MIDLANDS STATE UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENT STUDIES
SURNAME NAME REG NUMBER MODE OF ENTRY

BUMHIRA YEUKAI R165852W CON

CHIGWANA MOREBLESSSING R164356Z CON
CHOKUMANYARA KUDZAI JOSEPH R165519W CON
MAKAURE LAWRENCE KUDAKWASHE R165737T CON
MARUFU ARTWELL R163702V CON
MASHAVA LIBERTY R166975H CON
MUSUNGATI MIRIAM R166880Y CON
NYAMUKAPA TAPIWANASHE R163641J CON
NYANGU PRISCILLA R163986B CON
SONGOLA LEONA FLORENCE R167555F CON
ZINDOVE MONALISA R168171Y CON

MODULE: DEMOGRAPHY, MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT

(DSH 212)

LEVEL: 2.1

LECTURER: MR MUNHANDE
African economies are characterised by are dual economy where the rural areas are
predominantly traditional and urban areas are modern. Rural areas and urban areas are also
developed unequally. The reason behind the existence of unequal development between
urban region and rural region in contemporary Africa can best be understood in the context of
political, social, economic and environmental domains. These include concentration of
economic activities in urban areas, poor infrastructure mainly in rural areas, urban bias,
spatial distribution of population, rural-urban migration, intensification of conflict especially
in rural areas, the ignorance and resistance amongst most inhabitants in the rural areas, lack
of political will, disparities in the learning sector and poor land utilisation. Therefore the
forthcoming essay serves to argue the reasons for the existence of unequal development
between urban region and rural region in contemporary Africa.

To commence with, spatial distribution of population is a cause of the existence of unequal

development between urban region and rural region in contemporary Africa. In most
countries in Africa the urban regions contains a larger population as compared to the rural
region which has low population. A larger population means that there are more skills and
abilities, innovative people and there is the availability of labour to facilitate various
developmental projects. This means that the urban areas with high populations become more
developed than the rural areas which contain low populations. According Esther Boserup,
‘necessity is the mother of invention’ which means that as the population grows and expands
in urban areas at a high rate as compared to rural areas, people in urban areas come up with
new developmental ideas to help them cope with the high population. In the urban areas
labour is readily available and in high members to facilitate any developmental ideas for
example infrastructural development as compared to rural areas where due to low population,
there might be labour shortages to embark on massive infrastructural development. Thus one
can allude that the spatial distribution of is to account for the existence of unequal
development between urban and rural region in contemporary Africa.

In addition, rural-urban migration is also another reason for the existence of unequal
development between urban and rural regions. It has been seen as one of the mechanism that
has added to the development facing the plethora of developing countries due to the fact of
brain and brawn drain. It has been held that rural-urban migration of skilled and the educated
from the rural areas deprived those areas of human capital needed for economic development.
Sustained growth and development will for a long time remain elusive in the rural areas until
they (rural areas) succeed in building, retraining and nurturing the human capital needed for
grooming the area. Also rural to urban migration tends to deplete labour force as it is the able
bodied young men who usually move. It is instructive to note that rural areas are the
predominant food production sector. For example it has been articulated that about 90% of
Nigeria’s food is produced by small scale farmers residing in rural areas. With no substitution
of capital in place of the displaced labour, agricultural productivity tends to fall in the source
region and thus worsening the already fractural rural sector. Therefore this can reveal the fact
that rural-urban migration undermined development in rural areas since those skilled,
educated and able men will then develop urban areas leaving ghost villages in their
communities.
The existence of unequal development between urban region and rural region in
contemporary Africa is because of ignorance and resistance amongst most inhabitants in rural
communities. In some areas, rural ignorance and resistance to participate in development
projects can undermine the rate at which development takes place in that area unlike their
counterparts in urban regions whereby most of people will be willing to undertake those
projects. In most instances, rural regions in Africa are associated with beliefs and cultural
norms; a very good example is that of the Doma people in Mashonaland who isolate
themselves from other ordinary people due to their traditional ideologies. This can affect the
work of development projects therefore development will be channelled to urban areas where
most people are vexed with modern day practises. A very good example is that of the
Marange church who exclude themselves from social services such as health, formal
education henceforth limiting development to areas that are inhabited by those people
especially in rural areas.

