development expenditures versus costs (1)
In the developing world dependency and underdevelopment with their roots in colonialism
are important to an understanding of contemporary social policy. The policies which were
developed in the colonial era were favouring the rich white minority and disadvantaging the
poor black majority .These policies influenced the contemporary social policies to an extent
that the policies are the same the only different thing is of the authority instead of white it is
the black rich person. This makes the developing countries to be still underdeveloped and
depend on the developed countries because the policies which were in use during the colonial
era are the same with the ones used now. The policies include the health, education, social
welfare and others. However to a certain extent the dependency and underdevelopment with
their roots in colonialism are not important to the understanding of contemporary social
policy.
In social policy there is the education policy. According to Riddell (1980), there was a dual
system of education which was consolidated by the enactment of the Compulsory Education
Act in 1930. This act made education compulsory only for European children and also
allowed for the provision of free education to day scholars among the European population
only. This caused underdevelopment as the Africans did not have the knowledge as to
develop for they did not have education. This also causes dependency of the developing
countries on the developed countries as they depend on them for their policy making as they
are the ones who have more knowledge.
In addition to the educational policy in Zimbabwe in 1979 Education Act classified schools
into Group A, B and C which the group A schools catering exclusively for non-African
children (Auret 1990). This helps us in the understanding of the contemporary social policy
of education in the developing world that it has its roots in colonialism. For example in
Zimbabwe the schools are also divided in Group A, B and C and the A schools are those
private schools which use the curriculum of the British for example Cambridge. These Group
A schools are only afforded by the rich and the people who go to Group A schools are offered
jobs easily than those who go to B and C schools. In group B and C the learning standards are
not so good. This causes underdevelopment and as more people are getting education which
does not help them in the job sector. This also causes brain drain as the few people who get
the good education go to other countries to work there as they are offered more salaries and
causes underdevelopment and dependency.
The other policy that has its roots in colonialism that influenced dependency and
underdevelopment in the contemporary social welfare. According to Boeke 1953, the
provision of social welfare services is a shared responsibility between the government, NonGovernmental Organisations and local authorities when social welfare services were
introduced during the colonial period, thy were primarily, intended for the white settler
community. In the area of the social welfare the Old Age Pensions Act of 1936 is illustrative
of the influence of the notion of racial segregation in shaping policy. The Old Age Pensions
Act was beneficial to all non-Africans above the age the 60.In the contemporary social policy
this helps the rich and ignoring the poor. Also the issue of non-governmental organisations
helping with the aiding of the taking care of the old people and those who are poor. This
makes the developing countries to be dependent on the developed countries. According to
Kaseke (1998) donors had their specific areas of interest which they funded and still fund. So
by aiding in the developing countries the developed countries will be gaining from it thus
exploiting the developing world .How can they develop when they are being exploited by the
developed world.
Also, on health policies they were also based on racial segregation during the colonial period
and because they were designed primarily for the benefit of the white settler community,
there was an urban bias in their provision ( Agere 1987). Likewise in the contemporary
developing world the health facilities help more people are rich than the ones who poor. For
example in Zimbabwe hospitals which offer better medication are the private hospitals which
re expensive the government hospital do not have enough, medicine and health facilities. In
the colonial era the health policy favoured the white population both in terms of access and
quality of services. Furthermore health services were generally curative in the line with the
diseases pattern among the European population. According to Gilmurray (1979), the neglect
of rural areas by the colonial governments forced missionaries to take corrective measures,
thereby assuming greater responsibility for the provision of health services in rural areas. The
only few government hospital nowadays which are still running well are backed up by
missionaries for Howard Mission Hospital. Also churches have influenced the formulation of
policies on duty free importation of drug and related equipment by church related health
centres.
Social policies developed during the colonial era were residual in nature, and also fragmented
on racial lines in order to safeguard and promote the interests of the white minority (Kaseke
1998). The contemporary social policies take up after these social policies which were
developed during the colonial era .Housing policy is one of them, it is an expression of social
status. The area in which one lies gives them access to other resources or also denies them
access to other resources. Former British colonial cities are planned on very distinctive class
divisions .For example in Harare ,Northern suburbs are areas that housed white collar
workers ,the poor were allocated to the southern parts of the city and even up to now that is
the setup. This shows that the policies have their roots in the colonial era. Continual
underdevelopment means continual reinforcement of alien and inappropriate policies which
are determined not only by needs of the majority but by means of the minority oriented
economic social formations.
