Tilburg University Reflections van Stam, Gertjan Publication date: 2017 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication in Tilburg University Research Portal Citation for published version (APA): van Stam, G. (2017). Reflections: A Narrative on Displacement of Technology and Meaning in an African Place. [s.n.]. 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Download date: 02. okt. 2021 Reflections A Narrative on Displacement of Technology and Meaning in an African Place Gertjan van Stam Harare/Masvingo, Zimbabwe Macha, Zambia Tilburg, the Netherlands 2017 Copyright free | 1 Reflections A Narrative on Displacement of Technology and Meaning in an African Place Proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan Tilburg University op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof. dr. E.H.L. Aarts, in het openbaar te verdedigen ten overstaan van een door het college voor promoties aangewezen commissie in de aula van de Universiteit op vrijdag 15 september 2017 om 14.00 uur door Gertjan van Stam geboren te Rotterdam | 3 Promotores: prof. dr. M.E.H. van Reisen prof. dr. M. Mawere prof. dr. ir. G. van Oortmerssen Promotiecommissie: dr. T.F. Bissyandé prof. dr. B.H. Krogh prof. dr. J. Mutale dr. J.H. Nouwen Paranymphen: His Royal Highness Chief Chikanta His Excellency Senator Chief of Chiefs Charumbira Reflections A Narrative on Displacement of Technology and Meaning in an African Place Thesis submitted to obtain the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) at Tilburg University under the authority of the rector magnificus, prof. dr. E.H.L. Aarts, to defend publicly before a committee appointed by the college for promotions in the auditorium of the University, Friday 15 September 2017 at 14.00 hours by Gertjan van Stam born in Rotterdam | 5 Supervisors: prof. dr. M.E.H. van Reisen prof. dr. M. Mawere prof. dr. ir. G. van Oortmerssen Committee: dr. T.F. Bissyandé prof. dr. B.H. Krogh prof. dr. J. Mutale dr. J.H. Nouwen Paranymphs: His Royal Highness Chief Chikanta His Excellency Senator Chief of Chiefs Charumbira Harare, 5 June 2017 Macha Works Attention: Mr Fred Mweetwa, Director Macha, Chief Macha Area Choma District, Southern Province Zambia RE: Reflections: A Narrative on Displacement of Technology and Meaning in an African Place Dear Director Mweetwa, With this letter, I seek to inform you about the findings of my doctoral studies and research and to present the results of my philosophical and anthropological reflections entitled: ‘Reflections: A Narrative on Displacement of Technology and Meaning in an African Place’. The content of this letter is the result of our deep engagement and my ever expanding network of relationships in Southern Africa and beyond. The content of this letter has been discussed for dissemination to you with: • His Royal Highness Chief Chikanta, Former Vice Chairman of the House of Chiefs, Kalomo District, Zambia; • Mr Simbarashe Bishi, Chief Executive Officer, Murambinda Works, Murambinda Growth Point, Buhera District, Zimbabwe; and • His Excellency Senator Chief of Chiefs Charumbira, President of the National Council of Chiefs of Zimbabwe. These dignitaries represent the stakeholders in the local, national and regional communities who have participated in, and taken note, of this work in Africa. I am writing to you, in your capacity as Executive Director of Macha Works. Without your support and the blessings of the respective communities, this letter would not have been possible. The purpose of this letter is to provide you with the dissertation on my transdisciplinary research, commenced after presentation of the work of Macha Works in Lusaka at the | 7 Zambian House of Chiefs on 14 May 2009 and at the Scientific and Industrial Research and Development Centre (SIRDC) in Harare since 1 January 2013. The scientific assessment and dissemination of my work has been encouraged by you and my colleagues at Macha Works (Zambia) and Murambinda Works (Zimbabwe) and has subsequently been embedded in my work in Southern Africa. This letter is basically text framed as a doctoral thesis. Upon completion of a research proposal to Tilburg University on 1 September 2014, the Doctorate Board of Tilburg University in the Netherlands granted me permission to undertake my PhD (doctorate) at Tilburg University. The permission letter, reference 206.14.884, was dated 22 October 2014. The subject matter in this letter is broad and fashioned as sets of ideas that feed into an argument that is cognisant of the strength of the African worldviews and cultures. In separate sections of this letter, I endeavour to paint an