rural development 1

Name of the student:                        Mziwamadoda Pongolo

Course:                                                Development Studies Honors

Course Code:                                      Dev 514

Assignment Question:   It is evident that Rural Development initiative always starts with outsiders. Explain how the poor can benefit from outsider’s intervention?

Student Number:                              200503324

Lecturer:                                                                                              Professor Aminur Rahim

Due Date:                                                                                          23 March 2012

Question one

I think it would be a fair thing to do if I start by defining what we mean by Rural Development, because Rural Development is understood differently by individual communities. To explain this point further, rural communities in the developed world are different to the rural communities in the developing world, rural communities in South Africa are different to rural communities in Zambia, rural communities in Gauteng Province are different to rural communities in the Eastern Cape Province and therefore the understanding of Rural Development by these communities will surely be different. According to the World Bank Document of 1975, “Rural Development is a strategy designed to improve the economic and social life of a specific group of people, the rural poor. It involves extending the benefits of development to the poorest among those who seek a livelihood in the rural areas. The group includes women, children, small scale farmers, tenants and landless” (World Bank: 1975]).  Rural Development in the sense of this definition is understood as the most effective strategy for alleviating poverty by introducing policies that will enhance and better the conditions of the poor and weak.

In simple terms Rural Development is devising ways and means of addressing underdevelopment in rural communities; it is about rural transformation by means of agriculture and industry, as people being an important component of this transformation process. Now, it is necessary to understand that when we begin to speak about people as an important factor in this transformation process; people are categorized by the virtue of their class, status and education. This understanding of people brings us to a point of view that people are not the same and their influence on policy making is not the same either. Then the question should be, who are the people involved in Rural Development?

In Rural Development we have two important groups of people who have the power to make Rural Development possible and real, and those people are the “insiders” and the “outsiders”. The insiders are the people living in poor communities, people that need development, people whose influence in shaping the policies of the government is very poor. These people can be men, women, and children of poor education, weak, isolated, powerless, vulnerable and disorganized group living in rural underdeveloped communities. The outsiders are the opposite of the insiders, people living a life that is favorable and fruitful. These people are categorized by their good education, the strength of organizing themselves, strong and powerful economically and politically. These people can be politicians, business experts, academics, religious leaders, which we normally refer to them as an elite group.

These are two important groups of people that are involved in Rural Development. And without these two groups of people Rural Development is in vain or unfeasible. But now, the crucial part about this relationship between the insiders and the outsiders is the question by Chambers that, “whose priorities and who sets the priorities” (Chambers 1983: 141)? What is causing the dilemma in rural development is the fact that the initiatives are not taken by the insiders but the outsiders, the insiders are unable to represent themselves because they are weak, with little knowledge of modern technology. Very often, when the outsiders come to this project they always come having selfish interests of exploiting the insiders, using their political power, economic power, and social status at the detriment of the poor. Naturally, a stronger person has to assist and guide the weaker person, in the context of Rural Development this is what is called “The Paternal Trap”, the attitude of looking at the outsiders as providers to the project rather than looking at them as partners. if these two people have to work together, now the question that will arise, from who’s perspective? This is the basic and important question that people have to ask in Rural Development. This question becomes the common ground on which these two parties can begin working together. Based on this common ground we begin to think of ways of intervention, participative ways of working out a plan that can eventually resolve the poor circumstances of the insiders.  

The popular approach in Rural Development has been that of top-down approach. By this I mean, outsiders dictate upon the insiders in what   

   

  

sources of scientific and non scientific knowledge

Name of the student:                        Mziwamadoda Pongolo

Student Number:                              200503324

Course:                                                Development studies

Course Code:                                      Dev 511

Assignment Question:   What are major non scientific sources of knowledge?  Why science is a superior of knowledge? Explain.

Lecturer:                                               Professor Aminur Rahim

Due Date:                                              March 2012

Introduction

There are four major sources of non scientific   knowledge and these are based on intuition, common sense, authority, and tradition. These four are based on personal judgments, opinions, and mystification of reality. There is however no single definition of knowledge at present nor any prospect of one and there remains numerous theories as to what knowledge is. Below is a detailed discussion of the major non scientific sources of knowledge.

 Intuition

According to Shepard (2002), intuition is quick and ready insight that is not based on rational thought. To intuit is to have the feeling of immediately understanding something because of insight from an unknown inner source. For example, the decision against dating a particular person because it feels wrong is a decision based on intuition (Shepard, 2002: 38). Intuition is based on personal judgment, which might take place when one understands something because of insight from an inner source. Therefore intuition is not based on rational thought in that something that is based on rationality and logic is something that is objective and verifiable.

