Greener Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs

Greener Journal of Philosophy and Public Affairs Vol. 1 (1), pp. 1-6, April 2014.

© 2014 Greener Journals

Research Article

Manuscript Number: 021714109

Why Development-Induced Displacement is morally Objectionable: An Ethical Appraisal of the Macdom-ARDA Chisumbanje Ethanol Project in Chipinge, Southeastern Zimbabwe

Elias G. Konyana

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Great Zimbabwe University.

Email: konyanaeg@ gmail. com, Cell: +263 774 845 185

ABSTRACT

Elitist socio-economic policies have remained largely responsible for community displacements in many African countries. Previously, colonial governments established land-intensive projects which became major disruptive phenomena for the affected communities in Africa. Experience has shown that displacement unsettles communities, upsets cultural or traditional practices, justice systems and communal livelihoods. In some instances, communal displacement represents low regard for human rights by state and non-state actors. Ironically, planners of displacements often adopt and deploy the rhetoric of development and modernism. In Zimbabwe, the persistent conclusion in displacement narratives is that land dispossessions pushed Africans into supporting the nationalist movements of the 1960s and the liberation struggle of the 1970s. However, post-independence state-sponsored projects have continued to haunt communities. This paper tackles the moral issues associated with development induced displacements and resettlement. It provides the communal narratives emanating from the grand state sponsored Macdom-ARDA Chisumbanje ethanol project, arguing that the project’s establishment is morally objectionable.

Key words/phrases: Development; Ethics; Development projects; Development-Induced Displacement.

REFERENCES

Adger, W 2009. International Development Ethics (A short on-line introduction at: http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/OApp/OAppCroc.htm. (Accessed: 10.03.2013).

Bakare, S. (1993). My Right to Land in the Bible and in Zimbabwe: A Theology of Land in Zimbabwe Harare: Zimbabwe Council of Churches.pp46

Crocker, A. (2008). Ethics of Global Development: Agency, Capability and Deliberative Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Esquith, S. and Gifford, F. (Eds) (2009). Capabilities, Power and Institutions: Towards a More Critical Development Ethics. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press.

Furtado, C. (1971). Development under Development. Berkeley: Berkeley University of California Press.

Gasper, D. (2004). The Ethics of Development. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Glover, J. (1995).The Research Programme of Development Ethics, in M, Nussbaum and J. Glover (Eds). (Women, Culture, and Development: A Study of Human Capabilities. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Goulet, D. (1988). Tasks and Methods in Development Ethics. Cross Currents, 38 (2): 146-163.

Gunatilleke, G., Tiruchelvan, N. and Coomaraswamy, R. (1983). Ethical Dilemmas of Development in Asia.

London: Lexington Books.

Hamelink, C. (Ed.) (1997). Ethics and Development: On Making Moral Choices in Development Co-operation. Kampen, Netherlands: Uitgeverij Kok.

Hardman, M. and Midgely, J. (1981). The Social Dimensions of Development. (New York: Willy Press.

Mahenye, J.M., Chisumbanje, F., Takwirira and Machona, M. [Interviews carried out by the researcher on various occasions from 12 January 2013 to 27 March 2013].

Quarles van Ufford, P. & Giri, A.K. (2003). (Eds), A Moral Critique of Development London: Routledge.

Solomon, R.C. (1993). Ethics and Excellence: Cooperation and Integrity in Business. New York: Oxford University Press.

Verstraelen, F. J. (1998). Zimbabwean Realities and Christian Responses. Gweru: Mambo Press. pp104.