CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION / BACKGROUND

1.1 Introduction

Since ancient times, communication has been found to be essential in human

existence and development process. Following the Canadian historian Harold
Innis:

“...communication technologies were the key elements in the development of all

the great ancient societies: Egypt was transformed by papyrus and written
hieroglyphics; ancient Babylonia used cuneiform writing, impressed indelibly into
clay tablets to develop a great economic system; the ancient Greeks' love of the
spoken word led them to perfect public speaking, persuasive rhetoric, drama,
and philosophy; for administering their empire, the Romans developed an
unparalleled system of government that depended on the Roman alphabet; and
of course paper and the printing press extended new ways of thinking across
Europe and paved the way for the European Renaissance and the Protestant
Reformation” (Lievrouw, 2008).

Similarly, in modern times, ‘Extensive studies since the mid-1960s have

demonstrated the value of the strategic use of communication in international
development, both at the theory and research levels, as well as at the levels of
policy, planning and implementation’ (Rodgers, 2005).

In governance, ‘Communication is the basis of Transparency, which is the basis of

Accountability, which in turn is the basis of Integrity’ (Hass et al, 2007: 10). Equally,
communication is vital in ensuring that ‘Civil society plays a significant role in
building civic knowledge, attitudes and behaviours necessary to promote change
and acts as a counter-balancing force in countries, such as Zambia, with a weak
opposition’ (CePRA, 2002: 39).

However governments and civil society alike in developing nations have not yet
fully recognized and incorporated communication in their development efforts.
Rodgers (2005) argues that the reason could be that ‘...decision and policy
makers in the development community at large may not understand the role of
communication and appreciate it to the point that they routinely include it in their

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development budgets and/or planning processes.’

It is against this background that the study seeks to establish a comparative top-
down, bottom-up and horizontal profile of communication in government and civil
society development contexts in Zambia. It is based on the conceptual model of
development communication which suggests that communication has evolved
from top-down to participatory paradigms that, by extension, form the ecosystem
of communication in developing countries’ development process.

1.2 Background

Although it is not always quite prudent to compartmentalise phenomena of this

nature (background) because of natural and obvious spillovers, such divisions
are still important for organisational purposes. In detailing the background to this
study therefore, we shall do so by dividing and discussing it in the following
subdivisions: geography; history; economy; political and social-cultural
background; overview of national development planning; synopsis of the
growth of the civil society in Zambia; and an outline of the evolution of the
media in Zambia.

1.2.1 Geography

Zambia is a landlocked republic located in south-central Africa. It lies between 8

and 18 degrees latitude south and 22 and 34 degrees longitude east. The
country shares borders with eight other African nations – “on the north by the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly Zaire) and Tanzania; on the
east by Malawi; on the southeast by Mozambique; on the south by Zimbabwe,
Botswana, and the Caprivi Strip of Namibia; and on the west by Angola”
(Encarta Encyclopedia, 2009). The surface area is 752,614 sq km (290,586 sq mi).
Lusaka is largest city and Zambia’s capital (Encarta, 2009).

The larger part of the country is a plateau area “with flat or gently undulating
terrain” (Encarta, 2009). There are occasional high mountains. In the northeast,
for instance, some high lands reach up to 2, 000 meters.
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The country is endowed with vast flowing and settled water. The main rivers
include: the Zambezi and its tributaries in the south and west; the Kafue in the
south and west, the Luangwa in the east; and the Luapula and Bangweulu in
the north. On the other hand, main lakes include the Bangweulu and
Tanganyika in the north and the man-made lake Kariba in the south.

The climate is fairly conducive for activities such as farming. Despite lying within
the “tropic zone”, much of Zambia “enjoys pleasant subtropical climate
because of the high altitude” (Encarta, 2009). Much of the rain falls between
November and April and this pattern dictates the farming seasons, especially
amongst small scale subsistence farmers who have not yet acquired irrigation
technologies. In the capital (Lusaka), the coldest month is July and the average
temperature is approximately 16 degrees C. On the other hand, the hottest
month is January with an average temperature of about 21 degrees C.

Zambia is endowed with abundant natural resources. Owing to the country’s

“savanna-type vegetation”, the country has vast teak forests and different
varieties of animals such as elephants, lions, rhinoceroses and several varieties of
antelopes. In terms of minerals, Zambia lies within the copper belt which
“extends down into Zambia from southern DRC [Democratic Republic of
Congo] and contains major deposits of copper, cobalt and other minerals”
(Encarta, 2009). Because of abundant waters and waterfalls, Zambia has a
potential of becoming a hub of agriculture, tourism and hydroelectricity
production not only in southern Africa but the entire Africa as well. However, this
comparative advantage has not yet been fully tapped into. Nevertheless, the
country currently exports electricity to neighbouring countries such as South
Africa and Namibia. Main hydroelectricity production stations include the
Kariba, Kafue Gorge, Lunsemfwa and Mulungushi stations (Encarta, 2009).

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1.2.2 History

Before the penetration of the British South Africa Company (BSA) in the area
now called Zambia, the Lozi, under chief Lewanika, are said to have been the
most ‘organized’ kingdom. After the company consolidated its hold on this
area, Lewanika solicited for British protection. Thus a treaty was signed
“between the Lozi overlord and a representative of the British South Africa
Company in 1889” (Encarta Encyclopedia, 2009). In the north eastern part were
other large groups with centralised political entities such as the Bemba and
Nguni kingdoms which partly sustained themselves through military power. There
were also smaller groups such as the Bisa and Namwanga. To the south were
less centralised groups such as the Tonga who largely relied on the religious
polity for organisational, economic and leadership purposes. It is these religious
institutions that were later transformed into chieftaincy institutions.

In 1924, the then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) came under the control of
the British colonial office, under the overlordship of the BSA Company. The BSA
Company’s main interests in the country were its rich copper deposits and the
transitory role it would play in its planned construction of the Cape to Cairo
route.

In 1953 the Federation of Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia and Nyasaland

was formed. This saw the flow of most resources to develop Southern Rhodesia,
with little development in the other two Federates. As a result, the south was
enriched at the expense of the north and Nyasaland, and this created an
imbalance in terms of development and other benefits from the resources of the
Federation. Thus the Federation was abandoned in 1963 because of
dissatisfaction that emerged out of the uneven distribution of development and
resources amongst the three Federation members. Such discontent was also
fundamental in the political agitation of African nationalists as it not only
provided impetus but also justified their cause.

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In 1964, Zambia attained its independence with Kenneth Kaunda as its first
republican president. This was preceded by the formation of two political parties
which were instrumental in Zambia achieving independence. The Northern
Rhodesian African National Congress (ANC) was formed in 1951. It was followed
by the formation of the ‘more radical’ United National Independence Party
(UNIP) under Kenneth Kaunda.

The UNIP government begun to exhibit ‘dictatorial’ tendencies as it stayed long

in power. In 1972, for instance, the government enacted a new constitution
which transformed Zambia from Multi-party politics into a One-party State. This
constitution confirmed and reaffirmed the personal power of Kaunda on both
government and the party. In other words, Kaunda was not only president of
government and the party (UNIP), he was also commander of the armed forces
and had arbitrary powers to detain those found wanting by his leadership
indefinitely (Van Buren, 1994: 413), quoted in Byrne, 2004: 6). One of the reasons
the UNIP government used to justify this action was that Multi-party politics
promoted ethnic rivalries. This action did not create a conducive environment
for democracy to thrive. Moreover, ethnic inclination, especially in the political
realm, remains one of the major problems to be effectively addressed.

However, in the context of problems that plagued Southern Africa at the time,
Kaunda was fundamental in ensuring the peaceful resolution of the challenges
that faced the region. He gave support to the South African ANC and to the
independence movement in Zimbabwe not only in monetary terms but also in
form of providing asylum for those who were running away from political
victimization by white minority governments in South Africa and Zimbabwe, such
as Thabo Mbeki and Robert Mugabe. Due to this involvement, Zambia became
vulnerable to the effects of the conflicts in Southern Africa. For instance,
Zambia’s transit routes via Zimbabwe and access to ports in the south were
blockaded by the minority white rule in Zimbabwe after its Unilateral Declaration
of Independence (UDA) from the British government. It became difficult to
transport goods from neighbouring countries and access to ports was denied to
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Zambia. One of the measures the country undertook to address the situation
that the building of the Zambia-Tanzania railways (TAZARA) was embarked on so
as to access ports in East Africa. More so, this was compounded by the land-
locked geographical nature of the country. Water would have provided a
cheaper means of transport during the period the country’s southern route was
disrupted. The situation improved, especially after Zimbabwe attained
independence in 1980 and South Africa had its ‘all-race elections’ in 1994 (EIU,
1994: 8, quoted in Byrne, 1994: 6-7).

1.2.3 Economy

Since the coming of colonial forces in the 1920s, scholars have suggested that
the economy of Zambia has been (and to some extent still continues to be)
influenced by the colonial factor. Particularly, Byrne (1994) argues that
“Zambia’s development has been shaped by a history of colonial domination
and uneven development; in particular, the development of a migrant labour
economy around copper mining, beginning in the 1920s, and large scale
commercial agriculture.”

The beginning of extensive mining activities on the Copperbelt marked the

country’s incorporation into the capitalist world economy on a large scale.
Mines drew people from different parts of the country (including some
neighbouring countries) to work for wages. As new urban communities begun to
grow around mining areas, demand for food increased and this provided an
impetus for agriculture (both commercial and subsistence) to thrive. For a long
time, mining and agriculture have been the backbone of the Zambian
economy. From 1924 when the British South African Company (BSA) assumed
control of the country, the economy was controlled by the company and the
country became part of Cecil Rhode’s larger plan of a pan-African mineral
exploitation in his Cape to Cairo route project.

Since independence in 1964, the Zambian economy has been categorised into
two major ‘watersheds’. As described by the CePRA (2002: 19), such “Economic
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watersheds include the nationalisation of the economy in 1968 under the
Mulungushi Economic Reforms (MERs) that saw the development of a gigantic
parastatal sector. In 1990/91, the re-introduction of plural politics coincided with
the adoption of far-reaching macro-economic reforms. The latter were in
reaction to a prolonged deterioration in virtually all economic and social
sectors.”

In the decade after independence, the economy performed fairly well because
of good copper prices on the international market which provided the country
with credit to undertake massive infrastructure and investment projects.
However, “Like many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Zambia has suffered from
severe economic crisis and the subsequent adoption of stabilisation and
adjustment to address balance of payments deficits has led to further austerity
measures. The dependence of the economy on copper, for which the world
demand slumped in the mid-1970s and has not recovered, means that the
external shock was particularly extreme” (Byrne, 1994: 3).

As a result, the Kaunda government slowly begun to be forced to abandon the

economic programme begun in 1968, in a series of sweeping reforms that
nationalized the larger part of the economy, including the mining and
manufacturing spheres. Thus, partly due to pressure from the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank and the deteriorating economy, the UNIP
government adopted a number of reforms in form of structural adjustments.
These translated into, among others, scrapping off subsidies on food and other
basic commodities, resulting into increased food prices of food. This initial
attempt at structural adjustments faced opposition as it sparked food riots on
the Copperbelt and Lusaka. Byrne (1994) attributed this to “the political
orientation (under Kaunda) and demographic distribution of the country, with a
highly urbanised population by African standards, [which] meant that there was
considerable opposition to structural adjustment in Zambia such that it occurred
fairly late, possibly, worsening the impact.” This led to the suspension of

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adjustments but the economy only deteriorated further towards the end of the
1980 decade.

