Politics and District Development Planning in Mozambique

In Mozambique, decentralized planning is one foundation for a stronger, more developmental, local government structure. Recent efforts at decentralized planning entail substantive devolution of decisionmaking and the creation of mechanisms for horizontal coordination. Not surprisingly, such efforts are likely to be politically contested. This paper examines a decentralized planning project in two neighbouring districts – Gorongosa and Cheringoma – in the province of Sofala, central Mozambique, to explore how the micro politics of implementation have resulted in either distortion of project activities to maintain existing power relations, or marginalization of planning practices from wider political and economic spheres. Selected planning procedures are examined to show how different actors understood the micro politics of their use, and how the lead planners resolved competing approaches. The politics of planning practice is then explored at the level of the development organization, communities, and the State. Bibliogr., notes, ref.