IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/lrc/larrss/v3y2018i1p1-15.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

1Coping with Energy Poverty in Rural Zimbabwe: Spaces MatterEllen

Author

Listed:
  • Ellen Fungisai Chipango

    (Corresponding author, Department of Anthropology and Development Studies, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, South Africa.)

Abstract

Space for participation has become de riguer in the development discourse. Nonetheless, this phenomenon has not been adequately embraced in the energy sector. The question at the centre of this article is: What spaces for participation are available to therural people to voice their energy concerns-how participative are they? Through extensive qualitative research in Buhera, Ward 24, this study demonstrates the barriers and constraints which hinder rural people’s participation in energy issues. Interviews with the participants revealed that while rural people participate in the invited and claimed spaces, power relations and conflict of interests are major obstacles to democratic decision-making. This suggests that decision-making in the energy sector lies with the powerful elite (government actors and electricity providers). Findings from the study revealed that hidden and invisible powers prevent the rural people from voicing their energy concerns. As a result of a lack of participation in the energy sector, energy poverty is misconceived as a phenomenon which can only be technically solved. However, participation allows that government can become more responsive to citizens’ energy needs and more effective in service delivery. By assessing the space for participation in the energy sector, the article might inform the relevant stakeholders of the importance of engaging the locals in addressing energy issues. Failure to appreciate the importance of space for participation limits the understanding of rural people’s energy needs, and the significance of their views remains underestimated. It is therefore recommended that space for participation be created to allow social inclusion of the rural people in the energy sector. Classification JEL : Q420

Suggested Citation

  • Ellen Fungisai Chipango, 2018. "1Coping with Energy Poverty in Rural Zimbabwe: Spaces MatterEllen," Review of Social Sciences, LAR Center Press, vol. 3(1), pages 1-15, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:lrc:larrss:v:3:y:2018:i:1:p:1-15
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.socialsciencejournal.org/index.php/site/article/view/125/60
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Karekezi, Stephen & Kithyoma, Waeni, 2002. "Renewable energy strategies for rural Africa: is a PV-led renewable energy strategy the right approach for providing modern energy to the rural poor of sub-Saharan Africa?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 30(11-12), pages 1071-1086, September.
    2. Wendy Harcourt & Arturo Escobar, 2002. "Women and the Politics of Place," Development, Palgrave Macmillan;Society for International Deveopment, vol. 45(1), pages 7-14, March.
    3. Agarwal, Bina, 2001. "Participatory Exclusions, Community Forestry, and Gender: An Analysis for South Asia and a Conceptual Framework," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 29(10), pages 1623-1648, October.
    4. Cohen, John M. & Uphoff, Norman T., 1980. "Participation's place in rural development: Seeking clarity through specificity," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 8(3), pages 213-235, March.
    5. Masera, Omar R. & Saatkamp, Barbara D. & Kammen, Daniel M., 2000. "From Linear Fuel Switching to Multiple Cooking Strategies: A Critique and Alternative to the Energy Ladder Model," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(12), pages 2083-2103, December.
    6. David Griggs & Mark Stafford-Smith & Owen Gaffney & Johan Rockström & Marcus C. Öhman & Priya Shyamsundar & Will Steffen & Gisbert Glaser & Norichika Kanie & Ian Noble, 2013. "Sustainable development goals for people and planet," Nature, Nature, vol. 495(7441), pages 305-307, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Kirubi, Charles & Jacobson, Arne & Kammen, Daniel M. & Mills, Andrew, 2009. "Community-Based Electric Micro-Grids Can Contribute to Rural Development: Evidence from Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(7), pages 1208-1221, July.
    2. Diallo, Arouna & Moussa, Richard K., 2020. "The effects of solar home system on welfare in off-grid areas: Evidence from Côte d’Ivoire," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    3. Shrestha, Sujata & Shrestha, Uttam Babu, 2017. "Beyond money: Does REDD+ payment enhance household's participation in forest governance and management in Nepal's community forests?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 63-70.
    4. Gebru, Bahre & Elofsson, Katarina, 2023. "The role of forest status in households’ fuel choice in Uganda," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    5. Jan, Inayatullah & Akram, Waqar, 2018. "Willingness of rural communities to adopt biogas systems in Pakistan: Critical factors and policy implications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P2), pages 3178-3185.
    6. Nathan Morrow & Luca Salvati & Andrea Colantoni & Nancy Mock, 2018. "Rooting the Future; On-Farm Trees’ Contribution to Household Energy Security and Asset Creation as a Resilient Development Pathway—Evidence from a 20-Year Panel in Rural Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-24, December.
    7. Kohlin, Gunnar & Sills, Erin O. & Pattanayak, Subhrendu K. & Wilfong, Christopher, 2011. "Energy, gender and development: what are the linkages ? where is the evidence ?," Policy Research Working Paper Series 5800, The World Bank.
    8. Plain, N. & Hingray, B. & Mathy, S., 2019. "Accounting for low solar resource days to size 100% solar microgrids power systems in Africa," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 448-458.
    9. , Diego, 2017. "The Natural and Infrastructural Capital Elements of Potential Post-Electrification Wealth Creation in Kenya," SocArXiv ddnhz, Center for Open Science.
    10. Lauren Pandolfelli & Ruth Meinzen-Dick & Stephan Dohrn, 2008. "Gender and collective action: motivations, effectiveness and impact," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 20(1), pages 1-11.
    11. MacCarty, Nordica A. & Bryden, Kenneth Mark, 2016. "An integrated systems model for energy services in rural developing communities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 536-557.
    12. Zhao, Jun & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Dong, Kangyin, 2022. "How does energy poverty eradication promote green growth in China? The role of technological innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 175(C).
    13. Pilar Useche, 2016. "Who Contributes to the Provision of Public Goods at the Community Level? The Case of Potable Water in Ghana," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 34(6), pages 869-888, November.
    14. He, Xiaoping & Reiner, David, 2016. "Electricity demand and basic needs: Empirical evidence from China's households," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 212-221.
    15. Gyula Dörgő & Viktor Sebestyén & János Abonyi, 2018. "Evaluating the Interconnectedness of the Sustainable Development Goals Based on the Causality Analysis of Sustainability Indicators," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-26, October.
    16. Pandit, Ram & Bevilacqua, Eddie, 2011. "Forest users and environmental impacts of community forestry in the hills of Nepal," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 13(5), pages 345-352, June.
    17. Alkire, Sabina & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Peterman, Amber & Quisumbing, Agnes & Seymour, Greg & Vaz, Ana, 2013. "The Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 71-91.
    18. Ingrid Boas & Frank Biermann & Norichika Kanie, 2016. "Cross-sectoral strategies in global sustainability governance: towards a nexus approach," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 449-464, June.
    19. Indra de Soysa, 2022. "Economic freedom vs. egalitarianism: An empirical test of weak & strong sustainability, 1970–2017," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 75(2), pages 236-268, May.
    20. Ahmed Moustapha Mfokeu & Elie Virgile Chrysostome & Jean-Pierre Gueyie & Olivier Ebenezer Mun Ngapna, 2023. "Consumer Motivation behind the Use of Ecological Charcoal in Cameroon," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-22, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:lrc:larrss:v:3:y:2018:i:1:p:1-15. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: H Kabir (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.socialsciencejournal.org .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.