The declining economy and “corruption of various kinds, led to crisis of

legitimacy for Kaunda’s One-party regime, and [led to] moves towards multi-
party democracy, culminating in the election of the MMD (Movement for Multi-
party Democracy) in 1992” (Byrne, 1994: 5). The reversion to multi-party politics in
1991/1992 came with “far-reaching macro-economic reforms in 1991 on the
back of the tripod of deregulation, privatisation and commercialisation. Under
the reforms, the Government scrapped exchange controls, liberalised the
banking and financial services sector, removed consumer subsidies, opened up
the export and import regime and privatised nearly all parastatal firms” (CePRA,
2002: 14). However such sweeping reforms have been criticised by some
scholars on several fronts, including the idea that the exercise was rushed,
thereby largely turning out disappointing as poverty levels still remained very
high, especially in the 1990s decade. Nevertheless, due to several policy
measures that aimed at restoring the economy, especially during the
Mwanawasa Government, such as “the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
(PRSP), Public Service Reform Programme (PSRP), Public Service Capacity
Building Project (PSCAP) and the National Capacity Building Programme for
Good Governance (NCBPGG)”, the Transitional National Development Plan
introduced in 2002, and public sector reform through the Public Sector
Development Programme (PSDP), among others, have produced a ‘good’
macro-economic environment in which investment has thrived (CePRA, 2002:
14-15). If properly managed, this has a potential to drive the economy towards
a positive trend. However, corruption and institutional deficiencies still remain
challenges.

1.2.4 Political and social-cultural background

The pre-colonial period had the institution of chieftaincy as the principal political
establishment. However, before the coming of colonialism, some ethnic

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groupings such as the Tonga people did not have strong and centralised
political structures with chiefs. They instead relied on the institution of religion to
provide leadership in a given group. It is such religious institutions that were
transformed into political institutions after the start of colonialism.

Since Zambia attained independence in 1964, the political landscape has been
compartmentlised into three main ‘watersheds’. Following CePRA (2002: 19),
“the first comprised the attainment of political independence from Britain in
1964, the second involved the amendment of Article 4 of the Republican
Constitution in 1972 to usher in the One-party State, while the third saw the
quashing of the same Article to allow for the re-introduction of political pluralism
in 1991.” At independence, Kenneth Kaunda promised plural politics and his
words, though with repression of other political parties, stood up to 1972 when
he finally changed the constitution to allow for a One-party participatory
politics. Contrary to the independence promise, the period after 1964 was
characterised by political repression of dissenting political views. This ensured
Kaunda’s hold onto power that he virtually became the sole controlling figure of
national affairs as he could appoint political favourites to important political and
economic positions. This became common after the nationalisation of the
economy in 1968 where the president appointed ‘politically correct’ individuals
to fill top positions in parastatal corporations. Thus Kaunda’s consolidation of
power to himself was helped by such “...a combination of political and
economic patronage” (CePRA, 2002: 27). Through skilful and sometimes brutal
means, Kaunda managed to suppress any form of opposition to his presidency.
Under the pretext that plural politics encouraged ethnic rivalries, Kaunda, in
1972, changed the constitution, particularly through amendment of Article 4 of
the Republican Constitution, to allow the introduction of the One-party state in
which UNIP was the only “legal political entity” (CePRA, 2002: 27).

In addition to a combination of economic and political patronage, and

suppression differing political views, the “West-East ideological differences”
helped the survival of the One-party system (CePRA, 2002: 27). The declaration
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of the UNIP regime to establish a Socialist State with a humanist face translated
into the country accessing money and technical support from powerful,
communist oriented nations especially the Soviet Union and Eastern European
States. However, when Communism begun to disintegrate at the close of the
1980s, the socialist political aspirations of the UNIP government lacked support
from powerful international powers. This was compounded by falling copper
prices on the international market, increasing fuel prices and the involvement of
the country in the liberation struggles of its neighbouring countries. The net
effect of all these factors was the shortage of goods and services and an overall
deterioration of the economy. Dissatisfaction grew amongst citizens. Thus, such
a situation only served to make the MMD’s election victory in 1991 against UNIP
quite easy.

Socially, in spite of Zambia having been actively involved in supporting the

liberation struggles of neighbouring countries like Zimbabwe and South Africa,
the country has relatively remained peaceful in the Southern African region. The
country has been characterised by some as an “oasis of peace” (CePRA, 2002:
150). Such support entailed that the country became not only a refugee
reservoir but a hiding place for Africans who were running away from political
persecution in countries such as South Africa and Zimbabwe that were ruled by
a white minority entity. Thabo Mbeki, former president of the republic of South
Africa, and Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe, are amongst those who
were affected by the struggles for independence in their own countries and thus
sought asylum in Zambia.

On the gender front, against a cultural background that did not allow women
to hold influential positions in society, the country has made progress. It is a
signatory to a number of international conventions on gender issues, such as the
current 50 percent preservation of political positions to women prescribed in the
SADC protocol, and its own approach articulated in the National Gender Policy
Document (NGP) document (CePRA, 2002: 35). More so, the country has
stressed the importance of educating the girl child and the law has in the recent
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past increasingly amended to protect girls (and women) against all forms of
abuse such as sexual and physical mistreatment. There are also many NGOs
that have taken up the issue of women’s rights a ‘personal commitment’.

Although there have been improvements, both in terms of access and provision
of social services such as health and education, the social sector still faces many
challenges. Amongst these include the shortage of materials and teachers in
some schools, inadequacy of schools themselves to accommodate every child,
lack of modern equipment and medicines in hospitals and other related
challenges.

Indigenous Africans are the majority (about 98 per cent) inhabitants of Zambia.
These constitute the seven main ethnolinguistic groups that are officially
recognised. They include the Tonga, Chewa, Lozi and Bemba. The remaining
two percent accounts for people of mainly Asian and European origins. This
group also represents people from other foreign countries other than Asia and
Europe. There are more than 70 indigenous languages in Zambia, including the
seven officially recognised such as Kaonde and Lozi.

1.2.5 Overview of national development planning in Zambia

“A national development plan is an arrangement which explains how

government intends to bring about improvements in the economy and to
reduce suffering in a country” (CSPR, 2007: 1). National development planning is
very important because it among other things provides clear definitions and
articulations of national, provincial and district priorities for government decisions
and allocation of public resources.

After independence in 1964, Zambia “followed into the steps of the Soviet Union
by instituting a program of national development plans, under the direction of
the National Commission for Development Planning”
(http://www.wikipedia.com). From that time (independence), several National
Development Plans (NDPs) have been formulated and implemented. They
include: Transitional NDP (1964-66); the First NDP (1966-71), the Second NDP, Third
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NDP (1978-83), Fourth NDP (1989-83), Transitional NDP (2002); Fifth NDP (2006-
2010), and the Vision 2030. Out of these, it was only the first and second NDPs,
“which provided for major investment in infrastructure and manufacturing, [that]
were largely implemented and were largely successful”
(http://www.wikipedia.com). To this list we can add the current Fifth NDP Plan
which is almost reaching completion in terms of implementation. This was not
the case for other NDPs. For instance, the Third NDP had to be abandoned as
the government had to deal with the crisis that loomed the economy. Thus, crisis
management replaced long term planning (http://www.wikipedia.com). Also,
the Fourth NDP, which promoted the idea of growth from own resources, could
not be effectively implemented as the economy continued to deteriorate. It
was abandoned in preference of an open market system after the MMD took
office in 1992. As of this time, momentous changes have been experienced.
One of the most important lessons learnt as a result of the abandonment of
planning pertains to the fact that:

“…even in a liberalised economy, development planning is necessary for guiding priority

setting and resource allocation. The absence of planning tends to force us to
concentrate on short term needs representing narrow sectional interests thus denying the
country the opportunity to gain broad based socio-economic development”
(http://www.dfdi.gov).

The 1991 abandonment of development planning did not pass without

consequences. Some of the costs include the fact that there was no medium
term plan for the country to follow as well as to guide public investment priorities
for implementation of government programmes. The absence of an organ to
oversee plans, coordinate and monitor at provincial and district levels and serve
as a link with development priorities at the national level was yet another
problem.

As a result of these and other challenges, the MoFNP was tasked by the then
Zambian president, Levy Mwanawasa, “to prepare a Transitional National
Development Plan (TNDP) by 2002, to run up to 2006.” It was expected that from
2006, onwards, five year development plans were to be prepared. Therefore,
the Fifth NDP was launched in 2006, to run up to 2010 (CSPR, 2007: 2).
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The last decade has seen the need to extend these short term plans into a long
term, commonly understood and shared dream. Thus the Vision 2030 was
conceived out of the need to extend the short term plans into a long term
development national agenda. Consequently, this long term plan was
launched in 2005. The main ‘vision’ the document postulates is the collective
aspirations, understanding and determination of the Zambian people to
become “a prosperous-middle income nation” by the year 2030
(http://www.vision2030.gov).

1.2.6 Growth of civil society in Zambia

The Government of Republic of Zambia, in the Constitutional Review

Commission (p. 589) states that“… civil society refers to non-state groups and
organisations that seek to protect popular interest and which enjoy relative
autonomy. This broad definition covers…professional associations, sporting
clubs, cultural associations, religious groups, trade unions, media organisations,
NGOs and socio-economic oriented organisations.” It further says that “Social
movements, civil society and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are
essentially social structures that represent the ambitions and aspirations of
groups of people who want to have an effect on society.” Thus civil society are
supposed to be watchdog institutions that demand for social change from
institutions or people entrusted with the governance of a country, in
consonance with the needs and aspirations of the people.

Following CePAR (2007: 23), “non-state actors in Zambia comprise non-

governmental organisations (NGOs), community-based organisations (CBOs),
Churches, academia, youth organisations and any other bodies and
associations formed around common objectives and values and operate
outside the realm of government” The Societies Act requires that civil society
organizations be registered with the Registrar of Societies upon formation. The
Act prescribes basic requirements for registration. They include; “minimum

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number of members, payable fees, conditions for deregistration, requirements
for annual returns and similar others” (CePAR, 2007: 23).

Like elsewhere, experience has shown that civil society organisations have the
potential to hold a political regime accountable and transparent in the
management of public affairs. This is achieved through civil society playing a
counterbalancing role to the government and “mobilising and processing
alternative political voices” (CePAR, 2007: 23). In a country like Zambia where
opposition parties are relatively weak and sometimes uncoordinated, civil
society can, through advocacy and demand for change, help in setting the
national development agenda, which, without a strong civil society, would be
left to the ruling party that may largely place focus on maintaining itself in power
rather than the welfare of the people. Owing to the manner in which they are
formed and funded, and the fact that many organisations are formed by
independent people, civil society organisations could be said to be less
vulnerable to political manipulation. Thus, they are better placed to criticise the
shortcomings of government.

Prior to 1990/91, the political landscape was such that the civil society (that is
NGOs, the Church, youth and others), were virtually not allowed to set the
economic and political agenda of the country. That was principally because of
the nature of the then existing One-party political regime that never allowed
space for independent political activities, let alone opinion and dissent. Civil
society was seen as a threat to the hold onto power of the government.
Consequently, the only civil society organisations that existed were those that
were deemed to be “politically correct” in the eyes of the establishment.
However, with the advent of multi-party politics in 1990/91, civil society and
trade union activism mushroomed.

