CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

The review of related literature will be divided into three parts. It will begin by reviewing literature

on humanitarian aid , then proceed to look at literature on usefulness of humanitarian aid, then

proceed to look at literature on humanitarian aid and education; finally an analysis of literature

relating to donor participation in Zimbabwean education will be attempted

It is important to note from the beginning that the research will be an impact assessment which, as

will be noted below, is concerned with achievement of long term objectives. As Craknell (1989)

observes, an impact assessment looks at aid operation from a broader viewpoint and is concerned

with achievement of long term objectives while looking at a specific aid project in terms of its impact

on the community likely to be affected by it. Having said that, it is however necessary to remember

that an impact approach will always contain elements of an effectiveness approach. Craknell (ibid)

agrees, saying that evaluation of effectiveness and impact is not easy to distinguish as the former

(impact) always contain elements of the latter (effectiveness).

The central question in the study, will revolve around the suitability and desirability of donor aid. It

will also be necessary to analyse the usefulness of such aid. Heilbroner (1968) states that foreign aid

is the most effective channel for quickly raising the amount of capital which newly independent

countries need. He views donor aid as an extremely important source of technical assistance which

enables backward regions to overcome the handicaps imposed by their lack of skilled personnel.

That there could be a shortage of skilled personnel at Domboramwari high School can never be

doubted. Humanitarian aid is being acknowledged as being one of the pre-requisites for the

development of backward regions by Heilbroner (1968).

This research will therefore seek to establish the reasons why donor aid has failed to help in the

developments of Domboramwari high School.

LITERATURE REVIEW ON HUMANITARIAN AID

The journal on overseas Development Administration (1986; 33) makes the following observation on

aid, “it is a fact of life that most forms of development action in developing countries could not take

place without some element of aid. Having noted the above , it still remains necessary to listen to

what authorities have to say regarding the fundamental question, does aid really work in poorly

developed areas such as Domboramwari in Epworth?

Earthscan (1977: 6) makes the following observation:

Aid can and does work. While developing countries and people

in poverty must themselves lead the process. This requires high

quality input from the donor. The international community should

make high quality aid a priority. It also needs the right economic

and political conditions in the recipient country where states

must give priority to eradication of poverty.

There has been a lot of talk about the need for a participatory approach in the provision of aid and a

lot has been written about the need to involve communities in donor funded projects. The talk has

not been complimented by any action in the Domboramwari area because of lack of a consultative

forum. Donor agencies continue to donate building materials and books which could turn into white

elephants within a few years of their having been constructed while the books could be severely

underutilised. Hugh and Combe (1968) assert that it is increased consultation among donors and

between donors and recipients which is necessary to ensure that donors are working within a well-

articulated government programme. The above statement seems to ignore the fact that communities
are themselves full of ideas which donor agencies can fund and help to implement producing

excellent results. In the case of Domboramwari High School, the teachers have largely been left out

of the aid process.

Hollock (1982: 288) weighs in with an observation worth taking into consideration:

The effects of a development project can hardly be lasting if it is

Not rooted in local traditions and expectations, yet it has not been

The consistent policy of international assistance to seek close conformity

With national development policies and local communities have generally

Not been sufficiently involved in preparation, monitoring and evaluating

Externaly assisted projects.

The United Nations non-governmental Liaison Services Report (1997) notes that many projects fail

as a consequence of uneven relations between the Non-Governmental Organisation or project and

the community. The issue needs to be explained further. Uneven relations manifest themselves as an

inferiority complex in the Epworth area where the local perceive the professional volunteer worker

entering the community from outside as a stranger with superior knowledge. The Non-Governmental

Organisation is also viewed as a source of free resources. This could lead to increased dependence of

the community on the development agent which in turn could prevent the community from gaining

control over the development process. The net effect of such a situation can be that parents in the

community can become spectators rather than actors in the development of their own school. Thus

this researcher will focus on the community and identify ways in which they can become part of the

process of developing their own school.

Donor agencies have tended to provide the Domboramwari community with too much that is, they

have not left any room for development of the ideas of the community itself. The result has been
that projects collapse once the donor moves away or hands the project over to the community. The

World Bank Operation and Evaluation Department Report (1988) concurs with the above assessment

stating that projects which have been unduly influenced by donors have generally been failures it

therefore becomes obvious that there is need for a collaborative approach to the issue of

humanitarian aid. Obanyo (1999) support this collaborative approach saying that there is need for

external aid agencies to shift from the prevailing posture of donor to that of co-operators in the

development process. This research will seek to reinforce the fact that the relationship between

humanitarian agencies and community should be cordial if the school is to develop.

CONSTRAINTS FACED IN RUNNING HUMANITARIAN AID PROJECTS

Running humanitarian projects has faced various challenges , which have led to the failure of these

projects. Identifying the right target group is a crucial step before undertaking any projects ( Rice ,

1983) .A study of European aid to Zimbabwe also concluded that there was little attempt to identify

target groups or their interventions that could best address problems of poverty (Chambers, 1993 ).