Common sense

According to Shepard (2002), common sense refers to opinions that are widely held because they seem so obviously correct, though in most cases they are often wrong (Shepard 2002: 39). Common sense leads to common error of human inquiry called overgeneralization. Researchers often over generalize if they are carrying out a research and they get under pressure, they ask people at random and if they seem to be getting the same results it becomes obvious that even the people they have not interviewed or asked will give them the same results and ideas based on this type of research are often wrong.

 Authority

 Authority is someone who is supposed to have special knowledge that other people do not have. A king who is believed to be ruling by divine right is an example of an authority. Reliance on authority is often appropriate because people tend to believe something from someone with authority than made up information. Nevertheless, Williamson (1999) as cited in Shepard (2002) is reflecting the other side of the authority, he says that, “in other instances, however, authority can obscure the truth. Astrologers who advise people to guide their lives by the stars are an example of a misleading authority (B. Williamson, 1999) as cited in (Shepard 2002:39). Inquiry can also be hindered when we depend on the authority of experts speaking outside their realm. Once more this kind of an approach in generating knowledge is very dangerous because it is biased and skewed in nature; therefore it disqualifies it from being considered as a scientific source of knowledge. An example of authority is that it may be more appropriate to accept a doctor’s diagnosis of an illness because sometimes people believe in the expertise of someone who has been trained and has special credentials in a given matter especially in the face of a controversy.

 Tradition        

Defining tradition one would say, it is a ritual or belief passed down within a society or from this generation to the other, still maintained in the present with origins in the past. Tradition is rigid, it does not change over the years nor can context change it as opposed to what happens to culture. Shepard (2002) sees tradition as a forth major non-scientific source of knowledge; in referring to Sifford(1989) he argues that, “despite the evidence to the contrary, it is traditional to believe that an only child will be self –centered and socially inept. In fact, most Americans still wish to have two or more children to avoid these alleged personality traits (Sifford, 1989) as cited in Shepard (Shepard 2002: 39)”. People believing in tradition are often detained by tradition because tradition in a person enjoys the status of not being subjected to criticism and disparagement; they consider tradition as a flawless concept. As a result of this idea many people fall victim to it in the name of tradition. Another argument would be that of a religion in a traditional belief that a particular family upholds, most chances are that a child raised in that environment would become as such. The paradox here is that, this child did not choose to become a Christian or  Muslim or Hindu, his or her family tradition indirectly so chose it for him or her, perhaps depriving the child the opportunity of exploring and deciding for himself what he or she wants to become in his or her life. This kind of an approach cannot be considered as a scientific source of knowledge due to the fact that it lacks objectivity in particular, objectivity has provisions of freedom in its being. The positive look at tradition would be, tradition can be of advantage in that it provides with it a jumping off point for the development of more knowledge because the researchers will not start from scratch by believing what everybody knows and this gives them fertile grounds to start their research. At the same time tradition provides with it errors in human inquiry in that if a researcher comes and tries to change what everybody knows he is labeled a fool for his or her efforts of trying to make people aware. Both tradition and authority are a good combination in that they provide with them a starting point for human inquiry but they can lead one to start at the wrong point and go the wrong route.

In the below paragraphs we shall focus our explanation to what we consider a scientific sources of knowledge. We shall look at objectivity, subjectivity, and verifiability as aspects that make possible for researchers to construct scientific knowledge. Science is referred to as a superior or advanced or of better quality in terms of acquiring knowledge because it is systematic in approach. In constructing a scientific knowledge one has to take seriously the importance of observation, experiment, reason or logic and theory as understood in scientific study. The four models form the foundation of scientific study, but there are three apparatus that are used in science to justify the nobility of scientific study. The objectivity, subjectivity, and verifiability are the most important terms in scientific study, if they are not the heart of it.

Objectivity   

When we speak of objectivity we refer to non partisanship, factuality, fairness; an objective study offers a comprehensive range of perceptions in studying something. For example if a researcher wants to know why woman in a particular village do prostitution, he or she must avoid having preconceived ideas about a group of people he or she wishes to study .The researcher needs to declass him or herself when doing research so that to avoid personal errors of human inquiry as mentioned by (Babbie,2007:40) and these are inaccurate observation ,overgeneralization, selective observation ,made up information, illogical reasoning and ego involvement in understanding scientific study. Shepard (2002) argues that, according to the principle of objectivity, scientists are expected to prevent their personal biases from influencing the interpretation of their results. A male, antifeminist biologist investigating aptitudes, for example, is supposed to guard against any unwarranted tendency to conclude that males make better scientists than females (Shepard 2002: 40)’. 

