2 - The Silences in the NGO Discourse: The role and future of NGOs in Africa*
Corresponding Author(s) : Issa G. Shivji
Africa Development,
Vol. 31 No. 4 (2006): Africa Development
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to examine critically the role and future of the NGO in Africa in the light of its self-perception as a non-governmental, non-political, non-partisan, non-ideological, non-academic, non-theoretical, not-for-profit as- sociation of well-intentioned individuals dedicated to changing the world to make it a better place for the poor, the marginalised and the downcast. It is the argument of the paper that the role of NGOs in Africa cannot be understood without a clear characterisation of the current historical moment.
On a canvas of broad strokes, I depict Africa at the cross-roads of the defeat of the National Project and the rehabilitation of the imperial project. In the face of the avalanche of ‘end of history’ diatribes, I find it necessary, albeit briefly, to reiterate the history of Africa’s enslavement from the first contacts with the Europeans five centuries ago through the slave trade to colonialism and now globalisation. The aim of this historical detour is to demonstrate the fundamen- tal antithesis between the National and the Imperial Projects so as to identify correctly the place and role of the NGOs in it.
I locate the rise, the prominence and the privileging of the NGO sector in the womb of the neo-liberal offensive whose aim is as much ideological as economic and political. I argue that the NGO discourse, or more correctly the non-dis- course, is predicated on the philosophical and political premises of neo-liberal- ism/globalisation paradigm. It is in this context that I go on to discuss the ‘five silences’ or blind-spots in the NGO discourse. I draw out the implications of these silences on the contemporary and future role of the NGO sector in Africa.At the outset, I must make two confessions. First, the paper is undoubtedly critical, sometimes ruthlessly so, but not cynical. Secondly, the criticism is also a self-criticism since the author has been involved in NGO activism for the last fifteen years or so. And, finally, I must make it clear that I do not doubt the noble motivations and the good intentions of NGO leaders and activists. But one does not judge the outcome of a process by the intentions of its authors; one analyses the objective effect of actions regardless of intentions. Hopefully, that is what I have done.
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- Adedeji, A., ed., 1993, Africa within the World: Beyond Dispossession and Dependence, London: Zed
- Books.
- Amin, S., 1990, Maldevelopment: Anatomy of a Global Failure, London: Zed Books.
- Anyang’ Nyong’o, P., Ghirmazion, A & Lamba, D., eds., 2002, New Partnership for Africa’s
- Development, NEPAD: A New Path?, Nairobi: Heinrich Boll Foundation.
- Blum, W., 1986, The CIA, A Forgotten History, London: Zed Books.
- Blum, W., 2001, Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower, London: Zed Books.
- Bond, P., ed. 2002, Fanon’s Warning: a Civil Society Reader on the New Partnership for Africa’s
- Development, New Jersey: Africa World Press.
- Cabral, A., 1969, ‘The weapon of theory’, in Amilcar Cabral, Revolution in Guinea, London: Stage 1.
- Cabral, A., 1980, Unity and Struggle: Speeches and Writings, London: Heinemann. Campbell, H., & H.
- Stein, eds., 1991, The IMF and Tanzania, Harare: SAPES. Davidson, B., 1961, Black Mother: A Study
- of the Precolonial Connection Between
- Africa and Europe, London: Longman.
- De Witte, L, 2001, The Assassination of Lumumba, Johannesburg: Jacana. Fanon, F., 1963, The
- Wretched of the Earth, London: Penguin.
- Furedi, F., 1994, The New Ideology of Imperialism, London: Pluto.
- Graham, Y., 2005, ‘Africa’s second “last chance”’, Red Pepper/G8 Africa Commission,
- http://www.redpepper.org.uk/global/x-jul05-graham.htm
- Himmelstrand, U., et al. eds., 1994, African Perspectives on Development, London: James Currey.
- Kjekshus, H., 1977 & 1996, Ecology Control and Economic Development in East African History, London: James Currey.
- Landsberg, C., & Kornegey, F. 1998, ‘The African Renaissance: A Quest for Pax Africana and
- Pan-Africanism’, in Foundation for Global Dialogue, South Africa and Africa: Reflections on the
- African Renaissance, FGD Occasional Paper No. 17.
- Legum, L., 1965, Pan-Africanism: A short political guide (Revised edition), London: Pall Mall Press.