Today, over 500 non-governmental organisations and community based

organisations are actively operating in Zambia. They include: the Oasis Forum
(OF); Women for Change (WfC); Non-Governmental Organisations Coordinating

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Committee (NGOCC); Transparent International-Zambia (TI-Z); Civil Society for
Poverty Reduction (CSPR); Zambia Council for Social Development (ZCSD); and
similar others. Their domains range from those engaged in political
conscientisation, promotion of gender equality, human rights, environment,
orphans and vulnerable children to public policy research and advocacy. While
Government admits that the “Civil society plays a significant role in building civic
knowledge, attitudes and behaviours necessary to promote change and acts
as a counter-balancing force in countries, such as Zambia, with a weak
opposition” (CePRA, 2002: 39), its behaviour towards some NGOs that have
openly criticised its poor delivery of social services and inadequate democratic
credentials has been hostile. In a number of cases, the Government has even
accused some civil society organisations such as the Oasis Forum (OF), Women
for Change (WfC) and the Inter-African Network for Human Rights (AFRONET) of
being in alliance with the opposition. Sometimes, some civil society organisations
have been challenged to officially join politics because of their critic on
government. In this case, government appears to misunderstand the role of the
civil society. More so, operations of the civil society have been partially hindered
by the ambiguity of the government’s policy on NGOs.

Despite such obstacles from the state, civil society organizations have been
instrumental in demanding for change the people desire in terms of not only
good governance, but poverty reduction as well. For instance, the Oasis Forum,
formed in 2001, was instrumental in blocking Chiluba’s schemes to change the
constitution so that he could run for a third term. This was done through
lobbying, rallies, peaceful demonstrations and protests. The forum was also
instrumental in rallying people at national assembly to support the lifting of
Chiluba’s immunity so that he would be tried in the courts of law over the
corruption allegations.

Women for Change, an NGO concerned with women rights and empowerment
as well as governance, has been pushing for change towards poverty
reduction. It has over the years assisted women in small scale businesses and
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organised workshops to encourage traditional leaders to actively participate in
governance.

The civil society organisations have also criticised the IMF/WB and Poverty
Reduction Strategy Paper’s calls to reduce the civil service, on grounds of
reduction on remuneration and other emoluments and making the civil service
more efficient with a sizable workforce. The civil society challenged the IMF and
World Bank to explain whether, indeed, it was true that “…schools, hospitals, the
Ministry of Agriculture has more extension officers than we need and the Police
is over staffed” (The Post, Tuesday, June 2003: 14).

Inspite of the positive strides, the civil society continue to face challenges, other
than those from the state. These include inadequate resources and institutional
weaknesses of many civil society organisations.

1.2.7 Evolution of the media in Zambia

The evolution of the media in Zambia can be characterised by a tendency of

strict control and interference in the dissemination of information by
government, especially in the early phase of its development. Before reverting
to plural politics in 1991, during the One-party political dispensation, the UNIP
government was “intolerant to free media” (CePRA, 2002: 142-143). Privately
owned Newspapers such as the Mirror and Ichengelo, were closely watched by
the government and they operated in fear of being closed down. Only the
Times of Zambia and Daily Mail operated without this fear because they were
owned and controlled by the government and their style of information
dissemination and messages were ‘politically correct.’

However, the re-introduction of multi-party politics radically changed the media

landscape and allowed for the unrestricted establishment of independent print
and electronic media. Plural politics virtually “opened the floodgate of media
activity” (CePRA, 2002: 142). Apart from the major print and electronic media
houses, the recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the number of
community radio stations across the country. In addition, there are a number of

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Television stations (for example Muvi and Mobi) and a growing number of
magazines. In spite of this remarkable progress in media development after
1991, the problem of media freedom continued (and has continued). Whereas
the public mass-media, constituting ZNBC, ZANIS, Times of Zambia and Zambia
Daily Mail, are strictly controlled and act as “government mouthpieces”, private
media has also suffered the same fate as it is often regarded with ‘suspicion’ by
government (CePRA, 2002: 143). With regard to government owned Media, the
Interim Report of the Constitutional Review Commission observed that:

“…public media concentrate almost exclusively on activities of the Government

to the exclusion of all other stakeholders and actors in development… the
coverage is often biased in favour of the Government and lacks balanced
professional analysis…the citizenry, who are the owners of the public media, are
deprived of broad-based and balanced information covering all areas of
development. This undermines their effective participation in and contribution to
development” (GRZ, 2005: 278).

Similarly, private media face constraints especially when they become very
critical of the government. More so, private media have been criticised of
wanting to destabilise the country in pact with the opposition or international
interests. However, despite such constraints, the private owned media has been
effective in ensuring good governance through exposing instances of corruption
and mismanagement of public resources and affairs by government.

In an effort to address these and other restrictions, so as to have more free

access to mass-media, there have been demands in the recent past to pass
legislation to ensure a more free media landscape. This has resulted in the
formulation of bills that have taken long to be enacted. They are; the Freedom
of Information Bill (FoB) and Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) Bill. The
government has however been dragging the enactment of these pieces of
legislation. Another contentious issue recently emerged where the media want
self-regulation, on one hand, while government wants this to be enshrined as
law. Currently, there are no laws which specify the way the media should
conduct itself. Self-restraint and judgment is left to the media. It is for this reason
that government feels the matter should be put into law so that any form of
misconduct can make a given media house liable to prosecution. However,
17
different print and electronic media are organised mainly in the Press
Association of Zambia (PAZA) but each has its own codes of conduct (CePAR,
2007: 24).

Overall, the government still controls the media. This has been helped by “the
Laws relating to preservation of public security and the Public Order Act [which],
for instance, leaves critical media open to abuse and harassment by the
government” (CePAR, 2007: 24). While recognising the importance of this Act in
restricting access to information that may jeopardise national security, the Act
has been abused over the type and nature of information that should be
regarded as posing security risks and it is not very clear on the type of
information whose access must be restricted. As observed by Chanda (1997: 33-
47);

“The State Security Act (Cap. 71), for example, severely curtails access to information
about government operations. It makes it an offence either to receive or
communicate classified information. Unfortunately, almost all information in
Government hands can conveniently be classified secret because of the broad
nature of the provisions of the Act. Penalties for infringing the Act range from 15 to 25
years imprisonment.”

The table below shows ownership and control of media in Zambia.

18
Table 1: Print and electronic media ownership and control

Media Type of Ownership

1. Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation Government

2. Zambia Daily Mail* ”

3. Zambia National Information Services ”

4. The Post* Private

5. National Mirror* ”

6. The Monitor* ”

7. Ichengelo* ”

8. Radio Phoenix ”

9. FM 5 Radio ”

10. Breeze Radio ”

11. Radio Yatsani ”

12. Radio Christian Voice ”

13. New Nation* ”

* Newspaper

(Source: CePRA, 2007: 20-21)

19
1.3Statement of the problem

Although research and experience have shown that communication plays a

significant role in the development process, governments and some civil society
organisations in developing countries have not appreciated and fully
embraced communication functions in their development work.

While literature on the role of communication in development abounds, studies

on the nature of communication in government and civil society development
contexts are rare in Zambia. Studies suggest that the top-down model of
communication is the popular model in Zambia’s development process
(Kasongo, 1998). The problem is that the literature does not show to what extent
the top-down or any other (horizontal or bottom-up) model of communication is
actually practiced in government and civil society contexts.

Similarly, rare are studies meant to examine the basis of decisions on

communication in policy, planning and implementation contexts, specifically on
top-down, horizontal and bottom-up communication.

As such, little is known about the attributes of models (top-down, horizontal and
bottom-up) of communication and their relation with other antecedents of
communication (such as channels, strategies and sources) in government and
civil society development contexts. The Central Statistical Office, corroborate
this observation in the quotation below:

“There has been an unprecedented increase in the demand for statistics to inform on
national development processes. In particular, there is a lot of demand for quality statistics
to track progress being made towards meeting the targets that are set in the National
Development Plans (NDPs), MDGs as well as the Vision 2030 which identifies a number of
development goals” (CSO, The Monthly, vol. 80, November 2009).

From the quote, it is possible to suggest that there is generally a lack of research
to generate information to inform development policy, planning and
implementation. By extension, there is a lack of information on the attributes
communication in Zambia’s development process.

20
Further, literature available is either somewhat general or institutionally based to
underpin a clear profile of communication in Zambia’s development process,
particularly in relation to policy, planning, and implementation. Thus, little
information available is not sufficient to paint a clear picture of communications
in the Zambian context.

The proposed study therefore seeks to investigate this area of communication in

development work which has not yet been given the necessary attention (see
Jayaweera and Amunugama, 1987), with a focus on attributes models of
communication and their relation to other antecedents of communication.

1.4 Justification

This study is significant in that it will provide valuable data on the nature of
communications in Zambia's policy, planning and implementation contexts. It
will help to classify government and civil society communications in respect to
top-down, horizontal, and/or bottom-up approaches of communication.

It is also important because it shall provide data on which to base policy,

planning and implementation decisions in respect to communication. Presently
(at the time of the study), it is not clear on what basis communication decisions ,
especially in government development work, rests because there is generally a
lack of quality statistics to inform on ‘national development processes’ (CSO,
2009). This data will enable development agents come up with effective
interventions in their execution of development work. Studies (for example
Rodgers, 2005) have found that communication helps improve effectiveness
and ensures sustainability of programmes and projects.

Besides, the study will generate knowledge and new insights in the field of
communication for development. Therefore this research will add to the existing
literature and extend existing chronologies to include new realities that may
help characterise the field. While literature on communication for development
generally abounds, there is little literature specifically tailored to the Zambian
situation. The tendency is that either the literature available is generalized or
21
institutionally based in nature that it defies a clear depiction of communication
in development efforts in Zambia, specifically the government and civil society
contexts.

Finally, the study shall produce a profile of communication that could help the
better understanding of communications in government and civil society
development work.

1.5 Research objectives

The study sought to achieve the following objectives:
1. To examine the models of communication used by MoFNP and ZCSD in
their outreach communications;
2. To investigate the attitudes of MoFNP and ZCSD personnel towards their
communications;
3. To establish attributes of communication variables (channels, messages
and sources) in relation to models of communication in government
and civil society development contexts;
4. To find out communication strategies used in government and civil
society contexts and their effectiveness; and
5. To assess perceptions and preferences of the audience toward
development messages by the Ministry and the civil society
organisation.

22
 CHAPTER TWO

CONCEPTUAL AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

2.1 Introduction

In this chapter, main concepts and theories are operationalized. The study is
informed by the conceptual and theoretical framework that outlines main
‘watersheds’ in the development of communication for development models.
They are; Modernisation, Over-dependency and Multiplicity (participatory)
paradigms. These are supplemented by the Diffusion of Innovations and Two
Step Flow of Information theories. Concepts that shall be defined and
operationalised are: top-down; bottom-up; horizontal communication;
participation; communication for development; national/organizational
planning; and Vision 2030.

2.2 Definition and operationalisation of concepts

2.2.1Development

Development is in this research used torefer to both the process and a goal in
bringing about social change in order to improve the living standards of people.
However, there is no single accepted interpretation of what social change
entails, nor is there a generally accepted standard to measure improved living
standards.

2.2.2 Communication and information

Communication is a situation where messages flow between institutions, people,

and media, with or without feedback, whereas as ‘information’ is used mainly to
denote the contents of a message.

23
2.2.3 Development communication

The term is used to refer to ‘the planned and systematic application of

communication resources, channels, approaches and strategies to support the
goals of socio-economic, political and cultural development’.

2.2.4 Top-down communication

The term denotes one-way traffic or top-down flow of messages from sender to
receiver.

2.2.5 Bottom-up communication

Bottom-up communication strategies entail empowering of local communities

as they enhance a certain level of participation in the development process.