Subjectivity

Naturally science cannot be utterly objective, scientific study is conducted by natural beings human in particular and human beings are filled with errors; therefore it is bound to show some elements of biasness in it. According to Shepard, (2002) “but if subjectivity cannot be eliminated, it can be reduced. If researchers are aware of their biases, they can consciously take them into account (Shepard 2002: 40)”. For the researcher to personally recognize and acknowledge his or her biases he or she is helping to make his or her research outcome objective; in a sense you have explicitly stated your weakness to make it easier for those who will be exposed to your report to see the objectivity of your research outcome. Scientists are prone to make mistakes because they are not perfect. Since subjectivity cannot be eliminated it can be reduced, if researchers are aware of their biases they can consciously take them to account. Personal recognition of biases is insufficient; hence public exposure of them is essential. This approach can also make the research work of a researcher to be more balanced and reliable in explaining social reality.

Verifiability

Verifiability means if something is capable of being verified. One has to be certain that the outcome of the research undertaken is confirmable, provable, checkable, sustainable, and empirical. Shepard (2002) as cited in Begley (1997) argues that, ‘verifiability means that a study can be repeated by other scientists. This is possible because scientists report in detail their research methods. Verifiability is important because it exposes scientific work to critical analysis, retesting, and revision by colleagues. If researchers repeating a study produce results at odds with the original study, the original findings will be questioned. Under these circumstances, erroneous theories, findings, and conclusions will not survive (Begley, 1997), as cited in (Shepard 2002: 40)’. Based on is stated above it is now clear that verifiability is one of the most important tools in the process of producing scientific knowledge. 

Conclusion

 However, non scientific knowledge cannot be written off because there are people that rely on this source if they have to know about something. We take for example poor people, they always speculate on something to a point of believing that is their truth; it is scientific study that should give direction to this chaos by employing scientific tools of constructing knowledge to better those that are exposed to non scientific sources of knowledge

Bibliography    

·         Jim Shepard. 2002. Sociology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth: Thomson Learning, pp. 38-59.

·         Babbie. 2007. The Practice of Social Research. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing company, 11^th Ed, pp.39-64.

quantitative and qualitative methods

Name of the student:                        Mziwamadoda Pongolo

Course:                                                Development Studies Honors

Course Code:                                      Dev 511

Assignment Question:   What are the advantages and disadvantages of qualitative and quantitative methods? Which one would you prefer for your research purpose?

Student Number:                              200503324

Lecturer:                                                                                              Professor Aminur Rahim

Due Date:                                                                                             09 May 2012

Introduction

In the field of scientific research there are two methods that make scientific study possible, which are qualitative and quantitative research methods. These two methods of doing research are equally important depending on the type of research a researcher wishes to undertake. This paper will give a brief background of, qualitative and quantitative methods with a special emphasis to sampling and data collection, recruitment of the people to take part in the research study, the ethical guidelines to be observed while undertaking the research study, the merits and the demerits of both, and lastly state which methods I would prefer for my research purpose which will be the conclusion for the paper.

Qualitative research background

Qualitative research is a type of a scientific research, in general terms scientific research consists of an investigation that seeks to answer to a question. Systematically it uses a predefined set of procedures to answer the question by collecting evidence that will ultimately produce the findings that were not determined in advance. And these findings that are produced by scientific research are applicable beyond the immediate boundaries of the scientific study. Qualitative research shares these qualities however, it seeks to understand a given research problem or topic from the perspectives of the local population it involves. Qualitative research is especially of use in obtaining culturally specific information about the values, opinions, behaviors, and social contexts of a particular population. The strength of the qualitative research is its ability to provide complex textual descriptions of how people experience a given research issue. It provides information about the human side of an issue, that is, the contradictory behaviors, beliefs, opinions, emotions, and relationships of individuals. Qualitative methods are also effective in identifying intangible factors, such as social norms, socio-economic status, gender roles, ethnicity, and religion whose role in the research issue may not be readily apparent. Although findings from the qualitative data can often be extended to people with characteristics similar to those in the study population, gaining a rich and complex understanding of a specific social context or phenomenon typically takes precedence over eliciting data that can be generalized to other geographical areas and populations. In this sense, qualitative research differs slightly from scientific research in general. What is important at this point is the explication of qualitative research in a method that will enable the fundamental understanding of qualitative research.

There are three most common qualitative methods used in collecting data in qualitative research method namely; is participant observation which is appropriate for collecting data on naturally occurring behaviors in their usual contexts. The in-depth interviews are optimal for collecting data on individual’s personal histories, perspectives, and experiences, particularly when sensitive topics are being explored. Lastly, the focus groups are effective in eliciting data on the cultural norms of a group and in generating broad overviews of issues of concern to the cultural groups or subgroups represented. The type of data these three methods generate are field notes, audio, and sometimes video recordings, and transcripts.

Generally, qualitative method seeks to explore phenomena with an analytical objective to describe the variation, to describe and explain the relationships, to describe the individual experiences, and group norms. The format of questioning used in qualitative research is an open ended as opposed to the qualitative research method. The study design employed in qualitative method is a flexible. For example, the addition, exclusion, or wording of particular interview questions, in qualitative method participant responses affects how and which questions researchers ask next. Lastly, the study design is iterative, that is, data collection and research questions are adjusted according to what is learned.

