sustainable development. Analysis of the regional situation (EAC Vision 2050, various official sources) indicates a number of important phenomena and socioeconomic developments characterizing the EAC – with the region’s socioeconomic development status and trends over the recent past reflecting an improvement in a number of areas. Among others, the Community has been identified as one of the fastest growing regions in Sub-Saharan Africa – with an average GDP growth of 6.2 percent in 2015. It is also one of the largest regional economic blocs, and has one of the largest single markets in Africa – with a total population of about 150 million. It has a diversified economic base – offering a variety of business and investment opportunities. In addition, the region is increasingly creating a business-friendly environment – being the world’s fastest reforming region – with a largely stable economic and political environment; harmonised tariff; great market access to all regions in Africa, Middle East and Asia, as well as preferential market access to the US, the EU and some other developed countries. EAC’s major economic trends indicate, inter alia, that real GDP growth in EAC Partner States varied over the past five years, driven by diverse factors – with average growth over the past five years having been 4.2 percent. The collective GDP (at current prices) of the five EAC Partner States (excluding the Republic of South Sudan) stood – as of 2016 – at USD 156.7 billion (after rebasing in some Partner States in 2014). The region has also managed to sustain economic expansion, despite a number of international economic shocks. As regards inflation, exchange rate depreciation pressures, coupled with supply factors, have rendered the consumer prices to remain above the target levels of inflation in the region – although the situation is expected to improve in the medium-term. Also noteworthy is that in the External Sector, over the review period, the EAC Partner States registered increases in their total trade, despite having increasing current account balances; while in the Fiscal Sector, the Partner States continue to face shortages of local resources to finance their budgets, given pressures to finance infrastructure developments and human development needs – with the overall deficit in the region, on average, having varied between 4.4 percent in 2013, to 6.2 percent in 2015. As regards infrastructure development in the region, in response to the existing situation characterised by a largely under-developed transport infrastructure, the EAC has prioritised ten (10) international road transport corridors (the East African Road Network), totalling fifteen thousand eight hundred kilometres (15, 800 km) (EAC Vision 2050). This is partly benchmarked against one of the EAC Vision 2050 targets for the regional road network that by 2030, the paved road network will be 35,250km, and is expected to reach 65,700km by 2050. As regards the railway network – considering that the regional railways sub-sector is still considerably underdeveloped (across all Partner States); the EAC has adopted a Railway Master Plan that guides the development of railway projects in the region. With regard to the region’s sea and lake ports, these face several challenges, which include: poor operating systems; predominantly aged fleet, inefficient cargo handling equipment; siltation; as well as water hyacinth and narrow berths, particularly at Port Bell, Jinja, Mwanza North Port and Kisumu – which inhibit the navigation and docking of large ships. Lake transport also faces a serious challenge of accidents due to poor search and rescue systems. It is also noteworthy, however, that the various EAC regional Social Sectors, including, among others, Health; Education and Training; as well as Culture and Sports, have already been responding to the above and related phenomena, though, inter alia, developing and implementing various regional legal, policy and strategic instruments, plans, as well as other initiatives and interventions in a holistic manner – in accordance with their respective mandates – and continue to do so going forward. Regarding major regional trends in political affairs and governance, first, the political situation in the EAC region over the last five years has, inter alia, been characterized by considerable democratic activity – including the holding of multi-party elections in Kenya (2013); Tanzania (2015); Burundi (2015); and Uganda (2016); as well as the most recent ones for Rwanda and Kenya, held in August, 2017. Over the same period, various developments have also taken place with regard to the pursuit of the EAC Political Federation – culminating into the most recent development, whereby the 33rd Council of Ministers in February, 2016, adopted a Political Confederation as the model for East Africa’s integration – pending working out the form the Confederation of East Africa will take, as well as related details – including development of the Confederation Constitution. Among the major factors most frequently cited by the various implementing entities, as the ones underlying mediocre performance were: complete lack of funding; low levels of actual funding vis-a-viz expected levels; as well as delayed or inconsistent and untimely release of funds. These were followed by lack of adequate support and goodwill by various major stakeholders on which Strategy Implementers had originally relied for the success of their respective Strategic Interventions, as well as less than adequate coordination of stakeholder efforts in Strategy implementation. Against the above background, the necessary unaccomplished planned Strategic Interventions under the 4th EAC Development Strategy have been “rolled over” and integrated into the 5th EAC Development Strategy (2016/17 – 2020/21). A number of lessons – which are duly documented in the main document – have been learnt and have also partly informed the formulation of this Strategy.

Keywords: Microfinance, efficiency evaluation, management, sustainable economic development, goals

CITATION: Rwigema, P. C. (2022). Community development programs: conceptions and practices with emphasis on East Africa Community. The Strategic Journal of Business & Change Management, 9 (4), 1447 – 1486.