2.2.6 Horizontal communication

The termdenotes ‘the greater need to involve local residents in developing

messages they think would be intelligible and persuasive for peers in other
communities and in developing and employing the means of conveying such
messages’. Horizontal approaches involve communication methodologies
emphasizing access, dialogue and participation.

2.2.7 Participation

Participation ‘translates into individuals being active in development

programmes and processes; they contribute ideas, take initiative and articulate
their needs and their problems, while asserting their autonomy’.

2.2.8 Models of communication

Model of communication is in this research used as synonymous to approach of

communication. The approaches of communication that were under study are:
top-down, horizontal and bottom-up models of communication.

24
2.2.9 Comparative

Comparative is here used to only refer to thematic comparisons as opposed to

statistical correlations.

2.3 Conceptual framework

Concepts that were under study were based on the conceptual model which
suggests that communication in developing countries’ development process
has evolved from the Modernisation, to the Marxist, and to the Emancipatory
Paradigms.

The evolution of theoretical models in development communication has been

characterised by a gradual shift from a top-down to more participatory
communication approaches. Bessette (2004) describes this trend as follows: “the
experience of the past fifty years has demonstrated the crucial importance of
communication in the field of development. Within this perspective of
development communication, two trends developed successively: an
approach that favoured large-scale actions and relied on the mass media, and
an approach that promoted grassroots communication (also called community
communication) via small-scale projects and use of small media (videos,
posters, slide presentation, etc.).” Further, Bessette points out that these trends
are linked to the evolution of the development and communication models that
have marked development efforts up to now and they still co-exist today to
various degrees within the field of development communication.

In Zambia, rare are studies meant to examine to what extent this framework has
been fulfilled in both government and civil society contexts. ‘Historical’ studies
suggest that top-down communication has been ‘dominant’ in development
work. This probably explains why many development interventions have not
been successful and sustainable. Communication and development experts
recommend approaches that begin with the grassroots. However, little is known
about these approaches of communication in Zambia. This research, which
seeks to establish a communication profile of the models of communication on
25
Zambia’s policy, planning and implementation contexts will generate data on
which to base policy, planning and implementation decisions in both
government and civil society, to help improve effectiveness of programmes and
projects, and to add knowledge to existing literature in development
communication.

Concepts that were composed the study are as depicted in Figure 2 below. The
study largely descriptive in that sought to establish the attributes of top-down,
horizontal and bottom-up communication as they were investigated to provide
their present (at the time of study) picture, status or characteristics. To some
extent the concepts also attempted to find out whether other communication
variables such as messages were dependent on the existent model(s) of
communication in a particular development context, and factors (intervening
variables) that might affect such a relationship (if any).

Visually, the conceptual framework is as follows in Figure 1:

Figure 1: Concepts

Top-down
communication

Horizontal
communication

Bottom-up
communication

26
2.4 Main theories
The theoretical foundations that informed the study are: Modernisation theories
(specifically Diffusion of Innovations Theory and Two Step Flow of
Communication Theory); Over-dependency/Marxist theories; and
Emancipatory/Multiplicity theories.

2.4.1 Modernisation paradigm

Following Scrampickal (2006: 4-5), the modernisation theory “simply held that the
developing countries needed to adapt new technologies (including
communication technologies) and increase production at all levels which could
lead to development.” The role of communication was simply the “transfer of
technological innovations from development agencies to their clients, and to
create an appetite for change through raising a climate for modernisation
among the members of the public” (Rodgers, 2005). As such, the paradigm
followed a top-down or one-way flow of information from policy makers or other
development agents to the beneficiaries. Benefactors were considered to be all
knowing and drafted development projects in their offices without actively
involving intended beneficiary communities, while beneficiaries were merely
treated as passive recipients of development programmes and information.

The paradigm was developed in the 1960s when American Universities

undertook large scale research on development communication. It is largely
associated with Lerner and Schramm (1967), and Rodgers (1962). Particularly,
the concept of the link between communication and development is said to
have come to scene with Daniel Lerner’s publication of a book titled The Passing
of the Traditional Society in 1953. The book’s content constituted findings of
Lerner’s research in the Middle-East and North Africa in which he “...was able to
trace correlations between expanded economic activity and other
modernisation variables such as urbanisation, high literacy levels, media
consumption and political development which he defined as voting” Rodgers,
2005). Further, Lerner argued that in communicating development messages to

27
less developed nations, the media could accelerate the development of these
areas, a trend he termed the ‘multiplier’ effect of the media.

Wilbur Schramm, under the sanction of the United Nations Education, Scientific
and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), followed through and built upon Lerner’s
ideas. He attempted to determine the “precise role that mass media played in
development” (Rodgers, 2005).

There are other communication theories under this paradigm. Those relevant to
this study are Diffusion of Innovations and Two Step Flow of Information theories.
We discuss each one of these below.

2.4.2 Diffusion of Innovations Theory

This theory was developed by Everett Rodgers around 1962. It is about how
innovations are adopted, accepted or rejected in society. The theory was
largely grounded in agricultural research that Rodgers undertook and he thus
recommended that it could be used to introduce “innovations such as high
yield seeds, fertilisers and new farming methods to developing societies”
(Rodgers, 2005).

The main processes in the diffusion theory involve:

(i) An innovation – refers to an ideal practice or object that is perceived as

new by an individual or unit of adoption.
(ii) An individual or other unit of adoption that has knowledge or experience
with using the innovation.
(iii) Another individual or unit that does not have knowledge or experience
with the innovation.
(iv) A communication channel connecting the two.
(v) Time – How long does it take for a person in the community to accept or
reject an innovation after it has been introduced to them?

28
2.4.3 Two Step Flow of Communication theory
According to Defleur and Ball-Rokeath (1989: 127), this theory has its roots in a
study done by Lazarsfeld, Barelson and Gaudet in the United States of America
(USA). It is premised on the argument that informal social relationships play a
vital role in influencing the manner in which individuals select content from
media campaign messages, and that they are influenced by such content.

The process of messaging is such that members of a family, friends and others,
who are directly exposed to the media, bring messages from the media to the
attention of others, who are themselves not directly exposed to the media.
Those who are directly exposed are considered opinion leaders since they
influence views of others who are not directly exposed to the content of the
messages. However, the theory was later criticised on grounds that the flow of
information is not always two-way, other forms of information flow are possible.

2.4.4 Over-dependency or Marxist paradigm

The dependency theory developed out of the criticism of the modernisation

theory in the mid to the late 1960s (Scrampickal, 2006: 6). The main thesis of this
theory was that the process of adapting modern technologies made
developing nations ever more dependent on developed countries. Another
critique pertained to the issue that such innovations could not be transferred in
the same way in different areas as some nations did not have basic
infrastructure such as electricity and transportation. Overall, critics of the
diffusion model challenged it on its emphasis on “pro-innovation”, “pro-
persuasion” and “top-down nature, that is, its [lack of] strong emphasis on
recipient input into the development decisions and processes” (Cole, 1989, in
Scrampickal, 2006). As put by MacBride (1980, in Scrampickal, 2006: 5), “The
dependency argument played an important role in the movement for the New
Information Order in the 1970s.”

In this paradigm, the focus of communication for development shifted from

mere transfer of innovations to seeking “indigenous knowledge, participation
29
and empowerment” (Scrampickal, 2006: 5). In other words, the model
emphasised on “a process of consensus building and resistance to western
models of development, drawing its energy and ideas from the people affected
by the development” (Rodgers, 2005). On this basis, critics linked the diffusion
(modernisation) paradigm to the idea of neo-colonialism, arguing that
modernisation ensured the perpetuation of the control and manipulation of the
developing nations by the more developed countries or groups through indirect
means such as the control of international trade and mass media (Rodgers,
2005). The model was seen as another way that reinforced capitalist expansion
and domination. These ideas dominated the deliberations of a group of experts
at the First Annual Latin American Seminar on Participatory Communication,
organised in collaboration with the UN. This approach virtually marked an
intellectual shift in the basic conception of development communication.

Much of this change towards a more participatory approach has been

attributed to the work of Freire in the 1970s. He was an Educational theorist who
modified the concept of education by stressing that education should lead to
awareness rather than it being a “banking” model in which the teacher deposits
knowledge, while learners “patiently receive, memorise and reproduce”
whatever was transferred to them. This, according to Freire, only serves to
“increase the recipients’ dependence upon the teacher and to perpetuate
their oppressed conditions” (Scrampickal, 2006: 5). To reverse this oppressive
condition, the student needs to be concientised to make him/her aware of their
condition. It is this conception that other scholars followed on, developed the
ideas and added their own perspectives.

2.4.5 Multiplicity or Emancipatory paradigm

In this theory, the emphasis is on the two-way flow of information in

communication and development processes and strives to distance people
from “one-way communication approaches that involve disseminating
messages, transmitting information, or persuading people to change their

30
behaviour” (Scrampickal, 2006: 6). Instead it places emphasis on horizontal
approaches that “encourage dialogue centred on problem analysis and a
search for solutions, as well as bottom-up approaches that aim to raise the
awareness of decision makers” (Otsyina and Rosenberg, 1997, in Scrampickal,
2006: 6).

Whereas in the dependency paradigm participation entails a “national level

emphasis on the relationship between communication and politicization with a
political participation starting at the lower levels”, in the participatory approach,
emphasis is on “grassroots” participation (Scrampickal, 2006: 6). Like its
predecessor (dependency theory), the multiplicity paradigm was also inspired
by Freire (1970) in its formulation, especially on the aspect of participation. The
difference between the two, though, appears to be in the area of emphasis.
Where dependency stresses on the need for community participation with the
aim of influencing higher levels through communication, horizontal approaches
places emphasis on grassroots communication, based on mutual understanding
between higher authorities, development agents and beneficiaries. This renders
its being horizontal in nature and thus seeks to directly involve the poor in the
communication process (Bessette and Rajasunderam, 1996, in Rodgers, 2005).

Overall, the three theoretical orientations, the directions of information flow in

the communication process amongst different stakeholders (International
Development Agencies, International NGOs, Local and Central Governments,
local NGOs, local community based organisations and communities – rural and
urban poor) in the development process, and the main proponents of these
theoretical models, have been comprehensively presented by Rodgers (2005) in
the theoretical model in figure 2 below.

31
Figure 2: Development communication framework

(Source: Rodgers, 2005)

32
 CHAPTER THREE

LITERATURE REVIEW

3.1 Introduction
Chapter three presents literature relevant to the study. Literature is presented in
a three-fold pattern – international level, developing countries (particularly
Africa), and Zambia. At the international level, studies done by the UN and its
specialized agencies as well as other international development agents is
reviewed. Literature reviewed at developing countries level was largely drawn
from the African continent. In Zambia, studies in rural and urban Zambia are
reviewed.

3. 2 Literature review
Literature review on the subject under study is centred on a number of factors
emanating from within the communication and development settings. There is
sufficient evidence that shows that communications play a central role at every
level of the development process. In respect of this realisation, at the level of
world governance, the UN system and its specialised agencies has made
several resolutions pertaining to the deliberate and full incorporation of
communication in development programmes. For instance, the ninth UN
Roundtable on Communication for Development that was held in October 2004
called for a dedicated percentage of projects budgets to be committed to
communications-related activities. Similarly, other UN resolutions and
recommendation have reaffirmed this importance – that a deliberate and
adequate incorporation of communications in development efforts is central in
the success and sustainability of any endeavours to achieve human
development. One such example is the UN Resolution A/59/207 declared in
August 2004 which called for increased resources to be redirected towards
effective communication programmes in development (Rodgers, 2005).