According to Mack, Woodsong, MacQueen, Guest, and Namey. (2005) ‘one advantage of qualitative methods in exploratory research is that use of open ended questions and probing gives participants the opportunity to respond in their own words, rather than forcing them to choose from fixed responses, as quantitative methods do. Open ended questions have the ability to evoke responses that are meaningful and culturally salient to the participant, unanticipated by the researcher, and rich and exploratory in nature. Another advantage of the qualitative methods is that they allow the researcher the flexibility to probe initial participant responses, that is, to ask why or how. The researcher must listen carefully to what participants say, engage with them according to their individual personalities and styles, and use probes to encourage them to elaborate on their answers (Mack, Woodsong, MacQueen, Guest, and Namey: 2005)’. In addition to that, with qualitative methods, the relationship between the researcher and the participant is often less formal than in quantitative research. With open ended questions, participants are free to respond in their own words, and these responses tend to be more complex than simply yes or no.

Quantitative research background

Quantitative research is a numerical representation and manipulation of observations for the purpose of describing and explaining the phenomena that those observations reflect. It is used in a wide variety of natural and social sciences, including physics, biology, psychology, sociology, and geology (Wikipedia Encyclopedia, 2005).  Again, according to Bamberger (2000), quantitative research is defined as social research that employs empirical statements. Bamberger states that an empirical statement is defined as a descriptive statement about what is the case in the real world rather than what ought to be the case. Typically in quantitative methods of doing research, empirical statements are expressed in numerical terms and empirical evaluations are applied. In simple terms, quantitative research is a type of research that is explaining phenomena by collecting data that are analyzed using mathematically based methods in particular statistics. When Shepard (2002) is explaining a research problem in the context of causation, he speaks of variables that relate to causation. When we speak of variables we speak of a characteristic such as age, education, social class that is subjected to change, and it occurs in different varying degrees. According to Shepard (2002), ‘Each of these is quantitative variable, a variable that can be measured and given a numerical value. Because differences can be measured numerically, individuals, groups, objects, or events can be pinpointed at some specific point along a continuum (Shepard 2002: 42)’.  

In quantitative method we collect numerical data in explaining a particular phenomenon, therefore in order to be able to use mathematically based methods our data has to be in numerical form. Many data that do not naturally appear in quantitative form can be collected in a quantitative way by means of designing research instruments aimed specifically at converting phenomena that don’t naturally exist in quantitative form into quantitative data which could be analyzed statistically. An example to this would be attitudes and beliefs; if a researcher wants to collect data on student’s attitude to their school and their teachers. These attitudes evidently do not exist in quantitative form; however, the researcher can develop a questionnaire that asks pupil to rate a number of statements for example ‘I think school is boring’ as either agree strongly, agree, disagree, or disagree strongly and give an answer a number (e.g. 1 for disagree strongly and 4 for agree strongly).

This is to show how to collect quantitative data in phenomena like attitude and others similar to it using data collection instruments like questionnaires and tests. It is important to note that all phenomena are best studied using quantitative methods, while quantitative methods has some notably advantages it has disadvantages as well. Quantitative research is factual and very scientific; it focuses on measuring social reality and quantitative researchers view the world as reality that can be objectively determined, so rigid guides in the process of data collection and analysis are very important. Though the paper do not give much detail about quantitative research methods, however, it is essential to state that there are different types of quantitative research methods. It can be classified as survey research, correlational research, experimental research, causal-comparative research. Quantitative methods of doing research are useful for conducting audience segmentation; it is done by dividing the population into groups whose members are similar to each other and distinct from other groups. When used in this context it can serve as a follow-up step to a qualitative study to quantify results obtained in a qualitative study and to verify data obtained from qualitative study. Quantitative research method is also useful to quantify opinions, attitudes, and behaviors and find out how the whole population feels. While quantitative methods are good at answering some of the questions, there are other types of questions that are not well suited to quantitative methods.

The situation where quantitative will fail is when a researcher wants to explore a problem in depth. Quantitative research is good at providing information in breadth from a large number of units, but when a researcher wants to a problem or a concept in depth, quantitative methods are too shallow. To get really under the skin of a phenomenon, the researcher needs to go for ethnographic methods, interviews, in-depth case studies and other qualitative techniques. Furthermore, quantitative research method is well suited in testing of theories and hypotheses, but it is a challenge for the quantitative method to develop hypotheses and theories. Quantitative are also good at looking at the cause and effect (causality) while on the other hand qualitative method is more suited to looking at the meaning of particular events or circumstances.   