Colonial political systems were un-democratic no matter
what form colonial rule took, all
colonial systems were un-democratic as they did not allow popular participation. Decisions
and policies were made with little or no input from the African peoples .Even in the
contemporary social policies there is no participation of the citizens in a country the policies
are made by the government and the citizens have to abide by those policies only. This causes
underdevelopment to continue in the developing countries.
However it can be noted that dependency and underdevelopment with their roots in
colonialism are not important to the understanding of contemporary social policy as some
policies work without the influence of colonialism. The failure of the policies to develop the
developing countries cannot be completely blamed on colonialism as it is also a failure of the
developing world to create their own new policies which will help them grow and not to
follow in the footsteps of the people who once colonised them.
The social responsibility on policy is voluntary, it is about going beyond what is called for by
the law legal responsibility. It involves an idea that it is better to be proactive toward a
problem rather than reactive to a problem. Social responsibility means eliminating corrupt,
irresponsible or unethical behaviour that might bring harm to the community, its people or the
environment before the behaviour happens. The failure to develop of developing countries
cannot be blamed on their colonialists as they failed go beyond what they were expected to
do.
In conclusion it can be noted that dependency and underdevelopment with their roots in
colonialism are important to an understanding of contemporary social policy to a very larger
extent. As evidenced by the contemporary social policies for example health, education,
social welfare and others. However to a lesser extent it can be noted that the dependency and
underdevelopment with their roots in colonialism are not important in the understanding of
contemporary social policy.
REFERENCES
Agere, S. (1987) “Progress and Problems in the Health Care Delivery System.”in I Mandaza
(ed) Zimbabwe : The Political Economy and Transition 1980-1986, Codesria ,Dakar
Auret, D. (1990) A decade of development: Zimbabwe 1980-1990, Mambo Press, Gweru
Boeke, J.H. (1953) Economics and Economic Policy of Dual Societies, New York
Gilmurray, J. (1979) Struggle for Health, Mambo Press, Gweru
Riddell, R. (1980) Education for Employment, Mambo Press,Gweru
Kaseke E. (1998) The State and Dynamite of Social Policy Practice and Research in
Zimbabwe Journal of Social Development in Africa ,13,2,21-24
are important to an understanding of contemporary social policy. The policies which were
developed in the colonial era were favouring the rich white minority and disadvantaging the
poor black majority .These policies influenced the contemporary social policies to an extent
that the policies are the same the only different thing is of the authority instead of white it is
the black rich person. This makes the developing countries to be still underdeveloped and
depend on the developed countries because the policies which were in use during the colonial
era are the same with the ones used now. The policies include the health, education, social
welfare and others. However to a certain extent the dependency and underdevelopment with
their roots in colonialism are not important to the understanding of contemporary social
policy.
In social policy there is the education policy. According to Riddell (1980), there was a dual
system of education which was consolidated by the enactment of the Compulsory Education
Act in 1930. This act made education compulsory only for European children and also
allowed for the provision of free education to day scholars among the European population
only. This caused underdevelopment as the Africans did not have the knowledge as to
develop for they did not have education. This also causes dependency of the developing
countries on the developed countries as they depend on them for their policy making as they
are the ones who have more knowledge.
In addition to the educational policy in Zimbabwe in 1979 Education Act classified schools
into Group A, B and C which the group A schools catering exclusively for non-African
children (Auret 1990). This helps us in the understanding of the contemporary social policy
of education in the developing world that it has its roots in colonialism. For example in
Zimbabwe the schools are also divided in Group A, B and C and the A schools are those
private schools which use the curriculum of the British for example Cambridge. These Group
A schools are only afforded by the rich and the people who go to Group A schools are offered
jobs easily than those who go to B and C schools. In group B and C the learning standards are
not so good. This causes underdevelopment and as more people are getting education which
does not help them in the job sector. This also causes brain drain as the few people who get
the good education go to other countries to work there as they are offered more salaries and
causes underdevelopment and dependency.