33
Several UN specialised agencies have attempted to adequately incorporate
communication in their development efforts in different countries they operate.
FAO is one of the specialised agencies that have been actively involved in
issues of communication and development. The organisation has been
sanctioning and funding studies that aim at finding ways of better utilising
communication in agricultural development work. In a paper written for the
FAO, Fraser and Villet (1994) promoted “the concept of communication as key
to development.” The authors further noted that if development projects were
to succeed, participation was vital and they argued that “communication is
central to effective participation.” Participation becomes important in that
“unless people themselves are the driving force of their own development, no
amount of investment or provision of technology and inputs will bring about any
lasting improvements of their living standards. Participation enables the
participants to become the principal actors in development programmes, it
empowers people at all levels to recognise important issues, find common
grounds for action, and participate in the implementation of their decisions.”

Further, following Fraser and Villet (1994), the potential for communication lies in
the following two areas:

1. Communication approaches allow better planning and programme

formulation through consultation to take into account the needs, attitudes
and existing knowledge of stakeholder groups. They also improve
coordination, teamwork and wider institutional support in development
programme management and facilitate people’s participation and
community mobilisation.
2. Communication, media and techniques can be powerful tools to advise
people about new ideas and methods to encourage adoption of those
ideas and methods and to improve training overall.

Other UN agencies provide literature on recent research on communication

and development. The UNCDF in 2005 conducted a comprehensive survey on
development communication. This study “examined the development of the
various theoretical frameworks that define the practice of development
communication, and then reached out to the international development
34
community through a survey to discover: (a) whether an assumption that
development communication is not sufficiently appreciated by decision and
policy makers in development organizations is correct; and (b) if it is, what
possible reasons there could be for this” (Rodgers, 2005).

The findings of this assessment were that “where this assumption… [was] correct,
possible reasons for it could be (a) a deficiency of empirical indicators on which
policy makers can base their budgeting decisions; and/or (b) a lack of effective
communication between those that advocate for development
communication and those at the top of the organizational hierarchies”
(Rodgers, 2005). While these results are useful in understanding communications
in Zambia, they are yet to be confirmed or refuted through research done in
Zambia. In the case where they are conform to the observation, contextual
variations are yet to be established.

Besides the UN system and its specialised agencies, the Development

Communication section of the World Bank has sanctioned many researches in
this area. According to Mwangi (2002, in Rodgers, 2005), “The World Bank and
the United Nations Development Programme embraced the theory [of the
important role of communications in development] wholeheartedly and funded
thousands of development extension projects, located in rural areas in
developing countries, where trained agricultural officers would use media such
as radio to expose farmers to these innovations.”

Another international organisation with substantial amount of literature and

research on communication and development is the Overseas Development
Institute (ODI). The ODI, on its website lists literature reviews of many papers,
researches, books and journals on development. On this catalog, there are
reviews on research and other works on communication and development.
Amongst these works are those by Allor (1995), Burke (1999) and Chapman
(2003).

35
Allor (1995, in http://www.odi.org) in his work titled ‘Relocating the Site of the
Audience’ presents several theoretical approaches that are critical of the
notion of “passive recipient audience implied by linear approach to
communication.” Instead of assuming a passive audience accepting messages
without question or query, such approaches contend that different audiences
are actively involved in the process of interpretation of messages “through
different responses ranging from adoption to questioning to resistance. The
responses are determined at several levels by the audience’s practices,
individual identities, and fantasies” (Allor, 1995). In other words, this review
examines the fact that since audiences are actively involved in interpreting new
messages they receive through varied mediums and at the same time attempt
to fit them into their existing identities, beliefs and attitudes, original meaning is
changed or moulded during the process of communicating such that these
messages assume a varied range of meanings.

Such shifts in meaning may occur at different levels. Ferminist criticism, for
instance, contrasts differences in meanings made between readers and
receivers of messages on the basis of sex – maleness and femaleness. Research
has shown that male and female audiences are likely to respond differently to
certain messages. This entails that following a uniform communication model
may not be sufficient in communicating development messages to different
levels and audiences as these are received differently by different people and
at varied levels. Put in other words, if development information has to be
communicated effectively and expected to have a positive and lasting impact
on beneficiary communities, communication needs to be tailored to the
specific needs of different communities, considering their unique characteristics,
aspirations , identities, values, attitudes and beliefs. That is why participatory
approaches to communicating development are today at the centre of
communication for development discourse. This is because it addresses many of
the deficiencies of the top-down or bottom-up approaches.

36
In addition, Burke (1999) prepared a guide on Communication and
Development. The preparation of this guide was sanctioned by the Department
for International Development (DFID) for use in their efforts to improve on their
development activities. Burke, in the guide, indicates shifts in the institution’s
efforts of fighting poverty. He argued that although communications have been
central to the institution’s development efforts, it has in the recent past seen a
shift towards a “much stronger emphasis, with a growth of interest from all
advisory groups and most geographical divisions” (Burke, 1999, in
www.odi.org.uk/rapid/projects/RO163). The rationale for such a shift is that such
“broad-ranging programmes give far greater scope of innovative
communications activities with new partners” (Burke, 1999). The idea is that if
poverty reduction efforts are to be effective, Burke says that “it is vital that
channels of communication involve poor and excluded people.” Involvement
of the people in development programmes, governance and in society is a
right. Such an engagement of different stakeholders “involves many complex
communications issues, whether it takes place at a village level or in policy
debate” (Burke, 1999).

Further, Chapman et al (2003), provide one of the most recent and

comprehensive literature under the ODI list. In his paper ‘Rural radio in
Agricultural Extension: The example of vernacular radio programmes on soil and
water conservation on N. Ghana’, Chapman et al examine the power of radio
as a communication tool. According to him, “experience with rural radio has
shown the potential for agricultural extension to benefit from both the reach
and the relevance that local broadcasting can achieve by using participatory
communication approaches” (Chapman et al, 2003, in
www.odi.org.uk/rapid/projects/RO 163).

The paper further examines the importance of information sharing at the local
level and the need for opening wider information networks for farmers. Following
Chapman et al, the research findings of this paper revealed the following:

37
 (i) Rural radio can be used to improve sharing of agricultural information by
remote rural farming communities.
(ii) Participatory communication techniques can support agricultural
extension efforts, especially using local languages and rural radio to
communicate directly with farmers and listener’s groups.
(iii) A format that combines a drama performed by local actors’
corresponding thematic discussion is popular amongst those listening to
agricultural extension radio programmes.
(iv)Targeted audience research can help to determine programme content,
programme schedules and the preferences of listeners regarding the mix
of information and education in the format.

Chapman et al (2003) further listed the policy implications of these findings. They
stated that:

(1) There is need for national communication and media strategies which
incorporate pluralistic approaches to the media within the more
traditional centralized broadcasting and information systems and
promote the cross-sectional importance of information and
communication in budgetary planning processes such as Poverty
Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs).
(2) The national policy environment in many developing countries could be
improved through legislation to encourage independent community
broadcasting including streamlined licensing and subsidies for new
information services such as FM stations, internet providers and rural
telecommunications services.
(3) Governments and donors should invest in up-to-date sociolinguistic
analysis of the numbers and geographical dispersal of minority languages
with a view of improving information services such as government public
service information, broadcasting and research networks.

In the developing countries, and Africa in particular, Intermedia, a research

based consultancy organisation based in Kenya, London and Washington D.C,
provides one of the most recent research work on communication and
development. The consulting group specialising in communication and media
research conceived an online tool and research program providing essential
media use and communication information on developing countries from a
bottom-up perspective. The program is known as AudienceScapes and it is
based on in-depth analysis by a research team. This research program and

38
interactive website is designed to “help members of the development
community:
(1) To find better ways of to communicate with local stakeholders;
(2) Assess local needs in media, communication techniques, development
information and development policy; and
(3) Determine and support the information needs of development
policymakers (http://www.AudienceScrapes.org/).”

The research program has produced country profiles on communication and

development of some African and other developing countries and areas.
African countries that have been profiled include; Zambia, Mozambique, Sierra
Leone, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and Liberia.

The AudienceScrapes surveys are essentially concerned with documenting, in

profile form, matters of communication and development, considering variables
such as health, demographics and the development context (that is; politics,
development priorities, hanging development progress and development topics
and news preferences).

In Zambia, for example, the AudienceScrapes survey sought “...to better

understand how they gather, assess, share and disseminate policy‐relevant
information. In particular, this study focused on how the global development
community can best support the policy process from an informational point of
view” (http://www.AudienceScrapes.org/). Some communication behaviours
that were found prevalent amongst Zambian policy makers include: For
policy‐relevant information, decision makers rely heavily on organized, formal
channels of communication; Traditional media, particularly domestic radio
stations, are a key daily source of news and information on current events for
Zambian policy actors; and New media and communications technologies are
rapidly transforming the way Zambian policy actors gather information; the
internet has already become an essential source for collecting background
data necessary for policy work. This study has provided insights of
communication in Zambia’s policy environment. However, in its scope it

39
concentrated on communication ‘habits’ of policy makers leaving out some
core communication issues.

Kasongo (1998) in his paper ‘From Development by Effects to Development by

Contexts via Communication’ achieves in demystifying the practice of
communication in the development landscape in Zambia. This paper was
based on research that was conducted “in rural communities in Zambia and
one in a South African township in 1996-7” (Kasongo, 1998, in
www.odi.org.uk/rapid/projects/RO163). In the paper, he outlines two major
approaches to development communication. In the first, the paper “reviews
top-down externally driven development practice, as conventional and still
popular model”. The author argues that in this model, both “information and
resources are channelled downwards to the grassroots” in a top-down manner –
from the higher level to lower levels. Such a one way flow of information and
resources was expected to produce results after an adequate amount of time.
But, as put by Kasongo, this model has proved the opposite because even after
a very long period of media exposure, it has not yet produced the promised
results.

Secondly, Kasongo reviewed another model which he “associated with

participatory communication at all levels.” He recommends this model for use in
development efforts as it promotes a community development and allows
development to take place in consonance with conditions of different
communities. Kasongo’s (1996-7) offers insights into the approaches of
communication existent in Zambia’s development process. However, studies are
required with a different methodical approach. One such approach is to
attempt to study models of communication in a holistic manner, where the
models are examined as an ecosystem in the development process.

In terms of Non-governmental organisations, Edwards (1994) provides one of the

most recent and comprehensive literature. In his paper ‘NGOs in the Age of
Information’, Edwards associates the rise of NGOs to the emergence of the

40
information age. He argued that NGOs have competence in linking information,
knowledge and action in efficient and relevant ways. He advances three
factors that aim at accounting for such competence of NGOs in this area. These
are:

(1) NGOs have direct access to fieldwork and local accounts;

(2) NGOs normally have offices spanning the different levels of global
systems, and therefore information can flow easily between the
grassroots, NGO local offices, NGO headquarters and NGO lobbying
activity in global centers; and
(3) NGOs’ value base implies a democratic approach to communication
that emphasizes openness, sharing and non-hierarchical communication
channels.

Further, Edwards asserts that such distinctive capability in handling information

serves four main purposes. The first and second purposes pertain to the
“management systems and strategic plans, and ... processes of institutional
learning” of NGOs. The third is concerned with advocacy, particularly through
the systematic use of grassroots information to influence government and donor
policies. Accountability is the fourth purpose. NGOs are accountable to higher
levels (donors) and lower levels (communities). However, such accountability
tends to be biased towards donors, leading to the communication process
following a one-way flow of information, rather than the purported uni-
directional flow.

