The Fond for development and Partnership in Africa
Der Fonds für Entwicklung und Partnerschaft in Afrika unterstützt seit sechzig Jahren Selbsthilfeprojekte in Zimbabwe und Südafrika
fepa is on the side of the disadvantaged. Our commitment is not only humanitarian, but also (development) political. We support those forces that stand up for social justice and democracy and stand up for them to be able to defend their rights. fepa therefore informs about the living environments of our partners and is specifically active when our solidarity can make a difference.
Women in Zimbabwe are important for sustainable development. But women’s voice is limited and women are disadvantaged in many ways. With a special focus on young women, we present the situation and show what can be done to promote more equitable development.
Focused entirely on practice and innovation: Together with more than a dozen organisations, mostly led by young women, we strengthen activism and innovation for a strong movement for women’s rights and gender justice.
Find here our newest articles on advocacy with voices from those directly impacted:
September 2023, Mazingi: Lucy Mazingi: It’s time to share power
May 2023, Gumede: Climate Justice: Funding and compensation for Africa
May 2023, Mhlanga: Music in Zimbabwe: Between commerce and criticism of the system
The fepa website is now available in English!
After months of preparation, fepa is delighted to announce that our website is now available in English!
You can now easily switch from German to English and back. This makes our website more accessible to people beyond Switzerland. We are very proud of this development and it’s going to further our work that much more.
For smallholder farmers in the lowlands of south-eastern Zimbabwe, the forest garden in Chaseyama is a beacon of ecological knowledge and dignity. It points a way out of environmental degradation and food insecurity.
In recent years, a dynamic and inclusive agro-ecological movement has grown up around fepa’s partner organisation PORET. Farmers, many of them women or young people, improve their own production in exchange and support the development of the community. The results are good: food security has increased.
The agroecological awakening is complemented by an initiative for a more cooperative pastoralism that uses livestock in a holistic way to also restore natural resources (land fertility, water balance, etc). This is a particularly complex task that only a movement strongly anchored in local society can solve.
Issues of food security, ecology and the strengthening of smallholder structures shape the development perspectives of rural areas – also in Zimbabwe. The persistently poor economic situation there particularly weakens farmers’ access to means of production. In recent years, Zimbabwe’s naturally disadvantaged agricultural zones in particular have suffered from massive drought. These include the arid lowlands in the southeast, where this project is located.
There, the “Forest Garden” project is creating a nucleus of learning, knowledge and technology exchange and improved sustainable farming practices in the arid areas affected by ecological degradation: Based on a “forest garden” to be redesigned according to permaculture principles, a management of natural bases for food production adapted to local ecological and cultural factors is promoted.
The project creates a new and locally anchored platform for knowledge exchange within the network and stimulates a thought process on sustainable forms of production in the arid lowlands. Careful management of natural resources is taken into account, as is the preservation of local knowledge about adapted seeds and crops. Community care is an integral part of this approach.
The success of the project is measured not least by its impact: many farmers participate, implement ideas on organic farming and thus actively improve their food situation. The project participants in Zimbabwe have already proven that this works. In the south-east of Zimbabwe, one of the most successful permaculture projects in the world has been developed over the last 20 years.
With its concrete activities, the project is laying a foundation for PORET’s long-term contribution to the creation of sustainable development in an ecologically fragile region riddled with social conflict. Within the framework of the project, a kind of ecological model farm is being established in self-help and the necessary infrastructure measures are being implemented. Based on this, a program of workshops with training character and mobile consultations will be carried out. The yields from the forest garden are also used to provide healthy meals for about 30 children in the affiliated kindergarten.
PORET is already well connected and affiliated to various national and regional umbrella organisations and networks.
| fepa partner organisation | PORET |
| Location | Chaseyama, Zimbabwe |
| Target group | Small-scale farmers in the arid lowlands of Chaseyama |
| fepa contribution 2016-2023 | CHF 340’000 |
| fepa contribution 2022-2024 | CHF 480’000 |
…you support small farmers to initiate an ecological turnaround so that they can continue to live from the yield of their agriculture for a long time to come.