Sampling

In qualitative research

In qualitative research, only a sample of a population is selected for any given study, the study’s research objectives and characteristics of the study population such as size and diversity determine which and how many people to select. In simple terms, in qualitative research we assess variables, sex, marital status, and group membership are three qualitative variables often used by social scientists. The paradigm that is used by qualitative researchers is inductive paradigm, it is broad and open ended in nature, and it is sometimes called a bottom-up approach. There are three sampling methods used in qualitative research, scientists use purposive sampling, quota sampling, and snowball sampling, of course each has a different approach to the other.

In quantitative research

In quantitative research as opposed to qualitative, we measure variables, we measure various concepts. Sampling in quantitative research is done by means of survey research, by survey research we mean the systematic way of gathering information from respondents for the purpose of understanding and predicting some aspects of behavior of the population of interest. The model that is often used in quantitative method is the deductive model which confirms hypothesis and theory, it works from the general to the specific and is also called a top-down approach. The survey research in quantitative is concerned with sampling, questionnaire design, questionnaire administration, and data analysis. There are of course different types of surveys that are used in doing survey research such as, in-person interviews, telephone interviews, omnibus survey, self-administered questionnaire, and common misconceptions.

Recruitment

Recruitment in both qualitative and quantitative methods, the local principal investigator and either a qualitative or a quantitative research team members work together, in close consultation with community leaders and community members in official or unofficial authority positions to develop a plan to identify and recruit the potential participants for each site.

Ethical guidelines

Ethical guideline in doing research is of great importance in a sense; it serves as a warning to researchers to be honest and accountable. The ethical guide in doing scientific research encourages careful preparation, even if you are going to the field only for a week it is worthwhile learning about wherever it is you are going, be it contemporary politics, significant figures, revolutionaries, and so forth. It would be an ethical consciousness if for example, you are preparing for more extensive fieldwork, and then it is worthwhile delving into the past literature of the country or area. According to Potter (2006), ‘An ethical researcher should, in addition to being mindful of the standard twin goals of validity and reliability, be context sensitive, honest and up front about her/his own interests and how they face the research and the kinds of relationships s/he has with members of the researched community (Potter 2006: 28)’. Most notably in doing ethical research, thinking about ethics involves a heavy reliance on the idea of ought; what ought we to do when carrying out research or research writing.

Conclusion

However, there are basic differences between quantitative and qualitative research methods, and they differ primarily in their analytical objectives, the types of questions they pose, the types of data collection instruments they use, the form of data they produce, and the degree of flexibility built into the study design. When one looks at the merits and demerits of both qualitative and quantitative, one realizes that each methodology is complementing the other because the loop hole that are left by the quantitative method, when done simultaneously, qualitative closes them. When these methodologies are applied together one clean after the other, and therefore making it the effective combination in undertaking an empirical research study. Since I am planning to take up the question of Land Reform in South Africa as the rationale behind my study I therefore think that qualitative method would be more appropriate, however it might be possible that I integrate qualitative and quantitative methods because there would be numerical data that will be used in collecting information for the intended study.

According to Bamberger  (2000), ‘while some studies rely exclusively on quantitative methods for sampling, data collection, and data analysis, and others rely exclusively on qualitative methods, many studies mix and match statistical sampling techniques, qualitative data collection, and statistical analysis from qualitative and quantitative data collection (Bamberger 2000: 9)’. When qualitative method is used along the quantitative method the combination has a potential of consolidating the intended study, so to say, by closing the gaps and loop holes that might be when only qualitative is used. The combination of the two methods of collecting data can help us to interpret and better understand the complex reality of a given situation and the implications of quantitative data. The combination of quantitative and qualitative could create a very good and effective research study if the researcher wants to look at both breadth and depth, at both causality and meaning. Hence the concept of mixed method design, the flexible approach came into the picture; where both qualitative and quantitative share the same status.  

Bibliography

Bamberger , Michael. 2000. “Opportunities and Challenges for intergrating quantitative and qualitative Research”. In Intergrating Quantitative and Qualitative Research ed. M. Bamberger, pp. 3-26. Washington D.C.:World bank.

Mack, Woodsong, MacQueen, Guest, and Namey. 2005. Qualitative Research Methods: A Data Collector’s Field Guide. North Carolina: Family Health International.

Jim Shepard. 2002. Sociology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth: Thomson Learning, pp.38-59.