However, Edwards also identified possible information barriers within NGOs. They
include: “internal organisational obstacles; problems with representativity and
the images that are used; and the gap between raw information and
knowledge” (Edwards, 1994). To these problems, solutions were proposed. They
include “Organisational decentralisation, viewing information as an integral part
of all organisational processes, emphasising the need for information to be
relevant and taking advantage of the opportunities provided by information
technology.

41
3.3 Conclusion

From the review of literature above, it clear that the many development
interventions follow a top-down, linear technocratic process. However there is
generally lack of evidence to ascertain to what extent top-down
communication is practiced in policy, planning and implementation contexts in
Zambia. Although, studies and experience indicate a shift from top-down to
bottom-up communication, rare are studies that show the extent to which such
a shift has occurred especially in the Zambian context.as such a profile is yet to
be established that could reflect communications in policy, planning and
implementation contexts.

42
 CHAPTER FOUR

METHODOLOGY

4.1 Introduction

This chapter outlines the methodology that was used to address the set out
objectives of this research. The study triangulated various research methods and
techniques. Following Simwinga (unpublished: 7) triangulation in social research
“refers to the combination of two or more theories, data sources, methods, or
investigators in the study of a given phenomenon.” This research generally used
a combination of quantitative and qualitative research techniques. The use of
this approach was important or justifiable because it helped to “...capture a
more complete, holistic and contextual portrayal and reveal[ed] the varied
dimensions of the given phenomenon” (Simwinga, unpublished: 7). More so, as
observed by Patton (1990: 10-11, in Simwinga, unpublished), recent trends in
research “...have led to an increase in the use of multiple methods, including
combinations of qualitative and quantitative data.”As such, the use of both
qualitative and quantitative techniques somewhat becomes inevitable
because “All quantitative data is based upon qualitative judgments; and all
qualitative data can be described and manipulated numerically” (Trochim,
2006).

4.2 Research questions

The research attempted to answer the following research questions.

1. Which theoretical model (top-down, bottom-up and/or horizontal) do
outreach communications by government (MoFNP) and/or civil society
(ZCSD) reflect?

2. How do the staff of the two institutions perceive their communications

outreach work?

3. What are attributes of channels, messages and sources of communication

in the two institutions, in relation to models of communication?
43
 4. Are the communication strategies used by the MoFNP and the ZCSD
effective?

5. How does the audience perceive and prefer development

communications/messages?

4.3 Methods

The study adopted a triangulation of methods and techniques research

strategy. Quantitative and qualitative were blended to gather relevant and
sufficient data. Specifically, qualitative techniques which were used were: Field
Research (during the three months attachment); FGDs; and in-depth interviews.
On the other hand, quantitative approaches constituted the self-administered
questionnaire that was administered to both the staff and audience samples.

The qualitative approach which involved the use of the Field Research
approach (during the three months attachment), In-depth Interviews with key
informants or staff that constituted the sample and FGDs were conducted in two
sample institutions (ZCSD and MoFNP). In respect to the In-depth Interviews,
respondents were identified in terms of the role(s) or position(s) they held in
respective study organisations. The researcher used a semi-structured interview
guide as an aid during the interview process. With regard to the FGDs data
collection tool, it was aided by the interview guide to collect detailed
information. This tool was very vital to this research as it allowed the researcher
to tap into the deep-sited feelings, perceptions and views of respondents. Thus it
supplemented the researcher’s own observations during the period of
attachment to one of the sample organisations and the in-depth interviews
which were conducted on key personnel.

Quantitative methods involved administering of a structured questionnaire

which helped to obtain respondent’s views and attitudes on communications
and development. The study used two questionnaires. The first was used to

44
gather data from both the MoFNP and ZCSD personnel. The other was used to
collect information from the audience. Membership to these samples was
drawn from Lusaka urban and Chongwe rural, within Lusaka province (while
accounting for varied sub-categories within each of these categories such as
high, middle and low density areas and villages). The questionnaire consisted of
more closed-ended questions, with few open-ended questions.

4.4 Sampling procedure

Data was collected from four study areas within Lusaka province, namely
Lusaka urban (N’gombe, Helen Kaunda, and Chudleigh), Lusaka rural
(Chongwe), Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MoFNP), and Zambia
Council for Social Development (ZCSD).

In respect to Lusaka urban sample area, the multi-stage sampling procedure

was used. This procedure was selected because “By combining different
sampling methods we are able to achieve a rich variety of probabilistic
sampling methods” (Trochim, 2006).

As a first stage in the process, a one-stage cluster sampling was administered.

Using a map obtained from Lusaka City Council, a random sample of clusters
(e.g. Munali, Kabwata etc.) that compose Lusaka was taken. Clustering
reduced the ground covered as the geographical area under study was
disbursed. By extension, it made the research manageable and affordable in
respect to available time and resources.

The second step involved administration of the stratified sampling process within
the clusters. Based on population density, the clusters were stratified into High,
Medium, and Low Density areas using the sample frame obtained from Lusaka
City Council. There are two reasons for stratification: 1. It assures that the sample
be able to represent not only the overall population, but also key subgroups of
the population; and 2. It generally has more statistical precision than simple
random sampling.

45
In the third stage, a simple random sampling procedure was administered, using
the computer random number generator, so that only three locations,
representative of High Density, Middle Density and Low Density Areas, were
selected. The areas that were randomly picked were N’gombe (high density),
Helen Kaunda (middle density), and Chadleigh (low density).

The fourth stage involved breakingdown each of the three areas (N’gombe,
Helen Kaunda and Chadleigh) into Census Supervisory Areas (CSAs) sub-clusters
using aerial census maps that were obtained by the researcher from Central
Statistical Office (CSO). The resultant CSAs from this process were CSA 17 for
N’gombe, CSA 2 for Helen Kaunda, and the lone CSA 15 for Chadleigh.

Then, each of the CSAs above was subdivided into Section Enumeration Areas
(SEAs), after which a simple random sampling procedure was administered on
SEAs that made up a given CSA separately. The outcome was that SEA 4 for
N’gombe, SEA 1 for Helen Kaunda and SEA 3 from Chadleigh were randomly
selected for administering of questionnaires.

Finally, to select specific households for distribution of questionnaires, a

systematic random sampling procedure was used in which the total number of
households in a given SEA was divided by the required number of households, so
that an average number that guided that count between the households was
generated.

For MoFNP, ZCSD, and Chongwe rural, a purposive sampling procedure was
administered because respondents to be included in the sample were already
earmarked. Hence the researcher administered research instruments to a
subject who was contacted first and fitted the specification. Prior appointment
was sought for respondents with busy schedules.

46
4.5 Data gathering procedure

The data collection exercise begun around mid 2011 (June) and was done
within approximately three months. Specifically, the researcher distributed
questionnaires to individuals that constituted the sample. After distribution of
questionnaires, respondents were requested to fill in their responses within one or
two weeks.

In the case of the In-depth Interview and FGDs, the researcher sought
appointments from key informants from both organisations. Thereafter, In-depth
Interviews and FGDs were conducted with the researcher recording through
note-taking the views of respondents. The researcher was helped by an
unscheduled or semi-scheduled interview guide to keep the In-depth Interviews
and FGDs in line with the set objectives.

In respect to Lusaka urban, the researcher distributed questionnaires to

identified households, using respective systematic intervals to determine
households for distribution of questionnaires. For Lusaka rural (Chongwe rural),
the researcher was guided by the village sub-divisions and distributed
questionnaires randomly. Where respondents, mostly from the rural sample area,
were not able to read or understand the questions well, the researcher helped
by translating into a local language they would understand and filled in
responses of those who could not write. Respondents (of both Lusaka rural and
urban) were asked to complete their questionnaires within two weeks after
which they were collected for comprehensive analysis with other data that
were collected from other research instruments.

4.6 Data analysis

The data analysis process commenced during the data collection exercise by
way of arranging notes collected from the field and relating them to research
objectives and in accordance with salient themes of the Research. Thereafter,
emerging themes related to objectives were identified, described and
interpreted. These were analysed within the analytical framework that informed
47
the study. Finally, these were supplemented by respondents’ own words, in form
of important quotations that were drawn from their responses, from the
questionnaire’s open-ended questions, In-depth Interviews and FGDs.

The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 16.0, was used to
analyse data that was collected. Data obtained from Field Research (during the
three months of attachments), In-depth Interviews, FGDs and open-ended
questions within questionnaires (in the structured questionnaire) was first
grouped under identified variables before being coded together with data from
closed-ended questions from questionnaires. Coded data was then entered into
the computer software for analysis, numerically. Then relevant variables were
cross tabulated to establish the relationships that would have existed between
the variables.

4.7 Summary

The study adopted a triangulation of methods and techniques research strategy

in which quantitative and qualitative were blended to gather relevant and
sufficient data. To achieve statistical precision in the sampling process, a multi-
stage sampling procedure was administered. SPSS was used the analysis of
data.

48
 CHAPTER FIVE

PRESENTATION OF FREQUENCIES OF RESPONSES FROM STAFF AND AUDIENCE

RESPONDENTS

5.1 Introduction

This section presents research findings in relation to research objectives and

questions. To help achieve objectives and answer main research objectives and
questions, the section is arranged in a way that frequencies of responses from
staff respondents to research questions are first presented, followed by
tabulations from audience respondents, then focus group discussions, and finally
in-depth interviews. This presentation shall lay ground for discussions in the next
chapter.

5.2 Presentation of frequencies of responses from staff questionnaire

Table 2: Frequency of staff and audience respondents,

by sex

Sex Valid Cumulative

Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Male 68 47.5 47.5 47.5
Female 75 52.5 52.5 100.0
Total 143 100.0 100.0

As shown in table 2, in this study of 143 respondents, 47.5 percent of the

respondents were male and 52.5 percent were female.

49
 Table 3: Frequency of staff and audience respondents by age category, by 9-
year increments

Cumulative
percent
Age Frequency Percent Valid percent

18-27 35 24.4 24.4 24.4

28-37 52 36.3 36.3 60.7

38-47 21 14.6 15 75.7

48-57 18 12.5 12.5 88.2

58 and 6 4.2 4.2 92.4

above

Missing 11 7.6 7.6 100.0

System

Total 143 100.0 100.0

Table 3 indicates that the largest number of respondents was from the age
range of 28-37 and composed 36.3 percent of the sample. Those from 18-27
years constituted 24.4 %, while 15 % accounted for ages from 38-47 years. The
least represented, by age, at 4.2 percent, ranged from 58 and above.

Table 4: Education levels according to places visited

Valid Cumulative
Education Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Primary 22 15.3 15.3 15.3
Valid Secondary 40 27.9 27.9 43.2
Tertiary 75 52.4 52.4 95.6
No formal 99
5 3.4 3.4
education
Missing 100.0
1 0.6 1
System
Total 143 100.0 100.0

According to table 4, 52.4 percent of respondents had attained post-secondary

level of education, 27.9 percent had reached secondary school level, while 15.3
percent ended at primary school level, whereas 3.4 percent had no formal
education.
50
 Table 5: Type of organisation worked for
Valid Cumulative
Organisation Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Civil society 16 45.7 45.7 45.7
Government
14 40.0 40.0 85.7
Ministry
Missing System 5 14.3 14.3 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The table above depicts that 45.7 percent of respondents worked for civil
society organisations. 40.0 percent were from Government Ministries and
departments. However, 14.3 percent of the sample did not specify the type of
organisation they worked for.

