THE SPATIAL DIMENSION OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN ZIMBABWE by EVANS CHAZIRENI Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the subject GEOGRAPHY at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA SUPERVISOR: MRS AC HARMSE NOVEMBER 2003 1 Table of Contents List of figures 7 List of tables 8 Acknowledgements 10 Abstract 11 Chapter 1: Introduction, problem statement and method 1.1 Introduction 12 1.2 Statement of the problem 12 1.3 Objectives of the study 13 1.4 Geography and economic development 14 1.4.1 Economic geography 14 1.4.2 Paradigms in Economic Geography 16 1.4.3 Development paradigms 19 1.5 The spatial economy 21 1.5.1 Unequal development in space 22 1.5.2 The core-periphery model 22 1.5.3 Development strategies 23 1.6 Research design and methodology 26 1.6.1 Objectives of the research 26 1.6.2 Research method 27 1.6.3 Study area 27 1.6.4 Time period 30 1.6.5 Data gathering 30 1.6.6 Data analysis 31 1.7 Organisation of the thesis 32 2 Chapter 2: Spatial Economic development: Theory, Policy and practice 2.1 Introduction 34 2.2. Spatial economic development 34 2.3. Models of spatial economic development 36 2.3.1. The core-periphery model 37 2.3.2 Model of development regions 39 2.3.2.1 Core region 41 2.3.2.2 Upward transitional region 41 2.3.2.3 Resource frontier region 42 2.3.2.4 Downward transitional regions 43 2.3.2.5 Special problem region 44 2.3.3 Application of the model of development regions 44 2.3.3.1 Application of the model in Venezuela 44 2.3.3.2 Application of the model in South Africa 46 2.3.3.3 Application of the model in Swaziland 49 2.4. Policy and practice 49 2.4.1 Growth pole strategy 50 2.4.2 Development of secondary cities 51 2.4.3 Basic needs strategy 52 2.4.4 Employment creation strategy 52 2.4.5 Industrial decentralization 53 2.5 Conclusion 54 3 Chapter 3: The development situation in Zimbabwe 3.1 Introduction 55 3.2 Zimbabwe: a geographical perspective 55 3.3 The evolution of the Zimbabwean space economy 58 3.3.1 The traditional economy 58 3.3.2 The colonial period 59 3.3.3 The post colonial period 60 3.4 The Zimbabwean space economy 62 3.5 Conclusion 65 Chapter 4: Data gathering for regional demarcation 4.1 Introduction 67 4.2 Regional demarcations in geography 67 4.2.1 Defining a region 67 4.2.2 Types of regions 68 4.2.3 Regional demarcation methods 70 4.3 Indicators for regional demarcation 74 4.3.1 Indicators used by other researchers 75 4.3.2 Indicators and components used in this research 76 4.4 Data gathering 78 4.4.1 Data sources 78 4.4.2 Data for identified indicators of development 79 4.4.2.1 Population component (A) 79 4.4.2.2 Economic prosperity component (B) 80 4.4.2.3 Education Component (C) 81 4.4.2.4 Health component (D) 82 4.5 Conclusion 83 4 Chapter 5: Data analysis for regional demarcation 5.1 Introduction 84 5.2 Method of data analysis 84 5.3 Organisation of the data 85 5.3.1 Determining the correlation of the variables 85 5.3.2 Calculation of reciprocals 88 5.4 Data analysis 89 5.4.1 The calculation of simple indices 89 5.4.2 Calculation of composite index per component 91 5.4.3 Calculation of composite index for each district 92 5.5 The spatial distribution of results 93 5.5.1 Cartographic representation of results 93 5.5.2 Map interpretation 94 5.5.2.1 Population component 94 5.5.2.2 Economic prosperity 96 5.5.2.3 Education component 97 5.5.2.4 Health component 99 5.5.2.5 Overall socio-economic development 101 5.6 Demarcation of regions 102 5.6.1 Method used for regional demarcation 104 5.6.2 The core region 105 5.6.3 The upward transitional region 107 5.6.4 The special problem region 108 5.6.5 The resource frontier region 109 5.6.6 The downward transitional region 110 5.7 Evaluation of demarcated development regions 110 5.8 Conclusion 112 5 Chapter 6: Strategies for spatial development in Zimbabwe 6.1 Introduction 114 6.2 Development strategies used in Zimbabwe in the past 114 6.2.1 Spatial planning in the pre-independence period (up to 1977) 115 6.2.2 The transition to independence: 1978-1979 116 6.2.3 The post independence period of the 1980s 117 6.2.4 The period from 1990 up to the present 118 6.3 Evaluation of the spatial strategies 120 6.4 Proposal for adjustments to previous regional development strategies 122 6.4.1 The growth pole strategy 122 