Browsing by Author "Haricharan, Shanildutt"

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    Assessing the efficacy of policy reform in Zimbabwe's Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector
    (2021) Ncube, Sukoluhle Primrose; Haricharan, Shanildutt; Hirsch, Alan
    In 2009 Zimbabwe experienced a cholera outbreak of unprecedented magnitude where over 90 000 cases where recorded an at least 4 500 people lost their lives. It is argued that this outbreak created the impetus for implementation of water sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector reforms which would contribute towards addressing service level challenges and gaps. Through this study the researcher sought to understand the WASH sector reforms implemented and the extent to which they had resulted in the anticipated improvements in service delivery amongst targeted rural communities. The study adopted a mixed methodology descriptive survey to understand the practical aspects and intricacies of policy implementation and reform in the Zimbabwean WASH sector, with emphasis on the benefits of policy reform for enhancing access and management of rural WASH service delivery initiatives. Three empirical data sources were used, comprising of desktop review of documents on WASH policy implementation processes and guidelines, qualitative interviews carried out with four key informants from WASH coordinating committees and the case methodology to study three districts implementing the sector reforms using a semi-structured questionnaire administered to various district and community stakeholders. The researcher found that the WASH sector reforms have not fully achieved the intended objectives, although some strides have been made in terms of improving water and sanitation access to selected communities. However, the researcher notes that the gains in service coverage that have been made in the case districts are proving short-lived and unsustainable as issues such as limited funding, sustainability of the WASH coordination structures, operation and maintenance of infrastructures remain a real challenge. Considering these challenges the researcher recommends that the government explore alternative innovative sources for WASH funding including streamlining the WASH coordinating committees to improve efficiency and effectiveness, strengthening sector financing through adoption of user-pays initiatives and inclusion of community-based management structures in WASH planning and decision making to enhance effective community participation.
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    Decentralisation in Zambia, 2011 to 2021: reality or rhetoric? –the underlying drivers and barriers
    (2026) Chileshe, Alexander; Haricharan, Shanildutt; Goldman, Ian
    Over the past two centuries, decentralisation has become a prominent feature of governance reform globally, with a surge in adoption (at least in name) across both developed and developing countries. These reforms have been driven by espoused objectives, including enhancing service delivery, promoting citizen participation, strengthening local development, and advancing democratisation. However, global evidence reveals mixed outcomes, with many decentralisation efforts failing to translate formal commitments into meaningful local governance. These shortcomings stem less from technical design flaws and more from the persistence of entrenched political, institutional, and cultural dynamics that actively shape — and often constrain — the implementation of reforms. In Zambia, on paper decentralisation has remained a consistent policy objective since independence in 1964, with successive post-independence governments expressing rhetorical commitment to devolving power to the people. Despite four major reform phases and several legislative changes, tangible improvements in local development have remained limited. This thesis examines Zambia's decentralisation efforts between 2011 and 2021 through the analytical lens of the Problem-Driven Political Economy Analysis (PDPEA) framework. It investigates how structural, institutional, and ideational factors have shaped reform implementation and outcomes. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork in three districts — Mazabuka, Chipata, and Chibombo — this research finds that decentralisation in Zambia has been persistently undermined not merely by technical shortcomings but by a fundamental mismatch between the espoused policy of devolution and the underlying political incentives of the governing elite. Central authorities resist delegating meaningful power out of fear that doing so would weaken their control, particularly in a competitive and ethnically mobilised political landscape. These underlying causes manifest in a range of symptoms: institutional incoherence, the persistence of colonial-era centralisation, informal power dynamics that override formal rules, and limited autonomy at the district level. The strategic deployment of ethnicity and regionalism further distorts reform outcomes, while citizen disengagement and weak downward accountability reduce grassroots pressure for meaningful change. Taken together, these findings challenge technocratic assumptions that legal and administrative reforms alone can deliver effective decentralisation in Zambia; without genuine political will, reforms remain largely symbolic. The research proposes context-sensitive strategies that operate on two fronts. Firstly, to stimulate political will, reforms must shift the incentive structures of ruling elites so that they see tangible benefits from effective decentralisation. This can be done by linking performance-based fiscal transfers to developmental outcomes, demonstrating how empowered local governments can deliver visible gains that enhance regime legitimacy, and building leadership coalitions that anchor reform in widely shared local values. Civic mobilisation and digital transparency can also raise the political costs of resisting devolution, gradually realigning incentives. Secondly, where local autonomy remains limited, adaptive approaches can still carve out space for incremental progress. Civic-led accountability initiatives, citizen monitoring of service delivery, and experimental decentralisation “labs” can test innovative practices within constrained environments, generating evidence and pressure for broader reform over time. These measures help sustain bottom-up demand and demonstrate practical benefits, even when political will is partial or ambivalent. In contributing to broader debates on adaptive governance, the study argues that sustainable decentralisation ultimately requires both transforming entrenched belief systems and activating civic agency, while also recognising the realities of elite resistance. While focused on Zambia, the findings offer transferable insights for other post-colonial contexts grappling with similar decentralisation challenges.