INITIAL CONDITIONS AND AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT IN THE POST

INDEPENDENCE ERA.
By Wellington Magaya,Legal Practitioner ,Harare
magaya@cwg.co.zw
Africas colonial past, and the implications for the continents contemporary societies
and economies, has been a central concern since independence among historians and
political

economists,

especially

those

of

Marxist/

Nationalist

persuasion.

( Amin,1972).Researchersnow look at how colonial culture, forms of colonization,

legal systems and institutional heritage have shaped the initial conditions of African
economies and continue to have an impact on current economic performance
(Mkandawire,2010,Grier, 1999).The developments in a number of African states bear
testimony to this assertion. This paper will argue that there is evidence that indeed
the initial conditions influenced African development in the post colonial times with
specific reference to Zimbabwe and South Africa and other African countries. I am
going to divide the discussion into four chapters. Section one will give a brief narrative
of the prevailing arguments on the role played by initial conditions in shaping the
development paths of African states while section two will define the various terms
and assumptions to be made in this discussion with a view to contextualize the debate
to the Zimbabwean situation. In section four I will endeavor to show the extent to
which initial conditions have shaped the development trajectory on their own and vis-a
viz other factors (the other Is).The paper will then conclude by analyzing the placing
the initial conditions in the context of the state, democracy and development.
Definitions
Initial conditions-Generally defined this refers to the colonial history or the historical
conditions of Africa in general. They are an answer to the question. Where is Africa
coming from?
African Development refers to the social construction of Africa based on geo-political
relations, socio-economic beliefs, systems and historical processes.
Post independence-In relation to Africa the continent this refers to the period after te
1954 independence of Ghana but this will be more contextualized when reference is
made to specific countries e.g Zimbabwe, Botswana South Africa.
It has been argued that while southern Africa moved towards decolonization and the of
white minority rule, the history of much of the rest of the continent from the early

1960s onwards was defined by the tasks of stimulating economic development, and
creating new nation states from the colonial legacy that they had inherited from the
Europeans. However these proved not to be easy undertakings. A considerable degree
of the problems faced by the new states were the result of the legacy of the colonial
rule.Best(2003).This sums up the school of thought which contends that initial
conditions (i.e. the colonial history) play a key role in determining the development
policies of most African states.It can also be argues that while initial conditions are
critical they are not the only determining factor. They are simply conditioning
factors.Ideas, institutions, interests, industrialization, international context and
individuals are also key to in the development of process of African States.In this
paper I am going to show the importance of initial conditions, the role they play as
compared to the influence of the other factors with a view to arriving at a conclusion
that while initial conditions are key they are not the only determining factor.I will use
the Zimbabwean example to prove this fact.
INITIAL CONDITIONS AND DEVELOPMENT
The land question in Africa has always been topical for the post-colonial government.
Land in Africa is inter alia a source of livelihoods, investment, labour and raw
materials. The land question was unresolved at Zimbabwes independence. The British
government agreed to fund the land reform program but later reneged on the
agreement. Willing buyer-willing seller approach did not work as the white farmers
were not willing to give up their land. This led to the farm invasions in the year
2000.This led to the collapse of commercial agriculture which was the driver of the
economy for much of the post-independence period. Between 1985 and its peak year of
2001 value-added in agriculture grew 61% .The Zimbabwe economy has experienced
far-reaching

structural

change,

especially

not

only

in

the

agricultural

and

manufacturing sectors that used to be the drivers of the economy. The two have always
been closely-integrated and the decline of large-scale commercial agriculture has had
severe knock on effects for manufacturing, for exports, for employment and for GDP
growth. Since the 2001 peak farm value-added fell sharply. Output collapsed 36% in
2008.Total agriculture value-added was two-thirds lower than in the peak in
2001.These developments show the effect of the inequalities in land ownership before
independence and the policies taken by the nationalist government to redress the
imbalances and the effects it had had on the development of the nation. While
production fell the policy brought relief to the peasants who did not have productive
land which was under the control of a minority few.

