This paper looks in detail at the social and economic background of mobile airtime sellers on the streets of Kigali. While informal networks have proved to be an invaluable resource for large... Show moreThis paper looks in detail at the social and economic background of mobile airtime sellers on the streets of Kigali. While informal networks have proved to be an invaluable resource for large multinational telecommunication companies seeking to penetrate African markets, changing technological capabilities may soon displace them. As Rwanda develops its Internet and payment systems, companies and institutions hope to provide airtime and services directly. The paper draws on interviews with airtime sellers in three neighbourhoods of Kigali to ask what this temporary source of employment has done to their long-term career prospects. While the Rwandan government information and communication technology (ICT) strategy has hereto focused on high-end ICT and business process outsourcing, this paper uses the experiences of airtime sellers to advocate for a more bottom-up approach to entrepreneurship and economic development in Rwanda. We stress that planners and researchers need to think more critically about value chains at the bottom of the pyramid, not just in terms of how informal networks can be used as temporary appendages to further the reach of formal multinational corporations, but how these new kinds of chains and networks can be re-engineered to provide permanent and sustainable livelihoods to workers and business owners at the base of the economy. Show less
By tracking the changing nature of wasta, or personal intermediation, in the Khartoum labour market, this paper examines the impact of Islamist policies on state-society relations in Khartoum,... Show moreBy tracking the changing nature of wasta, or personal intermediation, in the Khartoum labour market, this paper examines the impact of Islamist policies on state-society relations in Khartoum, Sudan. It argues that economic liberalisation and higher education expansion weakened sectarian control over the economy, replacing the former institutionalised system of privilege with a much more decentralised, private and transnational structure. The conclusion asks whether these policies have laid the groundwork for long-term political transformation. While education expansion and liberalisation should theoretically allow a regime to broaden patronage networks, they may also reduce the capacity of both the regime and the private sector to exercise power and establish predictability outwards. Show less
Jansen, D.L.; Heijmans, M.; Rijken, M.; Kaptein, A.A. 2011
The importance of rural nonagricultural activities in sub-Saharan Africa has been growing during the past two decades, but their role in rural development is still unclear. Current debate about... Show moreThe importance of rural nonagricultural activities in sub-Saharan Africa has been growing during the past two decades, but their role in rural development is still unclear. Current debate about agricultural and rural development centres on two competing paradigms, one focused on increased market orientation and the new global order, the other beamed at local development and environmental issues. However, neither encompasses the role of rural nonagricultural activities. The present paper reviews the two paradigms and their nonagricultural oversight. The two prevailing approaches to rural nonagricultural activities are the livelihoods perspective, which emphasizes the supplementary value of income generation for rural people who cannot survive on their agricultural incomes alone but is less concerned with their role in the rural production system, and the multiplier perspective, which focuses on the economic linkages of nonagricultural activities with agricultural production and rural household consumption but largely ignores their dominant nature as trade and service functions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the service perspective on rural nonagricultural activities Show less
This report presents the findings of research conducted between December 1996 and December 1997 in two villages, Kweminyasa and Lukozi, in Lushoto District, Tanzania, and comprising a general... Show moreThis report presents the findings of research conducted between December 1996 and December 1997 in two villages, Kweminyasa and Lukozi, in Lushoto District, Tanzania, and comprising a general broad survey of individuals to determine the pattern of nonagricultural activities over time, a survey of existing nonagricultural enterprises, a survey of Standard Seven schoolchildren's career expectations and attitudes towards work, and an in-depth survey of career patterns of different generations within selected households. The study found a growing incidence of engagement in nonfarm activities beginning in the 1980s, especially as land became scarcer and returns from agriculture stagnated, increasing outmigration of the youthful male population to other districts in the lowlands and urban areas, and declining circular migration to such large towns as Dar es Salaam, Tanga, Moshi and Arusha. Show less
This report presents the findings of research carried out between December 1996 and December 1997 in two villages (Igosi and Mtwango-Lunguya) in Njombe District, Tanzania. The study is one of four... Show moreThis report presents the findings of research carried out between December 1996 and December 1997 in two villages (Igosi and Mtwango-Lunguya) in Njombe District, Tanzania. The study is one of four regional studies on agricultural and non-agricultural activities and their change over time within Tanzanian villages. As such there was a standardized research methodology that is outlined in the Appendix. It involved a general broad survey of individuals within the selected villages to determine the pattern of non-agricultural activities over time, a survey of existing non-agricultural enterprises within the village, a survey of Standard Seven school children's career expectations and attitudes towards work, and an in-depth survey of career patterns of different generations within selected households. The report is divided into three main sections - background about the study area, village profiles, and survey findings regarding the local economy, agricultural and non-agricultural production, migration patterns, associational ties, social relations between generations and prospects for agricultural development - followed by a conclusion which includes an analytical summary of findings and recommendations arising from the research. Show less
Contrary to the studies of ethnic authorities in the Zambian and Ghanaian mines by A.L. Epstein (1958), J. Crisp (1984), and C. Lentz and V. Erlmann (1989), the present study demonstrates that... Show moreContrary to the studies of ethnic authorities in the Zambian and Ghanaian mines by A.L. Epstein (1958), J. Crisp (1984), and C. Lentz and V. Erlmann (1989), the present study demonstrates that chieftaincy has continued to play an important mediating role between capital and labour in estate tea production at Ndu, a small Wimbum town in the northeastern part of the Bamenda Grassfields in Cameroon, where the author conducted fieldwork in 1991. Capitalism has not yet penetrated deeply in this area and chiefs (or 'Fons') still occupy a powerful, even sacred, position in society. Under these circumstances, estate management has tended to rely on the local chief for both labour recruitment and worker control. While the chief often sided with the management, he also distinguished himself as the custodian of "tradition" and the champion of the interests of his (Ndu) subjects. He firmly resisted management preference for female labour as a threat to "traditional" patriarchal control. He was also inclined to endorse his subjects' loyalty to certain "traditional" norms and values which conflicted with the capitalist work ethic, and to put pressure on management to advance the careers of Ndu men. At the same time, there is evidence that the intermediary role of chieftaincy has weakened as a result of the developing trade unionism on the estate and the emergence of new power holders and several ethnic associations. Bibliogr., ref Show less