The other policy that has its roots in colonialism that influenced dependency and
underdevelopment in the contemporary social welfare. According to Boeke 1953, the
provision of social welfare services is a shared responsibility between the government, NonGovernmental Organisations and local authorities when social welfare services were
introduced during the colonial period, thy were primarily, intended for the white settler
community. In the area of the social welfare the Old Age Pensions Act of 1936 is illustrative
of the influence of the notion of racial segregation in shaping policy. The Old Age Pensions
Act was beneficial to all non-Africans above the age the 60.In the contemporary social policy
this helps the rich and ignoring the poor. Also the issue of non-governmental organisations
helping with the aiding of the taking care of the old people and those who are poor. This
makes the developing countries to be dependent on the developed countries. According to
Kaseke (1998) donors had their specific areas of interest which they funded and still fund. So
by aiding in the developing countries the developed countries will be gaining from it thus
exploiting the developing world .How can they develop when they are being exploited by the
developed world.
Also, on health policies they were also based on racial segregation during the colonial period
and because they were designed primarily for the benefit of the white settler community,
there was an urban bias in their provision ( Agere 1987). Likewise in the contemporary
developing world the health facilities help more people are rich than the ones who poor. For
example in Zimbabwe hospitals which offer better medication are the private hospitals which
re expensive the government hospital do not have enough, medicine and health facilities. In
the colonial era the health policy favoured the white population both in terms of access and
quality of services. Furthermore health services were generally curative in the line with the
diseases pattern among the European population. According to Gilmurray (1979), the neglect
of rural areas by the colonial governments forced missionaries to take corrective measures,
thereby assuming greater responsibility for the provision of health services in rural areas. The
only few government hospital nowadays which are still running well are backed up by
missionaries for Howard Mission Hospital. Also churches have influenced the formulation of
policies on duty free importation of drug and related equipment by church related health
centres.
Social policies developed during the colonial era were residual in nature, and also fragmented
on racial lines in order to safeguard and promote the interests of the white minority (Kaseke
1998). The contemporary social policies take up after these social policies which were
developed during the colonial era .Housing policy is one of them, it is an expression of social
status. The area in which one lies gives them access to other resources or also denies them
access to other resources. Former British colonial cities are planned on very distinctive class
divisions .For example in Harare ,Northern suburbs are areas that housed white collar
workers ,the poor were allocated to the southern parts of the city and even up to now that is
the setup. This shows that the policies have their roots in the colonial era. Continual
underdevelopment means continual reinforcement of alien and inappropriate policies which
are determined not only by needs of the majority but by means of the minority oriented
economic social formations.
Colonial political systems were un-democratic no matter
what form colonial rule took, all
colonial systems were un-democratic as they did not allow popular participation. Decisions
and policies were made with little or no input from the African peoples .Even in the
contemporary social policies there is no participation of the citizens in a country the policies
are made by the government and the citizens have to abide by those policies only. This causes
underdevelopment to continue in the developing countries.
However it can be noted that dependency and underdevelopment with their roots in
colonialism are not important to the understanding of contemporary social policy as some
policies work without the influence of colonialism. The failure of the policies to develop the
developing countries cannot be completely blamed on colonialism as it is also a failure of the
developing world to create their own new policies which will help them grow and not to
follow in the footsteps of the people who once colonised them.
The social responsibility on policy is voluntary, it is about going beyond what is called for by
the law legal responsibility. It involves an idea that it is better to be proactive toward a
problem rather than reactive to a problem. Social responsibility means eliminating corrupt,
irresponsible or unethical behaviour that might bring harm to the community, its people or the
environment before the behaviour happens. The failure to develop of developing countries
cannot be blamed on their colonialists as they failed go beyond what they were expected to
do.
In conclusion it can be noted that dependency and underdevelopment with their roots in
colonialism are important to an understanding of contemporary social policy to a very larger
extent. As evidenced by the contemporary social policies for example health, education,
social welfare and others. However to a lesser extent it can be noted that the dependency and
underdevelopment with their roots in colonialism are not important in the understanding of
contemporary social policy.
REFERENCES
Agere, S. (1987) “Progress and Problems in the Health Care Delivery System.”in I Mandaza
(ed) Zimbabwe : The Political Economy and Transition 1980-1986, Codesria ,Dakar
Auret, D. (1990) A decade of development: Zimbabwe 1980-1990, Mambo Press, Gweru
Boeke, J.H. (1953) Economics and Economic Policy of Dual Societies, New York
Gilmurray, J. (1979) Struggle for Health, Mambo Press, Gweru
Riddell, R. (1980) Education for Employment, Mambo Press,Gweru
Kaseke E. (1998) The State and Dynamite of Social Policy Practice and Research in
Zimbabwe Journal of Social Development in Africa ,13,2,21-24