political economy & planning

1. UNIVERSITY OF ZIMBABWE
DEPARTMENT OF RURAL AND URBAN PLANNING
INTRODUCTION TO PLANNING
RUP 101
2017
THE HISTORICAL, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL CONTEXT OF PLANNING

2. Definition of the term “political economy”.
There is no single, agreed definition of the term “political economy”.
i. The OECD concisely says that: “Political economy analysis is
concerned with the interaction of political and economic processes
in a society: the distribution of power and wealth between
different groups and individuals, and the processes that create,
sustain and transform these relationships over time”
ii. The World Bank (26) says: Political economy (PE) is the study of
both politics and economics, and specifically the interactions
between them. It focuses on power and resources, how they are
distributed and contested in different country and sector contexts,
and the resulting implications for development outcomes

3. • Political economy is concerned in explaining how political
institutions, the political environment, and the economic system,
capitalist, socialist, communists or mixed — influence each
other.
• Political economy deals with economic models of political
processes & with the role of government and/or power
relationships in resource allocation for each type of economic
system.

4. • It short Political economy refers to the way the state is
organised to influence
• control of resources
• production processes-extraction and processing
• distribution of resources

5. CONT’D
In relation to the above
i. The control aspect means exercise of power over resources
(politics)
ii. The production and distribution aspects means economics.
• Hence we talk of political economy systems.
• Therefore states or governments adopt various political
economy systems suited to their political environment.
• What are these political economy systems

6. TYPES OF POLITICAL ECONOMY SYSTEMS
• Traditional Economic System
Centralised planned economies. (socialist/ communist/
command economy)
• Market based economies (capitalist/ free market economy)
• Mixed economies (mixed economy)

7. Traditional Economic System
• A traditional economic system is the best place to start because it is, quite
literally, the most traditional and ancient type of economy in the world.
There are certain elements of a traditional economy that those in more
advanced economies, such as Mixed, would like to see return to
prominence.
• Where Tradition Is Cherished: Traditional economies still produce products
and services that are a direct result of their beliefs, customs, traditions,
religions, etc. Vast portions of the world still function under a traditional
economic system. These areas tend to be rural, second- or third-world, and
closely tied to the land, usually through farming. However, there is an
increasingly small population of nomadic peoples, and while their
economies are certainly traditional, they often interact with other
economies in order to sell, trade, barter, etc.

8. Centrally Planned Economies
• In some countries such as the Russia and Cuba the means of
production, land water, and capital are owned by the state. Planning
covers all major spheres of the economic activity. Centrally planned
economies are often called command economies, indicating that the
large majority of economic decisions by individuals, firms, farms and
cooperatives are based on centrally based decisions

9. • In these economies the means of production are mostly privately
owned. Most decisions are made individually by owners of the
productive assets and coordination take place via the market, the
state and large firms exert important influence on individual decision
making. Development planning is less important and in such
situations is mostly indicative. Development plans elaborated after
numerous consultations with private groups, inform the public of
what the government intends to do, what economic development
priorities have been established, etc. through the planning of
infrastructure –economic, social, and physical-an important indirect
influence is exerted on the economy.

10. Mixed Based Economies
• These are somewhere in between the above two situations.
State, communal and private ownership exist side by side, but
in proportions varying from one country to another.
Development planning can be influential, particularly if there is
sizeable parastatal sector as in Zimbabwe. It is more than
merely indicative because of the economic relationships that
usually exist between the communal and private sector and the
sector (including the parastatal) sector. On the other hand the
effectiveness of and scope of development planning is often
greatly hampered by various constraints, including resource
constraints.

11. Importance of Political Economy In Planning
• Planning is part of a broader social programme that is responsible for
promoting physical, economic and social development for a better
community life.
• Physical, social and economic development processes involve much
more than technocratic approaches.
• Therefore to be successful and effective at offering the greatest
opportunities and prosperity for the community, planning should
also understand the political economy factors that determine
development.

12. • Planners should understand how and why governments make
and implement decisions; prioritise the allocation of scarce
financial and human resources; resolve trade-offs; regulate the
private sector; achieve accountability, and interact with civil
society and development partners in a given political system.
• This understanding is essential to the formulation of
development programmes.
• The political economic systems constitute the environment in
which planners work at any given time.
• What is the role of the planner in each PE system?

13. Zimbabwean Experience
• The form of Planning of any nation is a function of the historical ,
economic , social and political development of that nation.
• In Zimbabwe the Planning is closely linked to the evolution of the
colonial political economy and changes that occurred to the same
after independence.
• The historical development of Planning in Zimbabwe can be analysed
in three phases or political systems.
1. Traditional Economic System
• This relates to the period before 1890. No formal type of planning.

14. Phase 2 Period 1890-1979
• This period saw the change in the political economy of the nation.
• There was introduction of the market economy which existed side by
side with the traditional economy.
• This the new political economy was translated in to creation of two
broad categories of settlements to support the dual political
economy.
• There was creation of urban settlements to support industrial and
commercial activities.
• Rural settlements to support primary production and extraction of
goods.

15. • Planning had to play a role to support this political economic system.
• From the start racism was institutionalised in the planning system in
Zimbabwe.
• Planning facilitated the urbanisation process and the creation of rural
settlements. ( urban and rural planning)
• Within the urban areas racial considerations were also made in planning
the structure of the cities which were divided along racial lines that is black
and white townships (twin city concept) which still manifest today as legacy
of planning.
• The emphasis was on separation of these settlements which saw the black
townships being sited away from the city centres and white suburbs
causing some of the transport challenges faced by residents o these
suburbs today.

16. • Thus the spatial form and structure (morphology) of the Zimbabwean
towns and cities as they appear today was by and large a function of
the political economy.
• In the rural areas legislation like the Native Reserves Act, 1931 Land
Apportionment Act , the Land Husbandry Act of 1951 and the 1969
shaped the rural settlements and their economy. In rural areas the
creation of Gwai and Shangani ‘reserves’ under the Matabeleland
Order in Council of 1894 signified the rural planning.
• The blacks were condemned to the most unproductive land and
explains the high levels of poverty being experienced now.

17. Post Independence Planning 1980 to date
• The new government inherited a planning system that was meant to
support a segregationist political economy and had caused a lot of
imbalances.
• There made some efforts to address these imbalances by
• Introducing planning policies eg the Growth Point policy
• Decentralisation Policy to allow bottom-up/ participatory planning.
• Reviewing Planning Standards
• Review of Legislation
• Training planning professionals locally.
• Promoting rural development
• Developement programmes ZIMASSET

18. Major Planning Challenges
• Lack of a National Urban Policy to guide the development of urban
areas.
• Lack of an integrated planning framework/policy to guide rural
development. This has resulted in a number of separate planning
systems in the rural areas.
• What are these separate planning systems in Rural Areas?
• PlanAfric (2000) Local Strategic Planning and Sustainable Rural
Livelihoods Rural District Planning in Zimbabwe: A Case Study
Environmental Planning Issues No.23, December 2000