The geography of development experts in Tanzania : 1992-2007

• Main Author: Kifukwe, Gwamaka Robert
• Published: University of Nottingham 2011
• Subjects: 330.9678
• Online Access: http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.582003

This thesis uses a nuanced understanding of 'experts' to understand the changes to Tanzania's development decision-making framework. The purpose of Development is understood not only as alleviating poverty and encouraging economic growth, but also the spread of an increasingly global (and standardised) Development apparatus. For their part, experts are being (re-)produced in developing countries, like Tanzania, while conventions, benchmarks and leadership - such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Paris Declaration - are shifting to the global scale. This embeds the concept of experts into the social, economic and political fabric of developing areas. These are self-disciplining agents that draw inspiration and motivation from global discourse and act as channels for filtering data and methods between the local and the global. The argument is made that what constitutes an expert, ultimately defines what constitutes Development and sets the trajectory for Tanzania's development. As a politically stable African country, which has also enjoyed uninterrupted economic growth since the mid-1990s, Tanzania provides a unique setting to understand the emergence of experts in the context of a developing country. Analysis of official documentation, Government Acts, Development publications on and from Tanzania was supplemented by interviews and observation 'experts' in Tanzania. Three field trips led to over fifty interviews with representatives from various public bodies, as well as members of the Development Partners Group. The thesis also draws on the experience of growing up in Tanzania during much of the research period in a household that was both directly and indirectly involved in Development efforts. The research found that 'Development' interventions are multi-scalar and seem to be aimed at eliminating 'donor dependency syndrome', but appear to be replacing it with a kind of 'expert dependency syndrome'. Much of the Development efforts of the 1992 -2007 period have been about establishing legitimate and credible institutions and authorities on different 'themes' of Development. This is explored through analysis of two non-governmental organisations (NGOs): Research on Poverty Alleviation (REPOA) and the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP). While expert (re-)production sites exist in Tanzania they draw on global development discourse leading to an increased global vision of Modernity, influenced heavily by the Western Development experience.