Furthermore, lack of political will is also an explanation for the existence of unequal
development between urban region and rural region in contemporary Africa. Those with
political power are sometimes responsible for the backwardness and poor servicing of some
parts of the countries they govern, and this is due to the fact that they lack the will to develop
those areas. This is a common feature in most African countries whereby most politicians
including heads of states abuse public funds for their own personal gain leading to them
neglecting some areas in terms of development. For example, most MPs in Zimbabwe
especially those representing rural areas have been reportedly accused of not developing the
constituencies they represent as they are abusing the responsible funds to pursue their
personal interest. In some countries like South Sudan the governments are busy prioritizing
the purchasing and investment in the military rather than development. This has contributed
greatly in widening the unequal development between the urban region and rural region.
Thus, one can argue that the lack of political will is also responsible for the unequal
development between urban region and rural region in contemporary Africa.

The existence of unequal development between the urban region and rural region in
contemporary Africa is as a result of disparities in education levels between urban and rural
areas. Education is important for human development, so if the quality of education is
compromised, it means that the level of development of both humans and society is
undermined. In sub-Saharan Africa for example South Africa, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe
and Lesotho, rural schools have less qualified teachers and there are not enough teachers for
the number of children enrolled in schools. Whereas in urban areas, it is the opposite case,
urban schools have qualified teachers and there are enough teachers for the number of
children enrolled in schools. The school infrastructure in rural areas is poor; it is not
conducive for productive and effective learning. This results in a learning gap between the
rural and urban school children for instance in Tanzania according to Africa learning
Barometer 10% of rural children are not learning compared to 4% in urban areas. Poor
quality education in rural areas will only continue to perpetuate long term poverty whereas
high quality education in urban areas will lead to greater prospects in employment and
innovation which will help to improve the standards of living thus leading to development.
Therefore, one can observe that disparities in education between these two regions are
resulting in the existence of unequal development between the two. Disparities in education
between the rural and urban areas are a vicious cycle that African countries must work to
solve.

More so, one of the factor which is responsible for exacerbating the gap between urban and
rural region in terms of development in contemporary Africa is intensification or
concentration of conflict mostly in rural areas. In most African war ton areas, wars are
concentrated in rural areas mostly than urban areas, in this instance most rural areas are
affected negatively in terms of development due to wars and conflict. In African countries
like Nigeria religious conflicts between Christians and Muslims mostly affects northern
Nigeria which is already poor. The people in northern Nigeria are vulnerable and they are
further affected by this religious conflict. As a result, this causes the gap between northern
and southern Nigeria in terms of development. Since the northern part of Nigeria is mostly
affected by conflicts, it is less developed as compared to the southern part.

Poor land utilisation in rural areas is another factor that is contributing to the creation of a
gap between urban and rural regions in terms of development. Rural areas are regarded as
stock of raw materials and it is estimated that roughly 80% of the continent’s poor people live
in rural areas and are expected to conduct productive agriculture according to research corned
out by NEPAD. People own large pieces of land that is undercapitalised or sometimes not
even used at all, this partly because they are either not educated on what to do with the land
or some are just stuck in their rudimentary ways of production. It can also be argued that in
rural region are mainly concentrated in subsistence farming(food for family consumption) on
large piece of land instead of commercial farming that could improve their standards of living
creation of employment, infrastructure development, provision of income and this may
promote development in the rural region. Unequal development between the rural and urban
region is as a result of how land is used in both regions, for instance in urban regions it is
being used for profit maximization whether through residential, commercial, industrial and
recreation or food production this has contributed positively to the projects of development,
as compared to rural areas where land has not been optimally utilised because of challenges
such as climate conditions, conflicts that discourage stable settlement needed for agricultural
development as well as policy weakness such as low agricultural financing and land reform
which was introduced in some parts of Africa like Namibia, Zimbabwe and south Africa and
have negatively impact on sustainable agricultural development. Therefore one may argue
that the way in which land is being utilised in urban region, development has been achieved
while in rural areas it has just remained as a pipe dream because of certain challenges and this
has created unequal development between urban and rural region in contemporary Africa.