- Mafeje, A., 2002, ‘Democratic Governance and new Democracy in Africa: Agenda for the Future’, in
- Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, Aseghedech Ghirmazion & Davinder Lamba, eds., 2002, New Partnership for
- Africa’s Development, NEPAD: A New Path?, Nairobi: Heinrich Boll Foundation.
- Mahjoub, A., 1990, Adjustment or De-linking?, London: Zed/UNU.
- Mahmood, M., 1987, ‘Contradictory Class Perspectives on the Question of Democracy’, in Peter Anyang
- ’ Nyong’o, ed., Popular Struggles for Democracy in Africa, London: United Nations University/Zed Press.
- Mahmood, M., 1996, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism,
- Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- Manji, F.& Carol O’Coill, 2002, ‘The Missionary Position: NGOs and Development in Africa’,
- International Affairs, 78,3:567-83.
- Mboya, T., Freedom and After, 1963, London: Andre Deutsch.
- Mkandawire, T. & Soludo, C. C. eds., 1999, ‘Our Continent, Our Future’: African Perspectives on
- Structural Adjustment, Dakar: CODESRIA.
- Murphy, B. K., 2001, ‘International NGOs and the Challenge of Modernity’, in Deborah Eade & Ernst
- Ligteringen, eds., Debating Development, Oxford: Oxfam GB. Mwaikusa, J. T., 1995, Towards
- Responsible Democratic Government: Executive
- Power and Constitutional Practice in Tanzania, 1962-1992, Ph.D., Dissertation, University of London.
- Nkrumah, K., 1965, Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, London, Heinemann.
- Nyerere, J. K., 1963b, ‘The Second Scramble’, reprinted in Nyerere, op. cit. 1967. Nyerere, J. K.,
- , Freedom and Socialism, London/ OUP.
- Nyerere, J. K., 1967, Freedom and Unity: A selection from Writings and Speeches, Dar es Salaam,
- Oxford University Press.
- Nyerere, J. K., 1963a, ‘A United States of Africa’, Journal of Modern African Studies, January
- , Cambridge, reprinted in Nyerere, op. cit. 1967.
- Nyerere, J.K., 1966, ‘The Dilemma of the Pan-Africanist’, in J. K. Nyerere, op. cit.1968.
- Nyerere, J.K.. 1997, ‘Africa Must Unite’, edited excerpts from a public lecture delivered in Accra
- to mark Ghana’s Fortieth Independence Day anniversary celebrations, United New Africa Global
- Network website: http:// www.unitednewafrica.com/Africa%20Unite.htm
- Peacock, A., 2002, Two Hundred Pharaohs and Five Billion Slaves, London, Ellipsis.
- Rodney, W., 1972, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House.
- Sayers, D., 1991, Capitalism & Modernity: An Excursus on Marx and Weber, London, Routledge.
- Semboja, J., Juma, M., & Jansen, E. eds., 2002, Local Perspectives on Globalisation: The African
- Case, Dar es Salaam: REPOA & Mkuki na Nyota.
- Sheriff, A., 1987, Slaves, Spices & Ivory in Zanzibar, London: James Currey. Shivji, I.G., 1987,
- ‘The Roots of the Agrarian Crisis in Tanzania,’ Eastern Africa
- Social Science Research Review, vol. 111, no.1,111-134.
- Shivji, I.G., ed., 1991, State and Constitutionalism: An African Debate on Democracy, Harare: SAPES.
- Shivji, I.G., 1998, Not Yet Democracy: Reforming Land Tenure in Tanzania, London: IIED.
- Shivji, I G., 2000, ‘Critical Elements of a New Democratic Consensus in Africa’, in Haroub Othman,
- ed., Reflections on Leadership in Africa: Essays in Honour of Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere, Belgium:
- VUB University Press.
- Shivji, I.G., 2002, ‘Globalisation and Popular Resistance’, in Joseph Semboja, Juma Mwapachu &
- Eduard Jansen, eds., Local Perspectives on Globalisation: The African Case, Dar es Salaam, REPOA:
- Mkuki na Nyota.
- Shivji, I. G., 2003, ‘Three Generations of Constitutions and Constitution-making in Africa: An
- overview and assessment in social and economic context’, in M. S. Rosen, ed., Constitutionalism in
- Transition: Africa and Eastern Europe, Helsinki: Foundation for Human Rights.