On independence politicians tended to cement their rule and this was done by
building on the patronage system, providing supporters with access to appointments
in state run organization, state funds and contracts. A view that state resources
existed to be exploited for personal gain had serious implications on the development
trajectory of most African states as politicians sought to enrich themselves.
Clientelism became the norm and was reinforced by the fact that new leaders inherited
an autocratic colonial state apparatus that had little tolerance for opposition. It
resulted in a steady drift towards one party state. This led to massive looting of state
resources through prebendalism and hyper-presidentialism at the expense of
development. The Mobutu era in the then Zaire is a case in point.
The colonial era also left the problem of the urban rural divide. This appeared in
many of the newly independent African States. The Colonial governments tended to
raise revenue through taxing trade rather than land. The colonial governments
emphasized on agricultural exports as a means of generating wealth through the use
of marketing boards which are still playing a key role in the Zimbabwean economy
providing a market to farmers and exporting to the world market. This was a colonial
model that has been maintained in most countries while taking up new social
functions. In terms of development the governments tended to ignore the domestic
markets and rural areas as there was no political or economic incentive to develop
them since the state raised most of its resources through taxation of cash crops.
INITIAL CONDITIONS AND OTHER FACTORS
While initial conditions have influenced development in Africa, there are other factors
which have played key roles in development. Acemoglu et. al (2003) argue that lack of
colonial engagement allowed the survival of pre-colonial institutions that involved
broad based checks on political authority and gave the political elite an interest in
protecting private property. These institutions were somehow incorporated into post
colonial institutions and in combination with key decisions by Botswanas first two
presidents provided the basis for sound macro-economic management following
independence.Countries differ in their economic success because of their different
institutions, the rules influencing how the economy works and the incentives that
motivate people. Institutions therefore play a part but some of the institutions
currently existing and maintained by post colonial governments were inherited from
the past are extractive in nature and have created huge wealth gaps in countries like
South Africa (even vertically after BEE) making it difficult to ascribe a particular
development trajectory only to the existence of well managed strong institutions.

Individuals especially nationalist leaders have also influenced the development of

African States as their nationalist ideologies characterized by Marxist Leninism have
shaped the development of states. Zimbabwe has had a nationalist leader for the past
thirty three years and under his leadership the country embarked on two serious
programs that had an effect of changing the economic performance of the country and
the general investment climate. The land reform program has been discussed already
and I will concentrate on the current indigenization policy which in which the
government is taking 51% ownership in all foreign companies and establishing
community share ownership schemes so that communities benefit from the resources
in their areas. This policy is driven by the nationalist agenda that the most TNCs are
controlled by the former colonies and cannot be allowed to extract and export the
countrys wealth to the world market at the expense of local communities. While it is
too early to judge the impact of the program initial results show that without
corruption the program has actually transformed the lives of local communities
through infrastructural development and the employment of locals in the industries.
While it can be argued that the thinking behind the program qualifies it under the
initial conditions banner it is clear that the individual i.e Robert Mugabe has played a
key role in shaping the development of the nation in this regard. The same can be said
about interests in Zimbabwe. The Unity accord signed by the two liberation movements
sought to strike a balance of power between the dominant tribes and almost all
political party structures in Zimbabwe follow this model. Appointments in key
government institutions reflect an attempt to balance this over-arching interest of
promoting unity and inclusivity of all ethnical groups.
Ideas also shaped the development of post colonial African States. The form of a
countrys liberation struggle affected the post colonial ideologies. States that had
protracted fights for independence implemented radical nationalist policies. Post
colonial African governments came up with the indigenization imperatives and have
serious resentment of capitalism. They advocated for equality (one man one vote)
based Marxist ideologies. This saw the massive employment of locals in the civil
service,wealth redistribution, with even more radical policies like Zimbabwes land
reform which was based on the idea of expropriation of land without compensation. It
did away with the ideals of project planning, structural adjustment and basic needs
growth but was mainly driven by correcting historical imbalances. This had an effect
on the countries international relations as the Western countries which relied on
agricultural imports refused to pay compensation to the white farmers who lost their
land and imposed trade embargoes on most marketing boards resulting in the overall
fall of agriculture and industry.

Overall African States, after the burst of post independence euphoria had dissipated,
made only slow towards achieving political unity underpinned by economic
development. To a substantial degree this was due to the legacies of colonial rule,
which helped to set the government of the new states on particular economic and
political paths that created severe difficulties. Best (2003) A survey of the various
factors and their influence in post independent Africa above has revealed that initial
conditions influence development only to a certain extend and the rest of the trajectory
is as a result of a combination of other factors.It also shows the role of the state in the
development of the country. It shows that there is no relationship between democracy
and development and there is a need to re-think development in Africa and Africa
needs African solution to the development crisis it finds itself in.
REFERENCES
1. Amin S.(1972) Underdevelopment and dependence in black Africa-Origins and
contemporary forms.Journal of Modern African Studies 10(4)pp 105-120.
2. Mkandawire T(2010) On tax efforts and colonial heritage in Africa.The Journal
of Development Studies Vol 46 No.10 pp 1647.
3. Grier, R.M(1999) Colonial legacies and economic growth.Public choice,98(3)p.p
317
4. Best.A (2003)International History of the Twentieth Century ... International
History of the Twentieth Century.
5. Acemoglu,D. et al The colonal origins of comparative development NBER
Working Paper 7771, Cambridge,MA xwNational Bureau of Economic Research