Bridging the Gap Between Socio-Economic Rights and Development in Africa: The Case of Zimbabwe’s 2013 Constitution
- June 28, 2022
- Posted by: rsispostadmin
- Categories: Governance and Leadership, IJRISS, Social Science
International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VI, June 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Emmaculate Tsitsi Ngwerume
PhD Student (Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance, Africa University, Zimbabwe)
Lecturer (Peace and Governance Department, Bindura University of Science Education, Zimbabwe)
Abstract: It is the aim of this paper to explore the inextricable link between human rights and development in Africa, using the Zimbabwean 2013 Constitution as the prime case study. Comparisons were also drawn from different selected countries regionally as well as globally. Qualitative research through extensive desk research, involving the application of critical content analysis was the adopted methodology. Despite the widespread recognition and adoption of human rights-based approaches to development, including the Right To Development (RTD) in most developing states, a huge gap exists between principle and practice. More so, the RTD in particular, is a very much contested concept, both locally and internationally. However, for sustainable development to be achieved in Africa and other developing parts of the world, there is need to make human rights, and particularly, socio-economic rights, an integral component of the development process.
Key words: Development, human rights, Right to Development, socio-economic rights, Zimbabwean Constitution
I. INTRODUCTION
Since independence, the development trajectory of Zimbabwe has been marked by the crafting and implementation of various economic blueprints aimed at improving the economic performance of the country and ultimately uplifting the livelihoods of the general citizenry. Sadly, most of these blueprints which include, among others, Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (1991-1996), Millennium Economic Recovery Plan (2001-2002), Ten Point Plan based on Agriculture (2002), Macroeconomic Policy Framework (2005-2006), ZIMASSET (2013-2018) as well as the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (2016-2018) have not yielded the expected outcomes. As Kanyeze, Chitambara & Tyson (2017) argue, experience shows that the government, just like most other governments in the developing world, have been long on planning and short on implementation. Socio-economic rights can be conceptualised as human rights which are related to the basic necessities of life such as the right to food, right to work, right to a decent home, right to health and right to education (Kondo, 2017). As such socio-economic rights have become an integral component of the human development discourse.
The paper will be structured as follows; the first part will centre on the human rights normative framework, internationally, regionally and locally. Special focus will be