Many projects implementers have been blamed for the sustainability of their projects (Rondinelli ,

1988 ). Many humanitarian agencies are interested mainly inthe initial stages of their projects and in

being seen to be achieving results . in some cases this frequently means getting infrastructure built.

What has been built or installed is expected to work continuously. Too often machinery installed is

difficult to maintain as spare parts are found in the donor country making it difficult to maintain for

the community. Projects that depend on such machinery are therefore unsustainable and will cease

to function as soon as donors withdraw their aid (Rice ,1983 ).

HUMANITARIAN AID AND EDUCATION

The lack of development in most African countries is attributed directly to lack of education among

people in those countries. This therefore implies that there is need to invest heavily in education.

There is evidence that most developed countries today are well developed because of massive

development in education. Pames (1962: 25) notes that ,”there is considerable evidence that
investment in education has a high pay off in terms of accelerated economic growth”. He proceeds to

note that countries which had recorded high growth rates like Japan and USSR have led heavy

investments in education. This research look closely at investment in education by the Zimbabwean

government and also by rural communities and establish whether this investment is sufficient to

stimul;ate growth in marginalised schools. To also seek to add to existing knowledge in the best

method to make humanitarian aid more effective in developing schools.

Johns (1975: 11) supports the assertion that investment in education is a necessary pre-requisite for

the development of any notion. He says, “the education system of any nation, if properly planned,

modified, operated, and supported can do more than any other agency, organisation or institution to

create an open system that can effectively utilise the feedback from its environment not only to

maintain itself but to keep itself viable by continuously increasing its capacity to improve the state

and conditions of its citizen”. The study will attempt to find out the extent to which education has

assisted to confirm this assertion by Johns (ibid) where the Domboramwari community Is

concerned.

Authorities have however been quick to advise caution when dealing with investment in education

especially investment by donors. Hollock (1990) states that external quantitative aid alone will never

be able to develop or maintain a country’s education system but can exert a tremendous cataclysmic

effect through institution building. Schaeffer (1991) agrees, adding that aid in education can

sometimes, “exacerbate rather than resolve” the problems in the education of any country or region.

Not much has been written about the negative impact on donor aid in education especially in the

marginalised areas. This study will examine the education system at Domboramwari high School

and find out the extent to which it has been negatively affected by donor aid.
Rugunyamheto (1986: 20) observes some serious flaws in aid provision to African countries and

comments that, “if aid will continue in the form it has been to education, in the form that it is to our

countries, we can forget about it, we have to change the format”. This was in reference to the current

situation where the donor gives out aid to passive recipients who never get involved in the project

formulation or implementation. This scenario is prevalent in Zimbabwean rural schools and is very

much evident at Domboramwari Secondary School.

DONOR PARTICIPATION IN ZIMBABWEAN EDUCATION

Having discussed the authorities views on aid and aid in education, it now becomes necessary to look

at how donor aid has been distributed to developing countries in the past. This information is

necessary as it will help to ultimately show how donors have helped to develop marginalised schools

such as Domboramwari high School. The World Bank report (1988: 17) states that, “the total of all

categories of external aid to African education and training in the early 1980s was about US$1,0

billion annually. The report proceeds to state that government expenditure accounted for fourteen

percent of the total spending on education between 1975 and 1980 in Sudan, thirty one percent in

Zimbabwe and fifty three percent in Ghana . According to the report , the rest of the funds for

education come from non governmental organizations .The implication for Zimbabwe therefore is

that seventy nine percent of the funds for Zimbabwean education in 1980 were provided by the NGO

sector as humanitarian aid .

The above figures however need to be treated with caution because as Fuller (1986) notes ,other

sources of funding such as tuition fees ,company donations and general taxes have continued to

support Zimbabwe ”s education sector even though their contribution has not been properly

quantified .Within Zimbabwe itself ,humanitarian aid participation has been very significant .The

secretary for education”s annual report (1985;29) states that ‘donor funds from USAID and SIDA
accounted for 27.2 percent of education provision for the 1985/86 public sector investment

programme’. This figure is quite significant especially if one considers that it is for only two

humanitarian organisations .The secretary also acknowledged the donor participation in education

(1994) highlighting the fact that the regions with shortages of accommodation for teachers need to

receive more donor driven projects as they were faced with mass staff exodus of trained teachers.

The UNDP Human development report (1988;33) highlights the serious inability of the Zimbabwean

government to stimulate educational development in Zimbabwe noting that between 1985 and 1995

, government’s spending grew by 2.1 % in the education sector while enrolment grew by 1.7%

annually. However it must be noted that in 2009 the education transition fund was launched in a bid

to revive the education sector which was in disarray due to economic problems. This was a multi

donor funded program which made a step towards the provision of learning materials to schools

mostly UNICEF funded textbooks up to 2011.

CONCLUSION

The situation described above clearly highlights the need for donor participation in Zimbabweean

education sector. It is imperative that studies aimed at finding out the most effective ways in which

humanitarian aid can be availed ,utilized and distributed be carried out regularly and be accorded

attention at its highest level so that they benefit the education sector.