81012893

open access

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Poverty, Inclusive Development, and Human Resource Cultivation in Africa Revisited: A Critique of Japanese Assistance for Self-Reliance

国際協力論集

29(1)

51-85

神戸大学大学院国際協力研究科

2021-07

2021-08-05

Japan provides aid to African countries through Official Development Assistance and NGOs’ activities by promoting recipient countrie’s self-reliance, especially in skill development, and a move away from dependence. This study examines discourses and practices related to self-reliance and dependence conducted by Japanese aid officials and academics to determine whether they are appropriate for the situations of African countries and people, from the viewpoint of “inclusive development from within. ”　We critically trace aid practitioners’ discourses, conduct a brief literature review on resource transfers, and examine cases of informal and formal manufacturing. We also consider Japanese Kaizen projects’ implementation and applicability. We find that many aid activities involve vocational training to improve African people’s ability to work and earn in the labor market. On the other hand, it is important to consider transfers of resources and knowledge apart from market transactions to better understand African people’s efforts for survival and livelihoods. This is exemplified through case studies on the informal sofa manufacturing industry in Kenya and the formal leather-shoe manufacturing industry in Ethiopia. These cases indicate that workers at different levels perform self-learning, voluntary teaching, and mutual communication for skill development. Some pay for vocational courses, while others share their knowledge for free, thus combining self-reliance and interdependence. Finally, the Japanese Kaizen—according to its proponents’ words, a bottom-up, on-site participatory method for improving collective skills—has not penetrated the informal sector and only partly penetrated upper strata of people in the formal sector in Africa. These results can guide future projects attempting to provide aid promoting “inclusive development from within” in Africa.

紀要論文