D. Potter, V. Desai. od. 2006. Doing Development Research, London: pp. 27-33.

sustainable development in africa

Table of contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………..1

1.1   Explanation of concepts……………………………………………2-3

1.2   Problem………………………………………………………………4

1.3 Objective………………………………………………………………5

1.4 Main discussion………………………………………………………5-8

1.4.1Sustainable development as an alternative framework to African development……………………………………………………………….5

1.4.2 Relevance of sustainable development to African development………………………………………………………………6-7

1.4.3 Critique of sustainable development to basic needs approach………………………………………………………………….7-8

Critism of sustainable development……………………………………10-11

1.5 Conclusion……………………………………………………………9

1.6 Way forward………………………………………………………….9-10

1.7Bibliography………………………………………………………….11

INTRODUCTION

Sustainable development qualifies to be an alternative framework to African development because after the wounds of slavery, colonialism and false paradigms which led to chronic environmental socio economic cancer Africa really need to recover by using sustainable development .Sustainable development is the best prescription because it addresses social economic and environmental factors in a balanced manner. What then is sustainable development? According to the World Commission on Environment and Development 1987 report, entitled Our Common Future (The Brundtland Report), sustainable development is defined as development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. (Beckenstein et al, 1996:9.).Although this is one of the most agreed upon definition it does not clearly include social economic and environmental factors. The most appropriate definition could be that of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) which emphasizes environmental, social and economic concerns as three distinct, but interrelated components of sustainable development.

(ICLEI) defined sustainable development differently as a programme which changes the process of economic development so as to ensure a basic quality of life for all people at the same time protecting the ecosystems and community systems so as to make life possible and worthwhile. (Van der Merwe & Van der Merwe, 1999:5).

Although defining sustainable development has been a debatable issue among many scholars, it is important to note that, there are three interrelated elements in most definitions. Firstly, the aim of sustainable development is optimizing social needs. In other words, sustainability in terms of social needs includes fairness in distribution and opportunity, adequate provision of social services such as health and education, social equity, political accountability and participation (Carley & Christie, 2000:197). The second element is of creating a sustainable economic system through producing goods and services on a continuous basis to maintain manageable levels of government and external debt, and to avoid extreme imbalances which damage agricultural or industrial production (Beckenstein et al, 1996:10).The third element is the environment. Environmentally sustainable system must maintain a stable resource base, avoiding over-exploitation of renewable resources and depletion of non-renewable resources only to the extent that investment is made in adequate substitutes. It includes maintenance of biodiversity, atmospheric stability, and other ecosystems. Having critically analyzed the above three elements sustainable development implies that the social, economic and environmental needs of current generation should not be biased to the future generation. Thus, human betterment on the part of any group should not come at the expense of other groups today or in the future generations (Beckenstein et al, 1996:10).

In contrary to the above, the basic needs approach was formulated by United Nations International Labor Organizations (ILO.)  in 1976.It goes beyond economic growth by considering social improvements of the poor and resource -weak groups in the society. The improvements will be done through provision of basic needs such as food and shelter Therefore to some extend basic needs approach is relevant to African development (International Labor Organizations, 1976).

Explanation of concepts

The term Sustainable Development comprises of two elements which are sustainable and Development. Development is a multifaceted concept. In the past development  of Africa was understood purely in economic terms but nowadays it is widely accepted that development is more than economic growth thus development is also about distribution, reduction of unemployment and reduction of inequity.Sustanability is the ability to endure. Sustainable and development give us the concept sustainable development. Sustainable environment must be balanced thus it must meet the enviromental, social and economic needs of the current generation without compromising the needs of future generation.

 It is important to know the meaning of needs in order to understand the definition of sustainable dvelopment.Needs are essential things which human cannot survive with. Examples of basic needs are food, shelter and clothing. The importance of basic needs are clearly demonstrated by the basic needs approach. However the sustainable development approach does not go hand in hand with this approach. As compared to sustainable development, the basic needs approach is unsustainable to Africa since development is not about basic needs only. The basic needs approach does not bring solutions to African development. Thus it does not come with solutions for poverty alleviation although it talks about it. Poverty eradication must be the topmost priority in African development In other words it is Eurocentric in the sense that it satisfies the selfish desires of Europeans economists who want market for their goods in order to boost the western economies. In other words, the basic needs approach is a false paradigm to African development. Due to the false paradigms, African development has been hindered by debt crises, underdevelopment and untenable political relations. Having noted the above crises in Africa, sustainable development can boost the African development because it guides and give directions of how Africa should move her development thus it integrates social, economic and environmental factors. Using sustainable development as an alternative framework to African development will lead to good governance, eradication of poverty, economic recovery, and good management of environmental issues and empowering of the Africans in a sustainable manner. It is important to note that sustainable development accommodates the social, economic and environmental needs of the future. This is relevant to African development because If Africa balances her social, economic and environmental issues she can abolish the dependency syndrome on foreign aid and take the destiny into her own hands.

