The Role of Local Organizations in Third World Development: Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia

Against the background of aid money being increasingly channelled through the non-governmental (NGO) sector, this text critically examines the role that local organizations (LOs) can play in eradicating underdevelopment. There are already signs that a new development myth of the unlimited potential of NGOs/LOs to promote sustainable development has been created. The "donor scramble" to find and promote LOs might not produce the results hoped for. One of the reasons is that despite using fashionable jargon such as empowerment, people-centredness and participation, many local organizations continue development work in a top-down, non-participatory and non-sustainable manner. International NGOs and donor agancies often perpetuate this situation by uncritically supporting local organizations irrespective of their performance in supporting sustainable development. Using an analytical framework derived primarily from "new institutional economics" (NIE) theories, the book presents case studies on the political economy of three local organizations from Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. These case studies show how a number of key factors determine a local organization's actual potential and ability to effectively contribute towards the eradication of underdevelopment.