- Shivji, I. G., 2005a, ‘The Rise, the Fall and the Insurrection of Nationalism in Africa’, in
- Felicia Arudo Yieke, ed., East Africa: In search of National and Regional Renewal; Dakar: CODESRIA
- Shivji, I.G., 2005b, Pan-Africanism or Imperialism?, Second Billy Dudley Memorial Lecture to the
- Nigerian Political Science Association, Nsukka, Nigeria, July 2005. Tandon, Y., 1982, University of
- Dar es Salaam: Debate on Class, State &
- Imperialism, Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House.
- Wamba-dia Wamba, E., 1991, ‘Discourse on the National Question’, in I. G. Shivji, ed., State and
- Constitutionalism: An African Debate on Democracy, Harare: SAPES.
- Wamba-dia Wamba, E., 1996, ‘The National Question in Zaire: Challenges to the Nation-State
- Project’, in Adebayo O. Olukoshi & Liisa Laakso, eds., Challenges to the Nation-State in Africa,
- Uppsala: Nordic African Institute.
- Williams, E., 1945, Capitalism or Slavery, London: Longman.
- Wilson, A., 1989, US Foreign Policy and Revolution: The Creation of Tanzania, London: Pluto.
- Yieke, F. A., ed., 2005, East Africa: In Search of National and Regional Renewal,Dakar: CODESRIA.
References
Adedeji, A., ed., 1993, Africa within the World: Beyond Dispossession and Dependence, London: Zed
Books.
Amin, S., 1990, Maldevelopment: Anatomy of a Global Failure, London: Zed Books.
Anyang’ Nyong’o, P., Ghirmazion, A & Lamba, D., eds., 2002, New Partnership for Africa’s
Development, NEPAD: A New Path?, Nairobi: Heinrich Boll Foundation.
Blum, W., 1986, The CIA, A Forgotten History, London: Zed Books.
Blum, W., 2001, Rogue State: A Guide to the World’s Only Superpower, London: Zed Books.
Bond, P., ed. 2002, Fanon’s Warning: a Civil Society Reader on the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development, New Jersey: Africa World Press.
Cabral, A., 1969, ‘The weapon of theory’, in Amilcar Cabral, Revolution in Guinea, London: Stage 1.
Cabral, A., 1980, Unity and Struggle: Speeches and Writings, London: Heinemann. Campbell, H., & H.
Stein, eds., 1991, The IMF and Tanzania, Harare: SAPES. Davidson, B., 1961, Black Mother: A Study
of the Precolonial Connection Between
Africa and Europe, London: Longman.
De Witte, L, 2001, The Assassination of Lumumba, Johannesburg: Jacana. Fanon, F., 1963, The
Wretched of the Earth, London: Penguin.
Furedi, F., 1994, The New Ideology of Imperialism, London: Pluto.
Graham, Y., 2005, ‘Africa’s second “last chance”’, Red Pepper/G8 Africa Commission,
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/global/x-jul05-graham.htm
Himmelstrand, U., et al. eds., 1994, African Perspectives on Development, London: James Currey.
Kjekshus, H., 1977 & 1996, Ecology Control and Economic Development in East African History, London: James Currey.
Landsberg, C., & Kornegey, F. 1998, ‘The African Renaissance: A Quest for Pax Africana and
Pan-Africanism’, in Foundation for Global Dialogue, South Africa and Africa: Reflections on the
African Renaissance, FGD Occasional Paper No. 17.
Legum, L., 1965, Pan-Africanism: A short political guide (Revised edition), London: Pall Mall Press.
Mafeje, A., 2002, ‘Democratic Governance and new Democracy in Africa: Agenda for the Future’, in
Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o, Aseghedech Ghirmazion & Davinder Lamba, eds., 2002, New Partnership for
Africa’s Development, NEPAD: A New Path?, Nairobi: Heinrich Boll Foundation.
Mahjoub, A., 1990, Adjustment or De-linking?, London: Zed/UNU.
Mahmood, M., 1987, ‘Contradictory Class Perspectives on the Question of Democracy’, in Peter Anyang
’ Nyong’o, ed., Popular Struggles for Democracy in Africa, London: United Nations University/Zed Press.
Mahmood, M., 1996, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism,
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Manji, F.& Carol O’Coill, 2002, ‘The Missionary Position: NGOs and Development in Africa’,
International Affairs, 78,3:567-83.
Mboya, T., Freedom and After, 1963, London: Andre Deutsch.
Mkandawire, T. & Soludo, C. C. eds., 1999, ‘Our Continent, Our Future’: African Perspectives on
Structural Adjustment, Dakar: CODESRIA.