The other crucial factor that accounts for the unequal development between rural and urban
areas is the large inequalities in income. The urban populace generally earns more because
they have jobs in the skilled labour sector. Thus can afford better standards of living and can
even access social services faster and more efficiently. Urban dwellers are able to achieve
human development at a faster pace as they have the means and resources to develop
themselves. According to the population reference bureau, urban dwellers usually fare better
than their rural counterparts, young people are more likely to stay in school longer, and infant
mortality is generally low. All these above factors are essential for development according to
the human development index. Thus one can note that disparities in development between
rural and urban areas can be alluded to the differences in income.

Another reason why there exist unequal development between the rural and the urban regions
is the urban bias within countries. This is evident when development programs are mostly
implemented in the urban areas than in rural areas. This also involves the isolation/ alienation
of the rural part from the development projects that will be implemented in urban areas. In
countries like Nigeria the government is biased towards the southern part which is more
developed, has good standards of living as compared to the northern part that is
underdeveloped. This is one of the reasons why there are conflicts and terrorist groups
because the urban part is always favoured at the expense of the rural region. Even comparing
the infrastructure in the urban and rural like the roads, hospitals and type of buildings there is
a big difference. This is why there is poor infrastructure and poor social services in the rural
areas due to urban bias.

Furthermore, the existence of unequal development between urban and rural region is also
due to poor infrastructure in rural areas as compared to urban areas. Infrastructure is basic
essential services that should be put in place to enable development to occur. In rural areas,
the infrastructure is poor for instance the hospitals, roads, and schools are poorly developed
unlike in urban areas where schools and roads are renovated time and again. Many people in
rural areas rely on agriculture but because of poor roads they are negatively affected as they
are unable to transport their produce to and from the markets hence causing low standards of
living to those to those who reside in rural areas as compared to urban areas where standards
of living is high due to high quality education in school, adequate supply of medical facilities
and quick attention, roads are well tarred and transport is easily accessible. For instance in
Mozambique there is public spending have been geared mainly in urban areas towards the
provision of infrastructure and social services while same as in rural areas are limited because
of low density and limited capacities, fewer opportunities of jobs and earning cash. Thus poor
infrastructure in rural areas is the cause of the existence of unequal development between the
urban and rural region.

Furthermore, areas of specialisation or concentration of economic activities significantly

contribute to the existence of unequal development in urban regions and rural regions in
contemporary Africa. This is alluded to by the concentration on agriculture more in rural
areas whilst industrialisation is taking place in the urban region. This has seen the flocking of
more people from the rural areas in search for more employment opportunities and technical
innovation brought by industrialisation which is concentrated in the urban regions. In the
same respect agriculture has relatively suffered from negligence by the economically active
persons who provide labour resources. As Meier (1989) puts it ‘agriculture must be viewed
not merely as a source of surplus to support industrialisation, but also as a dynamic source of
growth, employment and better distribution of income, so as to achieve a certain level of
development which is currently being experienced in the urban regions. Thus these specific
distinctions in the areas of specialisation economic wise have greatly widened the gap in
development between urban regions and rural regions.
In conclusion, there are many reasons that are responsible for the existence of unequal
development between the urban and rural region. These include the concentration of
economic activities in urban areas, spatial distribution of population, urban bias, disparities in
education between the two regions, lack of political will, intensification of conflict in rural
areas, poor infrastructure amongst others. These reasons can be understood in social,
economic and political spheres as explained above.
Reference list

M. Gerald.1989.Leading Issues in Economic Development, Fifth Edition. New York:Oxford

University Press.