This year, 2023 marks a milestone achievement of 60 years of development work for the Fund for Development and Partnership (fepa). fepa was founded when black and white pioneers established community farms in Rhodesia- now Zimbabwe, working together and, in a way, challenging the Rhodesian government and white supremacy ideology. fepa has throughout its history worked with grassroots movements and solidarity networks in Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Africa and Mozambique around human rights, democracy, empowerment, and standing against racism and racial discrimination.
It is essential during this milestone celebration to reflect on how development aid in Southern Africa where fepa has active partnerships has shifted. This is an opportunity to immerse ourselves in the current conversation around decoloniality and localisation as fepa positions itself for the next 40 years. Our reflections will also be informed by experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic and our responses to the war in Ukraine which have further challenged us to rethink development aid.
There is growing acknowledgement by development actors on the need to shift power dynamics as far as aid is concerned by re-examining trust and redefining partnership. This has been an ongoing process but more effort towards dismantling structural barriers that impede its advance is needed. It is also important to interrogate narratives that preclude local actors from playing the leading role in the development of their own communities.
If we look at the historical governance structures for international funding agencies, the power dynamics were, and some are still well pronounced in terms of the geographical location of the agencies- headquarters offices in Northern capital cities including lack of diversity in staff and board members. This in most cases meant flying in and out of communities/ countries to monitor and participate in activities and projects, very often with exorbitant overheads. Some countries in the South are also tightening immigration laws making it cumbersome to get work permits for international staff. There has also been a conscious shift over the years to establish regional offices in southern regional centres with some donor agencies taking a step further to establish countries offices that employ, and some led by local staff.
Currently, International Non-Governmental Organisations (INGOs) prioritise the needs of the majority affluent country donor(s). They provide the funding, choose which projects go ahead, write proposals, and determine what expertise, development and success look like. Furthermore, the country-based INGOs, donors, or offices usually have the budgetary power and the last say in many if not all areas. This final say must be endorsed by the Northern Head Office. Because of the historical power imbalances, many local organizations have difficulty pushing back against donors, especially on program priorities or crucial financial terms like indirect cost rates. Communities even know that local community-based organisations have to wait for approval or final say from the INGOs – that is how embedded these power relations are. If INGO staff go on summer holidays everything stops and the impact is felt at local community levels where delays are experienced.
There is still a lot of hesitance by development actors to fully localise based on experiences from the past where some cases of corruption and fraud have occurred. There are narratives that purport that local organizations are more prone to fraud, cannot comply with donor requirements, or lack the capacity to implement complicated programming that meets donor expectations.
If we are to move towards decolonisation, a radical examination of narratives andchanging approaches of aid by involving and elevating people, systems and methods that originate from communities side-lined by historical imbalances that include colonialism. It is crucial that organisations are honest and transparent about the structure and history of the international aid sector and the inherent cycles of privilege and power. According to Humentum, there must be an understanding of the cycle of dependency that has been created in aid-recipient countries and populations. This understanding should result in a relinquishing, transferring, and sharing of power at all levels of its structure.
To decolonise aid, INGOs should start by addressing the lack of diversity in leadership and governance. Leadership and governance should respect differences, and be genuine, equitable and inclusive. Power holders must truly understand their power and privilege. More women and men of colour and other social identities should be in senior leadership positions and embrace inclusive and feminist leadership styles that are rooted in care, solidarity, and empathy. This should be extended to governing boards of INGOs that remain predominantly male and white, or from the white/European diaspora.
The aid-receiving people (in their diversities) and country must be acknowledged, included, and centred in proposals and solutions. Co-creation and co-implementation by the people should be adopted. Success must be defined by the community receiving the aid. There is a need to ensure that development work will contribute towards communities’ autonomy and self-sustainability instead of reinforcing inequality, white supremacy, and unequal power relations.
To counter narratives around risk, donors would need to increase their risk tolerance when working with local partners by moving away from viewing local actors as an inherent risk; and instead treating them as vital assets bringing both value for money and a greater possibility of sustainability.
The evidence from the localisation shows that local knowledge and engagement are essential for sustainable, equitable development and redressing the inequalities that exist between the global and local actors. More ownership and effective utilisation of resources is achieved through localisation. This may not happen overnight, but acceleration steps must already be put in place.
