Mid-term project review of the CYIKAC project (http://tiny.cc/2470p)

Introduction

The State of Connecticut seconded the economic development and capacity building consultant Hank Morgan to the government of 6th Century Britain. The consultant’s mission is to:

• Advise the government on industrial development policy
• Plan and implement national infrastructure development
• Support and promote institutional reform
• Capacity building of government officials
• Improvement of the national schooling system

Whilst the consultant’s mandate is ambitious, it is felt that such a broad intervention is required to mobilise the critical momentum to lift Britain out of its poverty trap.

Outcomes

The consultant has been able to establish a number of small industries, has built one water supply well, developed a national telegraph network, and has undertaken a number of successful capacity building measures. Further, the consultant has initiated a number of policy initiatives and has begun a stakeholder consultation regarding constitutional reform

Sustainability of the intervention

Whilst it is difficult to assess the long-term impact of this intervention at this stage, it appears that the capacity building measures and high level of government commitment will ensure a lasting impact and the maintenance of new infrastructure created.

Challenges and risks

A number of challenges remain, particularly the low level of literacy due to the slow impact of improvements in the education system. Survey results have shown a low level of awareness of the development intervention, with some recipients referring to specific interventions as wizardry.

Political tension in the country continues to pose a risk to development workers’ personal safety. We propose that developments are monitored closely. Of particular concern is the potential for a power-struggle between the military, the clergy and the King.

Muzungu's burden

Having finished a long overdue reading of William Easterly's book, White Man's Burden a couple of months ago, I was pleasantly surprised by the book: Easterly's articles (e.g. Can the West Save Africa, Dismal Science) tend to be a rather excessively pessimistic deconstruction of the failings of modern development aid; in this book Easterly goes much further in proposing ways in which we can move forward in solving the problems of the poor.

The central argument is one of Planners versus Searchers. Easterly's Planners are the proponents of the classical top-down development aid. This is particularly prevalent in the large bi-lateral and multi-lateral donor organisations. The Searchers are grass-roots implementers who try out and search for techniques and projects that work. Many grass-roots NGOs can be described as Searchers. Reform of development aid according to Easterly should involve a shift of power from Planners to Searchers. Easterly also tackles a range of other development issues such as accountability, recipient country participation and military intervention.

White Man's Burden is often seen as the antithesis to Jeffrey Sachs' book, End of Poverty. This comparison hardly does Easterly justice. The End of Poverty is a mostly anecdotal account with very little hard data to back up the core theses of the book. White Man's Burden bases its arguments on historical data, and uses anecdotal evidence only to complement, illustrate and occasionally complete when statistical data is insufficient. By comparison, I found The End of Poverty a weak and sloppy work that borders on populism.

I do however find one important weakness in the argument of White Man's Burden. Whilst results-oriented Searchers may indeed be able to offer direct solutions to straightforward problems such as school enrollment and mosquito bed nets, it is unlikely that more long-term projects such as private sector development or vocational training will work in the same way. Long-term projects tend to require people who can afford to worry less about immediate results. There is a balance to be struck.

This is an excellent book and an entertaining read.