Table 6: Frequency of respondents, by number of years worked

in the organisation
Frequenc Valid Cumulative
Years y Percent Percent Percent
Valid Less than 5
10 28.6 28.6 28.6
years
From 6-10
14 40.0 40.0 68.6
years
From 11-15
6 17.1 17.1 85.7
years
More than 16
5 14.3 14.3 100.0
years
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The research revealed that 40.0 percent of employees have worked from at
least 6-10 years in the particular organisation. 28.6 percent represented those
who have been working for less than 5 years and 17.1 percent have been with
organisations between 11-15 years. Those with more than 16 years in
employment represented the least percentage of 14.3 percent.

51
 Table 7: Position in Organisation
Valid Cumulative
Position Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Director 3 8.6 8.6 8.6
Supervisor 6 17.1 17.1 25.7
Middle
10 28.6 28.6 54.3
management staff
Top management
8 22.9 22.9 77.2
staff
Lower level staff 3 8.6 8.6 85.8
Missing System 5 14.2 14.2 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

Table 7 shows that 28 percent of interviewees were at the middle management

level of the hierarchy and 22.9 percent were at top management level, and
involved in decision making. 17.1 percent of employees were Directors, 8.6
percent represented supervisors, and another 8.6 percent comprised lower level
staff.

Table 8: Frequency of answers: “Where do you live?”

Valid Cumulative
Area of residence Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Low density area 27 18.9 18.9 18.9
Medium density
49 34.2 34.2 53.1
area
High density area 50 35.0 35.0 88.1
Missing 17 11.9 11.9 100.0
Total 143 100.0 100.0

Table 8 above depicts that most of the respondents lived in high density and in
middle density areas, with a representation of at 35.0 and 34.2 percent,
respectively. 19 percent accounted for respondents from low the density area.

52
 Table 9: Frequency of respondents, by type of residential
area
Valid Cumulative
Area Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Urban 115 80.4 80.4 80.4
Rural 22 15.4 15.4 95.8
Missing 5 3.5 3.5 99.3
Other 1 0.7 0.7 100
Total 143 100.0 100.0

In terms of the residential area, majority (80.4%) of the interviewees live in urban
areas and 15.2 percent live in rural areas.

Table 10: Reported levels of monthly income

Valid Cumulative
Income Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Below K299,999 6 4.1 4.1 4.1
From K300,000-
18 12.6 12.6 16.7
K499,999
From K500,000-
14 9.8 9.8 26.5
K999,999
From K1,000,000-
28 19.6 19.6 46.1
K1,999,999
From K2,000,000-
19 13.3 13.3 59.4
K4,999,999
Above K5,000,000 11 7.7 7.7 67.1
None 35 24.5 24.5 91.6
Missing System 12 8.4 8.4 100.0
Total 143 100.0 100.0

In the Table above, 20 percent of the interviewees’ monthly income ranged

from K1, 000,000 - K1, 999,999, 13.2 percent earned between K2, 000,000- K4, 999,
999, 12 percent made between K300, 000- K499, 999, whereas 4.1 percent got
below K299, 999. 24.4 percent accounted for those that did not have any
monthly income. Note: Figures presented here are in old currency, which was
still in effect at the time of research.

53
 Table 11: Primary officer responsible for external communication
Valid Cumulative
Officer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Public Relations
16 45.7 45.7 45.7
Officer
Communications
2 5.7 5.7 51.4
Officer
Information Officer 10 28.5 28.5 79.9
Development
Communication 1 2.9 2.9 82.8
Specialist
No specific
5 14.3 14.3 97.1
personal
Missing System 1 2.9 2.9 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

Following Table 11, 45.7 percent of the information communicated externally

was done by the Public Relations Officer and 28 percent accounted for
dissemination done by Information Officers. Communications Officers
composed 5.7 percent and only 2.9 percent of the organisations had a
Development Communication Specialist, whereas 14.3 percent did not have
specific personnel responsible for communication related work.

Table 12: Channel(s) of communication used by organisations in external

communication
Valid Cumulative
Channel Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Community radio 19 54.3 54.3 54.3
Public state radio 5 14.3 14.3 68.6
Bath public and
1 2.9 2.9 71.5
private television
Internet 1 2.9 2.9 74.4
Booklet/Brochure 4 11.3 11.3 85.7
Meeting/Workshop 2 5.7 5.7 91.4
Missing System 3 8.6 8.6 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The research revealed that 54.3 percent of communications were conveyed

through community radio, and 14.3 percent were attributed to public/state
media. The use of brochures and booklets stood at 11.4 percent while meetings
and workshops accounted for 5.7 percent. The internet, public and private
television were the least used channels of communication at 2.9 percent.
54
 Table 13: Frequency of answers: “why do you use the channel
mentioned?”
Valid Cumulative
Reason Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Cheaper 19 54.3 54.3 54.3
Most efficient
9 25.7 25.7 80
and effective
Missing System 7 20.0 20.0 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

According to responses in Table 13, 54 percent stated that they used the said
channels in external communication because they were cheaper and 25.7
percent used them because they were more affective and efficient.

Table 14: Frequency of responses: “Does the organization have

a communication plan?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 16 45.7 45.7 45.7
No 14 40.0 40.0 85.7
Do not
5 14.3 14.3 100.0
know
Total 35 100.0 100.0

Following Table 14, 45 percent stated that their organisation had a strategic
communication plan and 40 percent did not have the plan. The remaining 14.3
percent did not know.

Table 15: Frequency of answers: “Is communication a continuous or

one-time off process in your organisation?”
Nature of Valid Cumulative
communication Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Continuous 26 74.3 74.3 74.3
One-Time 3 8.6 8.6 82.9
Missing System 6 17.1 17.1 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The research, in Table 15, shows that 74.3 percent of the respondents stated that
their strategic communication planning and processes were continuous and
only 6 percent of the representation showed they had one – time off processes.

55
 Table 16: Models of information flows in external communication
Valid Cumulative
Model Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Top- Down 5 14.3 14.3 14.3
Bottom-Up 2 5.7 5.7 20.0
Horizontal 28 80.0 80.0 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

Data tabulated in Table 16 shows that the horizontal model of communication

was the most frequently (80%) used, 14.5 percent used top–down the model,
whereas 5.7 percent indicated they used the bottom- up model of
communication.

Table 17: Formats used in communicating information to the

public or stakeholders
Valid Cumulative
Format Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid News
8 22.9 22.9 22.9
report
Meeting 14 40.0 40.0 62.9
Radio
1 2.9 2.9 65.7
forum
Television
12 34.3 34.3 100.0
forum
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The respondents suggested that meetings were the most frequently (40%) used
formats of conveying information and 34.3 percent indicated information was
conveyed through television forums. 22.9 percent of the formats used were in
form of newspapers. The least used was the radio forum which stood at 2.9
percent.
Table 18: Frequency of answers: “have you heard of
development communication before?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 10 28.6 28.6 28.6
No 18 51.4 51.4 80.0
Do not
7 20.0 20.0 100.0
know
Total 35 100.0 100.0

56
According to Table 18, 51.4 percent of the interviewees were not aware of
development communication, 28.6 percent stating were aware, whereas 20
percent of the respondents did not know.

Table 19: Frequency of responses: “Is communication

relevant to society or nation?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 32 91.4 91.4 91.4
No 3 8.6 8.6 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The findings of the research revealed that 91.4 percent of the respondents
stated that communication was important to the nation and 8.6 percent
indicated it was not relevant.

Table 20: Does your organisation have a development

communication department?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 2 5.7 5.7 5.7
No 33 94.3 94.3 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

According to tabulations in Table 20, 94.3 percent of organisations did not have
a development communication department and 5.7 percent reported that
they had development communication departments.

Table 21: Frequency of responses: “Does organisation

have any development communication specialist?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 3 8.6 8.6 8.6
No 32 91.4 91.4 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

Table 21 shows that 91.4 percent of the organisations do not have

communication for development specialists. Nevertheless, 8.6 percent of
organisations have specialised personal for the communication related work.

57
 Table 22: Frequency of responses: “How many
communication for development specialists do you have?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Two 2 5.7 5.7 5.7
Three 1 2.9 2.9 8.6
Missing System 32 91.4 91.4 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The research, as tabulated in Table 22, suggests that an overwhelming

percentage of 91.4 accounts for the lack of specialised communication for
development personnel in organisations. A percentage of 5.7 stated their
organisations had two specialists and 2.9 percent employed at least three
specialists.

Table 23: Is the United Nations resolution on effective

communications implemented?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 9 25.7 25.7 25.7
No 12 34.3 34.3 60.0
Do not
11 31.4 31.4 91.4
know
Missing System 3 8.6 8.6 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

This study also sought to find out if the sample were aware of the United Nations
[UN] Resolution A 159/207 of August 2004 which is about the need for increased
resources to be committed to communications-related activities in
organisational budgets. The table above displays that 34.3 percent of the
respondents were not implementing the UN resolution and 31.4 percent were
not sure they did so. 25.7 percent of the respondents reported that they were
implementing the resolution.

58
 Table 24: Frequency of responses: “Why is your organisation not
implementing the UN Resolution on communication?”
Frequenc Valid Cumulative
Reason y Percent Percent Percent
Valid Government does
not communicate to 32 91.4 91.4 91.4
citizens
Have not heard 3 8.6 8.6 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The table shows that 91.4 percent of respondents were not aware of the
resolution because government did not communicate to citizens, whereas 8.6
percent had not heard about it.

Table 25: Has your organisation committed resources to

communication?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 19 54.3 54.3 54.3
No 11 31.4 31.4 85.7
Do not
5 14.3 14.3 100.0
know
Total 35 100.0 100.0

According to Table 25 above, 54.3 percent of interviewees stated that their

organisation committed resources to development communication and 31.4
percent did not allocate resources to communication. The remaining 14.3
percent did not know.

Table 26: Frequency of responses: “What percentage of the total

operating budget has been committed to communication?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid 6 - 10% 3 8.6 8.6 8.6
11 - 15% 3 8.6 8.6 17.2
20% 2 5.7 5.7 22.9
Don't
16 45.7 45.7 68.6
know
Missing System 11 31.4 31.4 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

59
The table above displays that 45 percent of the respondents did not know how
much resources were allocated to communication, 11 percent accounted for
invalid entries, 8.6 percent represented budgetary allocation ranging from 6 – 15
percent, whereas 5.7 percent of the respondents suggested a 20 percent
allocation.

Table 27: What has been the status of you budget, in respect to
allocation to communication, in the last three to five years?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Increased 3 8.6 8.6 8.6
Don't
20 57.1 57.1 65.7
know
Missing System 12 34.3 34.3 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

Based on the results from the respondents tabulated in Table 27, 57.1 percent
did not know the status of the organisation’s budget in the last 3-5 years, in
respect to communication. A minimal percentage of 8.6 percent reported that
there had been an increase in their budget allocation to communication in the
previous 3-5 years.

Table 28: Frequency of answers: “Does your organisation have

a communication strategy?”
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 11 31.4 31.4 31.4
No 19 54.3 54.3 85.7
Not
5 14.3 14.3 100.0
sure
Total 35 100.0 100.0

According to Table 28, 54.3 percent of employees interviewed stated that their
organisations did not have a strategic communication plan, whereas 31.4
percent of the respondents indicated they had strategic plans.