However, in reality, balancing social, economic and environmental aspects is rarely possible. For example, provision of adequate food to deal with malnutrition and eradication of poverty require changes in land use that will decrease biodiversity. Thus to reduce malnutrition the opportunity cost of biodiversity have to be forgone. More so, African countries may want to balance the environmental goals but economically they will not be able to do that For instance using non polluting energy sources to save the environment. In most cases non-polluting energy sources are more expensive, thus increasing the burden on the poor who cannot afford. For example in Zimbabwe, Binga community is overly reliant on wood fuel. This rise to environmental problems such as deforestation thereby retarding African development.

PROBLEM

Even though Sustainable development, leads to a healthier Africa, Africa is not yet sustainable. The major problem of Africa is that it is not yet sustainable socially economically and environmentally. As a group we have realized that sustainable development is very crucial and deserve to be used as an alternative framework  to African development because it  clearly give the best prescription for Africa’s chronic environmental social economic cancer. For instance, Africa is the only region in the world where poverty has increased both in absolute and relative terms. Apart from being the poorest region in the world, Africa remains the least developed, the most technologically backward, the most indebted, the most food-insecure and the most marginalized. Furthermore, malnutrition, diseases, environmental degradation, natural resource depletion, inadequate infrastructure, unemployment and weak institutional capacities continue to negatively affect African development thereby causing sustainable development challenges for Africa. The problem arises due to lack of consensus on the aims of sustainable development and what is exactly happening in Africa. Sustainable development policies should be implemented and should also be included on the budget of African countries for African continent to be sustainable in its development. Unsustainable Africa is further worsened by African leaders .They know what to do to develop Africa sustainably but they do not put it into action. More so they are corrupt. Instead of developing Africa sustainably they are interested in looting African resources at the expense of the poor.

Despite having many policies and strategies Africa has never been sustainable in her development. For instance policies of millennium development goals and NEPAD have been implemented but the truth is there is no change in Africa. Some policies even worsen the situation of Africa. Therefore sustainable development should be implemented correctly if Africa is to come out of the ravages of poverty which she is currently in. African countries should practically take sustainable development into action not just theorizing it. Until and unless the above mentioned is done sustainable development in Africa will not be feasible.

OBJECTIVE

The major objective of this research was to contribute towards an improved understanding of sustainable development as an alternative framework to African development. In order to archive this major objective we addressed the following specific objectives:

We explained the relevance of sustainable development to African development basing on the fact that sustainable development will address Africa’s key social, economic and environmental issues in a balanced manner .More so we did this considering the fact that sustainable development because it have the vision for the future thus vision for future generation of Africa  is necessary because Africa is one of the most poorest continent, most aid dependent, indebted and marginalized in the world despite the fact that it is one of the most resource endowed continent.

We also analyzed sustainable development as a critique to basic needs approach so as to encourage Africa not to just use policies that have been successful elsewhere but to design policies that actually fit in the context of African continent. Thus in Africa sustainable development is more appropriate because it is a prescription to the chronic environmental socio economic cancer of African continent. In other words sustainable development addresses social, economic and environmental factors in a balanced manner. In other words it encourages social advancement that accommodates the needs of current generation and the future at the same time integrating economic, and environmental consideration in decision making. Most importantly we did this research to encourage Africa to come up with strategies are appropriate to Africa not just to put policies which will satisfy the selfish desires of the European countries at the expense of Africa.

Relevance of sustainable development to African development

Sustainable development is relevant to African development because it addresses many if not all of the African’s burning issues. For instance Sustainable development aims at eradicating poverty this is relevant to African development because currently, half of  about 750 million people living in Sub-Saharan Africa live on less than $1 despite billions of dollars in foreign assistance. More so, majority of people from Sub Sahara Africa lack access to clean water, sanitation, adequate nutrition, quality health care, and other life-sustaining goods (Sarchs,2005).It is important to note that, sustainable development share a common vision with millennium development goals and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) on creating a sustainable Africa through eradicating poverty . The New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) is a commitment by African leaders to the people of Africa which came into being at the summit held in Lusaka in Zambia in 2001(NEPAD Secritariat, 2004). The seventh goal of the millennium development goals also supports this. It is of the view that for environment to be sustainable, sustainable development policies should be implemented so as to reverse environmental degradation.NEPAD, sustainable development and millennium development goals all work towards the goal of driving African economies towards a sustainable growth and social economic and environmental development. To substantiate this (NEPAD) realized that sustainable development can greatly contribute to employment socio economic empowerment and poverty reduction (NEPAD Secretariat, 2004). From the above one can deduce that sustainable development is really relevant to African development (Sachs, 2005).

However, when critically analyzing this, for Africa to be economically sustainable it has to disturb the environment because Africa’s economy is based on the natural resources thus, The extractive industry and the exportation of unprocessed raw materials constitutes the mainstay of many African economies. For example, Nigeria receives more than 90% of her foreign currency come from crude oil; Sierra Leone 60% from diamonds, Zambia 80% from copper, Zimbabwe, 75% from the sale of unprocessed tobbacco.Technology used for this is environmentally unfriendly. If Africa is to develop in a sustainable manner, the continent has to reverse its dependency on extractive industry. In addition to the above, World Bank also agreed that heavy dependence on natural resources lead to resource depletion and environmental degradation. Therefore as a result of this, the economy become week thereby increasing poverty and reversing social development (World Bank, 2003).