The charismatic and influential civil society activist has been involved in international cooperation for three decades. On the occasion of fepa’s 50th anniversary, she was our guest in Switzerland. Lucy Mazingi has been the country director of “We Effect” since 2021.
Ndomupeishe “Ndomzy” Chipendo was named the winner of the “outstanding female dancer” category of the National Music Awards 2023 in February. She also consciously uses dance as a tool for social dialogue. In September, the dancer will come to Switzerland at fepa’s invitation. There will be workshops and a collaboration with dance artists in Switzerland. On Friday 29.9.2023, Ndomzy will be at fepa’s anniversary event. More about the dancer’s programme on the fepa website.
I come from a very artistic family. My mother is a music teacher and encouraged my skills from a young age. Sometimes I was allowed to travel with her when she was on cultural exchange programmes that involved music and dance. At the age of 11, I participated in a performing arts training programme for children called CHIPAWO. I learned traditional dances there, mainly from southern Africa.
In 2012, I received a scholarship to the Afrikera Arts Trust, a performing arts school in Zimbabwe, and graduated with a diploma in 2015. This was followed by a professional certificate from Music Crossroads Academy Zimbabwe. Since then I have been working as a freelance artist, mainly in dance. However, I also play several instruments and sing.
Dance is low on the list of supported arts in Zimbabwe. Yet it is very present and one of the most important components in many areas, such as music videos, theatre performances and live shows. But in the dance sector, too little is paid and we dancers often get little recognition. Yet we are among those who work the hardest to establish ourselves. It takes experience and a big network for me to get more gigs as a dancer. Together with a group of dancers, we found ways to establish ourselves in the arts and culture sector. We were loud and present in the art scene, so we earned many awards and recognition. But it’s not just about income as an artist. We are also trying to change the mindset about dance in Zimbabwe. There is a lot of dancing nowadays and that has increased the recognition of dancers in the country, not only in Harare but nationwide.
I like working with women, but in Zimbabwe, dance is mostly male-dominated. Being in a male-dominated space can be very intimidating, but I have learned to accept this and try to embrace my feminine energy in such spaces. It’s not easy, but with experience it becomes possible.
By F. D. Mhlanga
Farai Danny Mhlanga studied Public Administration and Management and graduated with a Masters in Peace, Leadership & Governance. He works as a development professional, advocating for youth empowerment and sustainable development.
For generations, music has been an influential means of political expression in Zimbabwe. Today, songs by critical pop musicians are heard by millions of young people. Our author places today’s controversial songs in the longer history of popular music as a critique of colonial and undemocratic rule and as a mobilising tool for civil society engagement.
The use of music for political goals began during the liberation struggle with artists like Thomas Mapfumo in the 1970s. Mapfumo adapted traditional musical styles played with the mbira for the amplified electric guitar. His music and lyrics were messages of resistance and unity in the anti-colonial liberation war, the second Chimurenga. The genre of Chimurenga music emerged and they mobilised broad sections of the population for the struggle for independence.
The ruling party of independent Zimbabwe thus knew well the mobilising effect of music and soon tried to control what was said. The only artists who sang quite explicitly about politics were commissioned by the ruling party, for example the Mbare Chimurenga Choir. Otherwise, under Robert Mugabe’s leadership, censorship, arrests and harassment of artists who sang about politics continued until the early 2000s. In 2005, Thomas Mapfumo also fled to the West.
In the 2000s, music was increasingly used to address burning social issues such as cohesion in the nation or HIV and AIDS and. Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi, also known in Switzerland for his acclaimed live performances, addressed family and social problems with his music: Domestic violence, early marriages and poverty.
This period also saw the emergence of new electronic sounds that stood out from the guitars and mbira sounds of the Chimurenga tradition: the urban grooves. They also became popular because local radio stations were now required by law to play a majority of local musicians. The urban grooves were mainly aimed at promoting the arts and culture industry and were less politically oriented.
The rise of ZimDancehall as a genre within urban grooves since around 2010 brought a new wave of hope, especially to the nation’s young people. ZimDancehall also brought with it an upsurge in the music industry. New technologies and the internet provided artists with many platforms to distribute their music. Thus, ZimDancehall also caught the attention of policy makers as it captured the hearts of young people with its messages of youth empowerment and culture change. The regime lost control over the distribution and content of the music.