authentic picture through a treatise on contexts, processes, and results of my research. This writing is my own and I bear full responsibility for its content. Subsequently, I now submit this text for degree assessment by the doctoral review committee, assembled under the authority at Tilburg University, School of Humanities, in Tilburg, the Netherlands, in collaboration with the Great Zimbabwe University in Masvingo, Zimbabwe. I was encouraged to file this thesis by Prof dr ir Gerard van Oortmerssen, whom you know. Prof dr Mirjam van Reisen, whom you will meet soon, was instrumental in guiding me through the processes. They put in efforts beyond the call- of-duty. Prof dr Munyaradzi Mawere, Great Zimbabwe University, is presiding over the Commission that will approve my work. As the assessment of the academic content of this thesis takes place in a Western place, an author is supposed to narrate about individual research from the position of an academic, presenting the content of the research in a linear and disentangled manner. This process also demands making explicit what is commonly known in Macha, but not readily known elsewhere, especially outside of the African continent. Of course, this position is discordant to my inclusion as part of the community in Africa. Therefore, I request your reprieve and permission for the presentation format and use of language contained in this letter. By undertaking this thesis, I hope to prove useful as an intellectual bridge, presenting the wonderful achievements at, and examples of, Macha Works and other African communities in a manner accessible from a Western positionality. In that way, I hope that the experiences and deductions can become available to new audiences, who may benefit from the experience of Macha Works. I hope that this work will be of relevance and add value to the academic body of knowledge, and I thank you for your continuous encouragements and moral support. Yours sincerely, Gertjan van Stam 3 Stratford Drive Greystone Park Harare Zimbabwe | 9 Macha, 9 June 2017 Gertjan van Stam c/o Tilburg University, Warandelaan 2 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands RE: Reflections: A Narrative on Displacement of Technology and Meaning in an African Place Dear PhD candidate Van Stam, Dear Gertjan, Thank you for your letter, dated 5 June 2017, in which you report on your findings at Macha Works and beyond. You framed the form and language of the letter to be in line with the stipulations and demands for a doctoral thesis at Tilburg University in the Netherlands. I respect your endeavour to report on your African experiences in the country of your ancestors. I am grateful to your promotor and co-promotors for their guidance and support to you. I look forward to meeting them soon. I was grateful for the opportunity to present and discuss Macha Works experiences at two separate occasions, in person, lecturing at Tilburg University upon invitation by Prof dr ir Gerard van Oortmerssen. Also, in Macha, we hosted many students from international universities. Therefore, I have first-hand experience of how one has to align the way of communicating to the context of a listener in an effort to build bridges among people in the global community. Thank you for recognizing your community, from which your research emerged, and reporting to Macha Works first. I wish you success in furthering the intellectual and embodied lessons you learned in Macha and other African communities and hope it is of benefit in our collective and collaborative efforts for all of humanity to reach its collective and individual potential. With kind regards, Fred Mweetwa Macha, Zambia | 11 Reflections A Narrative on Displacement of Technology and Meaning in an African Place Part I. Observations from Rural Africa Chapter 1. Observations from Rural Africa: Enquiry, Meaning and Dissemination | 17 Chapter 2. Contextual Research Based in Community Relationships | 39 Chapter 3. Information and Knowledge Transfer: The Case of Macha, Zambia | 75 Chapter 4. Methodology: Reflexive and Embodied Research | 93 Chapter 5. The Terrible Three: Orientalism, Imperialism and Colonialism | 117 Chapter 6. Clash of Paradigms: A Theory of Knowledge for Research in Rural Africa | 135 Part II. Engineering and Technology in an African Place Chapter 7. African Engineering: Macha Works | 151 Chapter 8. Macha Works Methods and African Paradigms | 183 Chapter 9. The Misalignment of Foreign Technologies | 209 Chapter 10. The Shortcomings of Globalized Internet Technology in Africa | 225 Chapter 11. Defining 5G Mobile Networks: Africa’s Non-Inclusion | 243 Chapter 12.