Coming up with a uniform definition of the term „rurality‟ that all countries can agree on, and which could be applied to any situation, has proved difficult. Rurality can have, among other dimensions, identified with community cohesion and governance (Ellis, Devereux & White, 2009; Madu, 2010). According to the Zimbabwean meaning of rurality, it is based on areas where these people are community-based (Makahamadze & Tavuyanago, 2013).
Makahamadze and Tavuyanago further explain rurality saying that, rural people are grouped in small communalities under the village headman the „Sabhuku‟. A cluster of these villages fall under one chieftaincy „uMambo‟ „Ushe‟ under a chief „Mambo‟ „Ishe‟. The term „chief‟
„Ishe‟ „Vashe‟ in Shona and „Induna‟ in Ndebele, refers to an individual who, by virtue of ancestry, occupies a clearly defined leadership position in an area (Makahamadze &
Tavuyanago, 2013). Traditionally, the chiefs are expected to administer justice and democracy in their areas of jurisdiction (Ellis, et al., 2009; Madu, 2010). However, World Bank (2011a) consent the use of the term „rural‟ varying from country to country, and rurality
can be of diverse types such as rural/urban fringe, peri-urban, accessible rural or the remote rural. The term “remote” means out of the way, or located far from the main centres of population and society (IFAD, 2010; World Bank, 2011). This is further elaborated by figure 2.1 below:
Accessible rural Urban
Rural/urban fringe Remote rural
Commuter belt [Source: World Bank, (2011a).]
Figure: 2. 1 Settlement areas in the country life
This figure gives the full picture of the settlement/areas in the country life. There is the urban area which is central. It stretches to the rural or urban fringe which is usually called the urban fringe area. People in the urban fringe area are almost city dwellers. They enjoy most of the city facilities like easy transport, banks, electricity just to mention a few. As distance increases from the urban fringe we move into the commuter belt. The urban facilities that are enjoyed by the people are reduced though it is not very far from the urban area. From this region outwards we reach the accessible rural. People in the accessible rural areas can have transport to go to the city. Going to the city is rather expensive because of the long distance.
Urban facilities are scarce in the accessible rural areas, and probably the approach area to the remote rural areas.
This study is interested in the remote rural areas of the country settlement. This has low population densities, an abundance of land, poverty and environment which barter the self- sufficiency from peasant farming (Ellis, et al., 2009; Madu, 2010). Makahamadze and Tavuyanago (2013) opine that usually remote rural areas are neglected and their inhabitants remain poorer, invisible, and marginalised, and excluded from decision-making processes.
Poverty and political weakness of remote rural populations are cited as main causes of rural neglect (UNESCO, 2010). The following is an INRULED report given by UNESCO in 2010:
… governance in developing countries bypass the politically voiceless --- those who suffer multiple deprivations on account of their income, ethnicity, gender, religion and because they live in rural areas … The poor in general and religious, deprivation from essential public services including education ----. The facts clearly are that the social sectors, especially the priority items of human development and education for the politically inarticulate and invisible rural poor, have been crowded out from government budgets by such items as heavy military expenditures, keeping afloat loss-making public enterprises in urban areas, subsidies that do not often reach the poor and external and internal debt- servicing (UNESCO, 2010, p. 26).
This shows that basically, these remote rural people do have aspirations but because they have been socially, politically and economically marginalised, they find no space in contributing to the country‟s development programmes. The lifestyle of remote rural people varies greatly from country to country depending on the economic support given to the people by the government (Ellis, et al., 2009; World Bank, 2011a). The government of Zimbabwe has neglected the remote rural dwellers. It is only towards elections that you see the government coming down to the remote rural areas to seek for support (Makahamadze &
Tavuyanago, 2013). My living experience is that during election time politicians come via the chiefs to campaign for their parties in the remote rural areas. They take advantage because these areas are poverty stricken. They also take advantage of the chiefs, since traditional leaders are (COPAC, 2013) part of the government‟s structure. These chiefs are considered civil servants by virtue of being local leaders and are entitled to hefty remuneration (Makahamadze & Tavuyanago, 2013). The chiefs benefited in the form of the beautiful houses constructed for them by the government. The government committed itself to electrify the chiefs‟ homes and installed piped-water. So they are on the government payroll and they
are given government vehicles for mobility. When the government comes down to speak to these rural people, it speaks through the chiefs.