Artists like Jah Prayzah with songs for the preservation of culture and heritage also touched the hearts of the elders with new music. But a new dissident, youthful culture also emerged in the second republic. The pioneers of this music were young people, especially Winky D, Soul Jah Love, Freeman, Jah Prayzah and Chillspot Records.
Overall, ZimDancehall culture has contributed to serious positive and negative social changes. These include not only the upgrading of the culture and arts industry, but also high drug use among young people.
The ouster of Robert Mugabe led to an awakening that was mirrored in 2017 in the album “Kutonga Kwaro” (“his control”) by Jah Prayzah. This album by perhaps the most popular Zimbabwean artist gave the new president ED Mnangagwa a tailwind. The album’s tracks ignited a spark and were taken as prophecies about the legitimacy of the rule of a new liberation war hero, in this case the new president ED Mnangagwa. Other musicians are much more vehement in representing the voice of the youth in the urban ghettos: Winky D released his ninth album “Njema” (“Shackles” – The artist translation means being physically free but mentally shackled) in late 2019 after the 2018 elections. It was interpreted by listeners and the ruling party as an anti-government album, advocating for freedom of expression and association and speaking unpleasant truths.
Elections are due in Zimbabwe in 2023, a country with high unemployment, civil unrest, discord and poverty. The album “Eureka” released by Winky D tested the mindset and political maturity of the listeners. The album predicts a struggle against problems that affect the youth in general: Corruption, a nation without identity and the poor use of local resources for economic growth. In today’s politically divided Zimbabwe, “belonging” to a “camp” is also an issue. Holy Ten, who featured on Winky D’s album and who allegedly belongs to the ruling party, was therefore denounced for his involvement in a musical project that was in turn described as “opposition-politically” motivated. Two tracks were at the centre of the controversy: “Ibotso” and “Dzimba Dzemabwe”.
“Ibotso”, the track Holy Ten contributed to, is about how the rich constantly take from the poor and how the young woman has become a sex object and has to be exploited to survive. The key metaphor of the song is “Vanotora zvevapfupi nekureba” (“They take from the little ones because they are bigger”).
“Dzimba Dzemabwe” (“Houses of Stone”) portrays a country with a failed democracy that has lost its culture due to intolerance. A majority of Zimbabweans are likely to recognise the artistic nature of the project. But the ruling party’s Youth League denied the album’s artistic value and portrayed Winky D as a supporter of regime change. In “Dzimba Dzembabwe” Winky D sings:
« What kinda legacy are we to leave for the coming generation?
Yes, I hope to see a better life, but it’s an imagination.
They talk about democracy, mi look all I just see is hypocrisy.
The dialogue is turning into a fallacy.
The Ghetto Youth’s ambition now turn into a fantasy.
From long time when mi grow, everybody know dis is di bread basket,
But, right now we carry water inna di basket. »
The outcry around Winky D symbolises the extent to which politics has distorted art and music and robbed them of their meaning. Music is actually part of culture and heritage; it predicts our past and present.
Artists like Prophet Passion Java, Holy Ten, Saint Floew, Nutty O and other up-and-coming ama2k artist:ins belonging to the post-2000 generation are giving music a new style; but these young people value money, pleasure and success so much that they prefer to follow the money. Today, musical companions of Winky D also seem to strive for success and money above all. When they follow the money, they come up against an oligarchy that controls the wealth they need and so they dance to its tune. So this music business matches the politics business in Zimbabwe: both are a playground for rip-offs. The music promoter Prophet Passion Java is a case in point. He is all about the egomaniacal spendthrift culture of the “mbingas” (rich money wasters). These music promoters are part of the ruling party’s system and they are used to promote a patriotism that is useful for party politics through music. Music in Zimbabwe today has again become a political tool used to control the masses through propaganda and hatred.
But let’s not forget the liberating dimension of music: Social media is still a space where people are provided with quality examples of true art and music. Art that shows how a society can function. But only when those in power recognise diversity for social cohesion and unity will people one day sing songs of development and not of struggle.