Murphy, B. K., 2001, ‘International NGOs and the Challenge of Modernity’, in Deborah Eade & Ernst
Ligteringen, eds., Debating Development, Oxford: Oxfam GB. Mwaikusa, J. T., 1995, Towards
Responsible Democratic Government: Executive
Power and Constitutional Practice in Tanzania, 1962-1992, Ph.D., Dissertation, University of London.
Nkrumah, K., 1965, Neo-colonialism: The Last Stage of Imperialism, London, Heinemann.
Nyerere, J. K., 1963b, ‘The Second Scramble’, reprinted in Nyerere, op. cit. 1967. Nyerere, J. K.,
, Freedom and Socialism, London/ OUP.
Nyerere, J. K., 1967, Freedom and Unity: A selection from Writings and Speeches, Dar es Salaam,
Oxford University Press.
Nyerere, J. K., 1963a, ‘A United States of Africa’, Journal of Modern African Studies, January
, Cambridge, reprinted in Nyerere, op. cit. 1967.
Nyerere, J.K., 1966, ‘The Dilemma of the Pan-Africanist’, in J. K. Nyerere, op. cit.1968.
Nyerere, J.K.. 1997, ‘Africa Must Unite’, edited excerpts from a public lecture delivered in Accra
to mark Ghana’s Fortieth Independence Day anniversary celebrations, United New Africa Global
Network website: http:// www.unitednewafrica.com/Africa%20Unite.htm
Peacock, A., 2002, Two Hundred Pharaohs and Five Billion Slaves, London, Ellipsis.
Rodney, W., 1972, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House.
Sayers, D., 1991, Capitalism & Modernity: An Excursus on Marx and Weber, London, Routledge.
Semboja, J., Juma, M., & Jansen, E. eds., 2002, Local Perspectives on Globalisation: The African
Case, Dar es Salaam: REPOA & Mkuki na Nyota.
Sheriff, A., 1987, Slaves, Spices & Ivory in Zanzibar, London: James Currey. Shivji, I.G., 1987,
‘The Roots of the Agrarian Crisis in Tanzania,’ Eastern Africa
Social Science Research Review, vol. 111, no.1,111-134.
Shivji, I.G., ed., 1991, State and Constitutionalism: An African Debate on Democracy, Harare: SAPES.
Shivji, I.G., 1998, Not Yet Democracy: Reforming Land Tenure in Tanzania, London: IIED.
Shivji, I G., 2000, ‘Critical Elements of a New Democratic Consensus in Africa’, in Haroub Othman,
ed., Reflections on Leadership in Africa: Essays in Honour of Mwalimu Julius K. Nyerere, Belgium:
VUB University Press.
Shivji, I.G., 2002, ‘Globalisation and Popular Resistance’, in Joseph Semboja, Juma Mwapachu &
Eduard Jansen, eds., Local Perspectives on Globalisation: The African Case, Dar es Salaam, REPOA:
Mkuki na Nyota.
Shivji, I. G., 2003, ‘Three Generations of Constitutions and Constitution-making in Africa: An
overview and assessment in social and economic context’, in M. S. Rosen, ed., Constitutionalism in
Transition: Africa and Eastern Europe, Helsinki: Foundation for Human Rights.
Shivji, I. G., 2005a, ‘The Rise, the Fall and the Insurrection of Nationalism in Africa’, in
Felicia Arudo Yieke, ed., East Africa: In search of National and Regional Renewal; Dakar: CODESRIA
Shivji, I.G., 2005b, Pan-Africanism or Imperialism?, Second Billy Dudley Memorial Lecture to the
Nigerian Political Science Association, Nsukka, Nigeria, July 2005. Tandon, Y., 1982, University of
Dar es Salaam: Debate on Class, State &
Imperialism, Dar es Salaam: Tanzania Publishing House.
Wamba-dia Wamba, E., 1991, ‘Discourse on the National Question’, in I. G. Shivji, ed., State and
Constitutionalism: An African Debate on Democracy, Harare: SAPES.
Wamba-dia Wamba, E., 1996, ‘The National Question in Zaire: Challenges to the Nation-State
Project’, in Adebayo O. Olukoshi & Liisa Laakso, eds., Challenges to the Nation-State in Africa,
Uppsala: Nordic African Institute.
Williams, E., 1945, Capitalism or Slavery, London: Longman.
Wilson, A., 1989, US Foreign Policy and Revolution: The Creation of Tanzania, London: Pluto.
Yieke, F. A., ed., 2005, East Africa: In Search of National and Regional Renewal,Dakar: CODESRIA.