6.4.2 The basic needs approach 124 6.4.3 Employment creation strategy 125 6.4.4 Industrial decentralization 125 6.4.5 The development of secondary cities 126 6.5 Development planning for specific regions 127 6.5.1 The core region 128 6.5.1.1 Friedmann’s guidelines 128 6.5.1.2 Strategies for Zimbabwe 129 6.5.2 Strategies for the upward transitional region 131 6.5.3 The resource frontier region 133 6.5.3.1 Friedmann’s guidelines 133 6.5.3.2 Strategies for Zimbabwe 134 6.5.4 The downward transitional region 135 6.5.4.1 Friedmann’s guidelines 135 6.5.4.2 Strategies for Zimbabwe 137 6.5.5 Strategies for the special problem region 139 6.6 Conclusion 139 6 Chapter 7 Synthesis and conclusions 7.1 Introductions 141 7.2 Problems in research 141 7.3 Results obtained 143 7.3.1 Spatial patterns of components of socio-economic development 143 7.3.2 Regional demarcation 145 7.3.3 Spatial development planning 148 7.4 A re-evaluation of regional policies and strategies 151 7.5 Development planning for specific regions 153 7.6 Further recommendations 155 7.7 Conclusions 155 Appendix A 157 Bibliography 175 7 List of figures Figure1.1 Provinces of Zimbabwe 28 Figure 1.2 Administrative districts of Zimbabwe 29 Figure 2.1 A schematic representation of the core-periphery model 39 Figure 2.2 Friedmann’s model of development regions 40 Figure 3.1 Map of Zimbabwe 56 Figure 4.1 Greater Harare Area: polarised region demarcated around Harare 72 Figure 5.1 Spatial distribution of the composite index of population 95 Figure 5.2 Spatial distribution of the composite index of economic prosperity 97 Figure 5.3 The spatial distribution of the composite index of education 99 Figure 5.4 The spatial distribution of the composite index of health 100 Figure 5.5 The spatial distribution of the index of overall socio-economic development 102 Figure 5.6 Application of Friedmann's (1966) model of development on the Zimbabwean space economy 106 Figure 6.1 Growth Points in Zimbabwe 123 8 List of Tables Table 1.1 Components and indicators of socio-economic development 31 Table 4.1 Components and indicators of socio-economic development 77 Table 5.1 Correlation of indicators 87 Table 5.2 Calculation of reciprocals for four districts in Zimbabwe 88 Table 5.3 Calculation of the simple indices 90 Table 5.4 Calculation of the composite index of the chosen districts 91 Table 5.5 Calculation of composite index for each district 93 Table 5.6 Districts of Zimbabwe ranked according to level of socio-economic development 103 Table 5.7 Administrative districts demarcated according to Friedmann’s (1966) model of development regions 105 Appendix Table 4.1.1 Data for the population component 157 Table 4.1.2 Data for the component economic prosperity 159 Table 4.1.3 Data for the education component 161 Table 4.1.4 Data for the health component 163 Table 5.2.1 Calculation of simple and composite indices for the population component (IA) 165 Table 5.2.2 Calculation of simple and composite indices for the economic prosperity component (IB) 167 9 Table 5.2.3 Calculation of simple and composite indices for the education component (IC) 169 Table 5.2.4 Calculation of simple and composite indices for the health component (ID) 171 Table 5.2.5 Calculation of the composite indices for overall socio-economic development 173 10 Acknowledgements I wish to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor Mrs A C Harmse for her detailed guidance, dedication, and unwavering support in making the work a meaningful research. The superior ability of Mrs Harmse to guide (supervise) made the work easier for me. I am fully convinced that, had it not been the tireless effort of Mrs Harmse in guiding me, the work could not have been what it is today. My primary debt therefore goes to her. My gratitude also goes to the personnel at the Central Statistics Office in Harare, and especially Mr E Mufunda for providing me with the 1992 census reports. The reports contained almost all the information I wanted. Most of the data from the Central Statistics Office was in a form that was easy to use and the personnel at the Central Statistics Office were very cooperative. An acknowledgement is also given to a friend and colleague at work in the department of Geography and Environmental Studies at Great Zimbabwe University, Mr A Haruzivishe.