Ellis et al. (2009), Makahamadze and Tavuyanago (2013) acknowledge that most of these remote rural areas are underprivileged and lack the basic economic infrastructures. Actually, there is limited access to amenities like electricity, banks, Post Offices, leisure services, super-markets, flea markets and internet shops. There are either no roads or only gravel roads, so travelling is very difficult especially after heavy rains. Most small rivers and streams in these areas have no bridges. Even school children do not go to school during the rainy season. This is the case in the Save-Sangwe areas in Chiredzi district and the Bvukururu and Muroyi areas in Zaka district (areas under study).
In these areas, there is little or no government intervention but only a few non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and donors who support developmental programmes by helping with the provision of the access to education, health and water (UNICEF, 2006). i.e.: most developmental programmes are initiated by these NGOs. Many schools are getting humanitarian assistance from these NGOs, especially the Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) (UNESCO, 2010). From a living experience, remote rural people of Zimbabwe are in except for the help given by these NGOs. They live in a „dark world‟, isolated and neglected.
Poverty has deepened (IFAD, 2010) because of lack of government support and the economic instability in the country. The quality of their existence is worsening year after year due to this economic melt-down in the country. Chiredzi and Zaka districts are also very hot and receive very little and/or erratic rainfall; as a result subsistence farming, as their source of livelihood, is not very productive. Usually they suffer from hunger due to poor soil and drought (Siwale, 2012).
2.2.1 Western versus African rurality
Siwale (2012) opines that, in Britain, as in many other industrialised countries, the media has played a major role in constructing idyllic pictures of the countryside or rural areas in contrast to those in Africa. Ellis et al. (2009) and Woods (2010) posit that in Africa, representations of remote rural areas are generally negative rather than positive. Therefore, Western rural life is the opposite of African, the latter leading poor life styles while most Western countries are developed, unlike countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Rural areas in Western countries are often perceived to be places where people can walk, ride, and cycle, sight-see, or simply escape urban stress in search of a slice of tranquillity (Siwale, 2012).Western rural areas offer opportunities for living a lifestyle that is socially cohesive, happy and healthy, and presenting a pace and quality of life that differs from that in the city (World Bank, 2011a; Siwale, 2012). This elucidates that in the Western countries rural areas are peaceful or restful places, which most people escape from cities in a hunt for that „solitude‟ lifestyle. Scott, Gilbert and Gelan (2007) support this by saying that,
„commercialised rural‟, is usually portrayed as idyllic, with an air of luxurious aimed at the very wealthy and foreign tourists that can afford safari holidays and enjoy the natural beauty of natural parks. Siwale (2012) confirms that, it is a place attractive for raising children as it radiates the impression of innocence. This presents that, in Western rural, the lifestyle expose children to a danger-free environment, a child friendly atmosphere. Children can only learn from their parents and siblings without outside influences from other people. It is a matter of having families enjoying their living independently, unlike in cities, where children can easily get bad influences from other people.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the rural is often seen as a place that is lifeless, rigid in expectations of attitudes and behaviour, and unchanging, while cities embody and instil new cultural values (Scott, et al., 2007; Ellis, et al., 2009). Remote rural inhabitants are seen as socially isolated, trapped in old-fashioned assumptions, dangerous beliefs and practices such as witchcraft and unwilling to adapt to the fast-moving life of cities and modernisation (Rye, 2006). This simply means that villages in Sub-Saharan Africa are almost equated to mere ignorance. These remote rural African people are seen as passive citizens who have no say in their tomorrow. They are socially, politically and economically isolated and divorced from active participation and knowledge that is crucial for their progression.
I therefore conclude that there is little pleasant life to be imagined in African remote rural areas. Most African people do not aspire to live in these areas, and rarely consider the areas as places for relaxing. It is only the prospect of labour in contrast to the Western remote rural areas which are considered as places for leisure and recreation. Therefore, I acknowledge that there are differences between life as experienced by children and adults in rural African countries compared to life experienced in rural Western countries. The main reason seems to
be that African countries are still developing so they have other primacies that attract government attention and wealth.