ROLE OF THE STATE IN ENSURING DEVELOPMENT IN A COUNTRY
Moi University
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
IRD 200: DISCUSSION ON THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN ENSURING DEVELOPMENT IN A COUNTRY
Submitted By: FRED WAICHERE M.
FEBRUARY 2013
INTRODUCTION
A state may be simply defined as a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government. Claude Ake (1992) defines a state as: The organized aggregate of relatively permanent institutions of governance. It is seen as a set of associations and agencies claiming control over defined territories and their populations. The main components of the state are, consequently, decision making structures (executives, parties and parliaments), decision-enforcing institutions (bureaucracies, parastatal organizations and security forces) and decision-mediating bodies (primary courts, tribunals and investigatory commissions). The character of the state in any particular country is determined by the pattern of organization of these institutions at specific points in time. The government is usually used interchangeably with the state but it however represents the people or officers in power who change from time to time but the state does not change.
The state plays a major role in the development of a country as it is the government/state that enacts key policies are key to economic success and development in a given country. There has however been a lot of contention especially in African countries about the role of the state in regards to development of a country. This is because many African states relied and still rely heavily on foreign markets and expatriates for development in the country. For example in southern Africa most post colonial states depended on expatriates for the formulation of national developmental plans that ran for 5 to 15 years. These plans were also still financed by foreign donors. A similar case was seen in Tanzania whose first phase of its ambitious 15 year development plan was funded by external
COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES
IRD 200: DISCUSSION ON THE ROLE OF THE STATE IN ENSURING DEVELOPMENT IN A COUNTRY
Submitted By: FRED WAICHERE M.
FEBRUARY 2013
INTRODUCTION
A state may be simply defined as a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government. Claude Ake (1992) defines a state as: The organized aggregate of relatively permanent institutions of governance. It is seen as a set of associations and agencies claiming control over defined territories and their populations. The main components of the state are, consequently, decision making structures (executives, parties and parliaments), decision-enforcing institutions (bureaucracies, parastatal organizations and security forces) and decision-mediating bodies (primary courts, tribunals and investigatory commissions). The character of the state in any particular country is determined by the pattern of organization of these institutions at specific points in time. The government is usually used interchangeably with the state but it however represents the people or officers in power who change from time to time but the state does not change.
The state plays a major role in the development of a country as it is the government/state that enacts key policies are key to economic success and development in a given country. There has however been a lot of contention especially in African countries about the role of the state in regards to development of a country. This is because many African states relied and still rely heavily on foreign markets and expatriates for development in the country. For example in southern Africa most post colonial states depended on expatriates for the formulation of national developmental plans that ran for 5 to 15 years. These plans were also still financed by foreign donors. A similar case was seen in Tanzania whose first phase of its ambitious 15 year development plan was funded by external
References: 1. African Development Indicators, Drawn from World Bank Africa Database, The World Bank, Washington D.C., 2001 2. Ake, C., ‘Democracy and Development in Africa’; The Brookings Institution, Washington DC., 1996 3. Khabele M., ‘The role of the state in development in SADC region’; council for development in Africa, Ghana, 2002 4. The ministry of Industry and commerce of Zimbabwe data base: ‘www.miit.gov.zw/policies’, 2012