Development has been on Africaís agenda for a long time but progress has
been both varied and limited, partly due to the diverse levelsof the
discussions ont he challenges and the interventions for tackling them.
Africaís greatest challenge is the uneven development within and between
its countries, and the pressing issues of extreme poverty in southern
Africa, and the continent as a whole. Poverty causes its victims to
suffer social exclusion and political repression. In addition, societies
that experience poverty are also mostly under continuous threat of
ecological disasters and diseases. All poor people are therefore plagued
by loss of freedom and dignity, and are often unable to participate
effectively in the political, economic, legal and social processes of
their countries. This book focuses on the social and cultural dimensions
of development dynamics and, in particular, the role of values in
shaping development. Values are at the core of the hopes and aspirations
of individuals, communities and societies. The book therefore explains
the values that motivate and inform African communities and societies,
with a view to facilitating a dialogue about sustainable development in
Africa among academics, intellectuals, policy and decisionmakers, and
the communities. It also investigates the social and cultural dynamics
of development in Africa, as a better alternative to earlier studies
that blame African culture for poverty and exclude the people of Africa
in their definition of developments in the continent. The significance
of this book lies in its provision of a theoretical argument, from
empirical perspective, on the role of values in the development of
Africa; an argument that is capable of facilitating a dialogue about
African development, which obviously proves more useful than either the
imposition of a technical process or the announcement of a normative
framework.