Critique of sustainable development to the basic needs approach

Although there is a controversy on sustainable development and the basic needs approach it is important to note that, they both talk about basic needs. In addition, sustainable development and basic needs approach can be used in addressing issues of African development. However, sustainable development and basic needs approach address issue of African development differently. Sustainable development integrates social, economic and environmental dimensions of development now and into the future. This clearly explains that sustainable development is inclusive of economic, environmental and social development of Africans. In contrary to this, the basic needs approach prioritizes the basic needs and it is of the view that basic needs are for the people. When critically analyzing this, sustainable development is better because it is includes social, economic and environmental factors in a balanced manner. However the basic needs approach talks about the basic needs only. It is a fact that basic needs are necessary but the truth is on their own they are insufficient. Instead of giving solutions of how Africans will eradicate poverty which was caused by slavery and colonialism it only talks of things like food and shelter. Concentrating on basic needs creates dependency syndrome. Therefore sustainable development is better than basic needs approach. Sustainable development includes economic development which also leads to social development at the same time conserving the environment (Baker, 2006)

The other critique of basic needs approach is that the basic needs approach does not take into consideration preservation of natural resources. Even if the environment deteriorates it does not matter as long as people get basic needs. It is important to note that the deterioration of natural environment causes social and economic disruptions at the same time impairing human health (Dobson, 1998:44). This approach fulfils the selfish desires of the western countries at the expense of African countries therefore it hinders African development. In other words it leads to development of underdevelopment. The above points clearly shows that basic needs approach has some loopholes and it is not sustainable to African development therefore sustainable development if properly implemented, it is the one which is most applicable to African development because it takes environmental issues into consideration unlike the basic needs approach which does not even mention about it (Baker,2006).

Basic needs approach focuses on human development .However, when critically analyzing the basic needs approach we find out that although it claims to put its focus on the human development it does not address issues of poverty, illiteracy, diseases unemployment and alleviation of poverty. More so, it does not even talk about capacitating the poor. The fact is human development is not possible as long as the poor are marginalized. In addition, although the basic needs approach talks about needs it does not consider the needs of the future generation.Infact the basic needs approach threatens the bases upon which future development depends. It talks about the present needs only. It is also important to note that prioritizing the basic needs stimulate the demand of economic goods by the poor which increase the accumulation of capital to the European. Thus basic needs approach is economistic and Eurocentric in nature therefore it does not apply to African development. Hence, sustainable development is a better approach because it considers the needs of the future. In other words it focuses upon protecting the common future socially, economically and environmentally (Preston, 1997).

Critism of sustainable development

However, although the sustainable development is relevant to African development it has some loopholes because it does not consider globalization as a way which can lead to African development. The truth is Africa cannot develop without globalization. More so, it is impractical for Africa to conserve its environment because it depends on natural resources. Furthermore, conserving the needs of future generation is a problem because what is relevant now may be irrelevant to the development of future generation.

Conclusion

Conclusively, In African development neither society nor the economy can survive without the environment. Thus sustainable development is appropriate to be used as an alternative framework to African development because it creates interdependence between the society, economy and the environment. The interdependency will result in development of Africa at the same opening up the future for the coming generations unlike the basic needs approach which talks of human development through basic needs. Basic needs are necessary but not sufficient because the truth is economic development cannot be isolated from environmental and social consequences.

Way forward

Although sustainable development is relevant to African development there is need for putting it into practice by implementing policies which deal with international economic and political systems which contradict with sustainable development of Africa. Africa has problem of implementation, difficulties of harmonizing, regional, national and global environmental issues and lack of political will on the Part of African leaders. Thus, for us to overthrow unsustainable development we need to be creative and develop a sustainable Africa in our own way. Furthermore, governments of Africa need to include sustainable development issues in the budget and politicians should stop fulfilling their selfish desires and Eurocentric desires at the expense of the majority of Africans. For instance many African leaders are allowing Europeans to do activities which harm the environment just because they gain money from it. This can be clearly demonstrated by what happened in Nigeria. Industrial waste was thrown in a river and it dried and all the trees near that river dried. A Politian was behind this because he was given money. There is need for political will among African leaders and there is need for doing what is right. African leaders know what is right but they do not put it into action. They proved it on NEPAD. However, despite these challenges, Africa has to balance social, economic and environmental issues for Africa to develop. Until and unless we put sustainable development into action we will continue to overpay high economic social and environmental prices.

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