Since independence in 1966, centralized development planning has ensured the
availability of basic facilities and services in rural areas of Botswana but has also
contributed to over-reliance on the government for the majority of rural people. The
consequence of this centralized and accelerated approach to rural development has
been the exclusion of rural communities from planning and implementation of
facilities meant to benefit them.
The international debate on sustainable rural development led the Botswana
government to re-think its rural development policy with a view to establishing more
effective strategies for rural development. The Community Based Strategy for Rural
Development, introduced in 1997 emphasizes the important role of communities in
their own development, by promoting Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA).
This study sought to discover insights into the implementation of PRA in Botswana
by questioning extension workers and community members in four villages about the
application and impact of PRA on their communities. The research uses the
frameworks of qualitative research and critical adult education theory to enquire into
the basis for participatory rural development in Botswana and the implementation of
Community Action Plans (CAPs). Case studies of the four villages were conducted to
illuminate problematic areas of programme design and implementation. Interviews
with thirty-two people and observations were the main methods of collecting data.
Documents, reports and records on PRA training and application in the four villages
and from outside were consulted.
The research results show that the application of PRA in the participating villages has
had negligible impact in reversing the state-dominated approach to development. PRA
facilitators seem disinterested in its application and sustenance. However, the findings
also suggest that PRA application in Botswana is not hopeless, but needs a different
kind of investment, for example, introducing measures of accountability, addressing
paternalistic attitudes among development workers, and exploiting key principles of
adult education.