60
 Table 29: Are you aware of Vision 2030 and/or other development
messages?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 32 91.4 91.4 91.4
No 2 5.7 5.7 97.1
Missing System 1 2.9 2.9 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The results in Table 29 revealed that the majority (91.4 percent) of staff
respondents were aware of Vision 2030, whereas 5.7 percent indicated that they
were not aware of the plan.
Table 30: Frequency of responses: “What is the main message of Vision
2030 and/or other development messages you know?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Attain universal
1 2.9 2.9 2.9
primary education
Become a middle
26 74.3 74.3 77.2
income country
Achieve 50%
representation of
women in key 1 2.9 2.9 80.1
decision-making
positions
Transform Zambia
into an agriculture 1 2.9 2.9 83
based economy
Others 2 5.7 5.7 88.7
Missing System 4 11.3 11.3 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

According to Table 30, 74.3 percent of the respondents suggested that the main
message of Vision 2030 was about becoming a middle income country by 2030.
2.9 percent represented those who said Vision 2030 sought to attain universal
primary education, 50 percent representation in politics and other decision
making positions, and to transform the Zambian economy from copper
dependency to an agriculturally based economy, respectively.

61
 Table 31: Which channel did you become aware of Vision 2030
and/or other development messages you know?
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Community radio 2 5.7 5.7 5.7
Public/state radio 4 11.4 11.4 17.1
Public/State
2 5.7 5.7 22.9
television
Internet 24 68.6 68.6 91.4
Booklet/brochure 2 5.7 5.7 97.1
Meeting 1 2.9 2.9 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

In the table above, the internet was the most used channel of communication
in acquiring information of Vision 2030, at 68.6 percent, followed by 11.4 percent
which was through public radio and 5.7 percent through public television and
booklets. The least used channel was through meetings, with 2.9 percent.

Table 32: Frequency of responses: “What is your interpretation of Vision

2030?”
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Importance of
stakeholder 21 60.0 60.0 60.0
participation
Transform Zambia
into middle income 7 20.0 20.0 80.0
country
Community
1 2.9 2.9 82.9
sensitisation
Following the
proper channel of 1 2.9 2.9 85.8
communication
Graduate Zambia
2 5.7 5.7 91.5
from LDC to MDC
Improvement of
1 2.9 2.9 94.4
the community
Seeks improve
livelihoods of all 2 5.7 5.7 100.0
citizens
Total 35 100.0 100.0
62
The results in Table 32 show that 60 percent of the respondents interpreted Vision
2030 in terms of importance of stakeholder participation. 20 percent viewed the
plan in respect to transformation of Zambia into a middle income country, 5.7
percent accounted for those who saw Vision 2030 as an avenue for graduating
Zambia from a LDC to MDC as well as seek to improve livelihoods of all citizens.
A representation of 2.9 percent cited community sensitisation, following the
proper channel of communication and improvement of the community as main
messages of vision 2030, respectively.

Table 33: What strategies has your organisation employed to achieve Vision
2030 and/or other development programmes or projects?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Engaging
stakeholders
21 60.0 60.0 60.0
including the
media
Awareness
4 11.4 11.4 71.4
programs
Community
sensitisation 2 5.7 5.7 77.1
programs
Holding of culture
remodelling
1 2.9 2.9 80.0
television
programme
Implementing
1 2.9 2.9 82.9
short term plans
Exhibitions 3 8.6 8.6 91.5
Working with
5.7
community radio 2 5.7 97.2
station
Not sure 1 2.9 2.9 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

Table 33 shows that strategies employed by the organisations to achieve Vision

2030 are as follows: 60percent engage with stakeholders including the media;
11.4 percent employ awareness programs; 8.6 percent used exhibitions; 5.7
percent involved community sensitisation and working with community radio
stations; and at 2.9 percent, strategies employed were television programmes,
implementing of the short term plans, respectively, and the other 2.9 percent
stood for respondents who were not sure.

63
 Table 34: Is the deliberate use of strategic communication amongst your
strategies?
Answer Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 13 37.1 37.1 37.1
No 13 37.1 37.1 74.2
Do not know 7 20.0 20.0 94.2
Missing System 2 5.8 5.8 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The findings in Table 34 above show that 37.1 percent of organisations use
strategic communication as one of their strategies. The same percentage of
37.1 also represents organisations that do not use communication as a strategy.
Only 7 percent of the respondents did not know strategies that were employed
in their organisations.

Table 35: Frequency of responses: “Which communication strategies are

you using?”
Response Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Television and radio
26 74.3 74.3 74.3
programmes
Community radio
1 2.9 2.9 77.1
station and workshop
Do not know 1 2.9 2.9 80.0
exhibitions 1 2.9 2.9 82.9
Exhibitions and
1 2.9 2.9 85.7
television programs
Exhibitions, television
programs, brochure 1 2.9 2.9 88.6
and internet
Exhibitions and
1 2.9 2.9 91.4
television programs
Holding meeting and
workshops in rural 1 2.9 2.9 94.3
areas
Implementation of
1 2.9 2.9 97.1
sensitisation programs
Mass media
1 2.9 2.9 100.0
exhibitions
Total 35 100.0 100.0

64
Table 35 shows that 74.3 percent of respondents use television and radio
programmes as strategies of communication. 2.9 percent of the responses
indicated community radio programmes, workshops, exhibitions, brochures,
internet, meetings, mass media and sensitisation programmes as strategies used,
respectively.

Table 36: Were all stakeholders adequately consulted during

formulation of Vision 2030 and/or any other development
programme or project?
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 20 57.1 57.1 57.1
No 12 34.3 34.3 91.4
Do not
1 2.9 2.9 94.3
know
Missing System 2 5.7 5.7 100.0
Total 35 100.0 100.0

The findings show that 57.1 percent of respondents suggested that all
stakeholders were adequately consulted when formulating vision 2030, whereas
34.3 percent indicated that stakeholders were not consulted. 2.9 percent of the
sample did not know.

Table 37: Frequency of responses: “why do you think this was the
case?”
Valid Cumulativ
Response Frequency Percent Percent e Percent
Valid Lack of co-
ordination between
government policy 33 94.3 94.3 94.3
and activities and
stakeholders
Citizens were
unaware of
1 2.9 2.9 97.1
contents of Vision
2030
Need to work with
1 2.9 2.9 100.0
rural areas
Total 35 100.0 100.0

Based on responses of interviewees in Table 37 above, 94.3 percent suggested

the lack of coordination between government policies and stakeholders’
activities as a major reason why all stakeholders were not adequately consulted.
65
2.9 percent attributed to non-involvement stakeholders to lack of citizen
awareness of Vision 2030, whereas another 2.9 percent indicated the lack of
coordination with rural areas as the reason.

Table 38: Frequency of answers: “Is your organisation using

communication to enhance sustainable development?”

Respons Frequenc Valid Cumulative

e y Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 26 81.2 81.2 81.2
No 6 18.8 18.8 100.0
Total 32 100.0 100.0

Table 38 depicts that 81.2 percent of the organisations were using

communication to enhance sustained development and 18.8 percent did not.

66
5.3 Presentation of frequencies of audience responses

5.3.1 Audience questionnaire

Portions of biographical data of this audience questionnaire have been merged

with those of the staff questionnaire (to avoid repetition and reduce the length
of presentation of findings). Thus, this section only outlines findings of the second
and third parts of the audience questionnaire on “attitudes and sources through
which information is accessed” and “understanding and views toward
development messages”, respectively. The presentation of results from the
audience sample is as follows.

Table 39: Frequency of responses: “Do you own a television

set?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 65 60.2 60.2 60.2
No 42 38.9 38.9 99.1
1 0.9 0.9 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

According to the responses depicted in the table above, 60.2 percent of the
respondents owned a television set and the remaining 38.9 percent did not
have one.

Table 40: If you don’t own a television, do you have access

anywhere?
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 15 13.9 13.9 13.9
No 8 7.4 7.4 21.3
Missing System 85 78.7 78.7 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

In terms of accessing a television set anywhere, 13.9 percent of the interviewed

were able to access the facility anywhere whereas 7.4 percent accounted for
those who could not.

67
 Table 41: Do you own a radio?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 78 72.2 72.2 72.2
No 28 25.9 25.9 98.1
Missing System 2 1.9 1.9 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

According to Table 41, it was indicated that there were more respondents
owning radios represented by 72.2 percent against 25.9 percent who did not
own one.

Table 42: If you don’t own a radio set, do you have access
anywhere?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 13 12.0 12.0 12.0
No 10 9.3 9.3 21.3
Missing System 85 78.7 78.7 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Table 42 shows that 12.0 percent of respondents who did not own radio sets
accessed them somewhere while 9.3 percent were not able to.

Table 43: Frequency of answers: “Do you have access to

newspapers?”
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 79 73.2 73.2 73.2
No 24 22.2 22.2 95.4
Missing System 5 4.6 4.6 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Following table 43, the majority (73.2%) of respondents had access to

newspapers and a representation of 22.2 percent accounted for those who did
not have any access.

68
 Table 44: Do you own a personal computer?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 17 15.8 15.8 15.8
No 67 62.0 15.8 77.8
Missing System 24 22.2 22.2 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

In terms of ownership of personal computers, the majority of respondents (62

percent) did not own a personal computer. Only 15.7 percent of respondents
owned personal computers.

Table 45: Which source(s) do you access information from?

Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Community Radio 33 30.6 30.6 30.6
Public Radio 13 12.0 12.0 42.6
Both Public and
30 27.8 27.8 70.4
community radio
Private television 2 1.9 1.9 72.3
Public television 12 11.1 11.1 83.4
Internet 1 0.9 0.9 84.3
Meeting/Workshop 7 6.5 6.4 90.7
Missing System 10 9.3 9.3 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Table 45 indicates that 30.6 percent of respondents accessed information from

community radio, 27.8 percent got information from both public and community
radio, and 11.1 percent accessed from public television. 12.0 percent sourced
information from public / state radio.

69
 Table 46: Frequency of answers: “How frequent do you access
information?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Very often 61 56.5 56.5 56.5
Often 12 11.1 11.1 67.6
Sometimes 6 5.6 5.6 73.3
Rarely 2 1.9 1.9 75.2
Never 10 9.2 9.2 84.4
Missing System 17 15.6 15.6 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Tabulations in Table 46 show that 56.5 percent of the interviewees accessed

information very often, 11.1 percent stated they often get information, whereas
9.2 percent of respondents indicated that they never accessed information at
all.

Table 47: Favourite source information

Valid Cumulative
Favourite source Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Community radio 30 27.8 27.8 27.8
Public radio 19 17.6 17.6 45.4
Both community
19 17.6 17.6 63
and public radio
public television 2 1.9 1.9 64.9
Private television 7 6.5 6.5 71.4
Both public and
11 10.2 10.2 81.6
private television
word of mouth 1 0.9 0.9 82.5
Both public and
2 1.9 1.9 84.4
private newspaper
Internet 1 0.9 0.9 85.3
Booklet/Brochure 1 0.9 0.9 86.2
None 6 5.5 5.5 91.7
Missing System 9 8.3 8.3 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Table 47 depicts that 27.8 percent of the respondents preferred community

radio as their favourite source of information. Public radio and both community
and public radio were opted by 17.6 percent of respondents, respectively,
70
whereas 10.2 percent preferred both public and private television. The internet,
brochures and face-to-face communication (word of mouth) were liked by only
0.9 percent, respectively.

Table 48: Frequency of responses: “Why is the said channel your

favourite?”
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid It is easily
79 73.1 73.1 73.1
accessible
Covers wide range
3 2.9 2.9 76.0
of information
Provides forums to
1 0.9 0.9 76.9
voice opinion
Has good programs 6 5.6 5.6 82.5
Has information
that help in school 1 0.9 0.9 83.4
work
Helps to know what
is happening in our
5 4.6 4.6 88.0
community and
country
Reliable 1 0.9 0.9 88.9
Not biased 4 3.7 3.7 92.6
Only available
source to get 1 0.9 0.9 93.5
information
Source of
1 0.9 0.9 94.4
information
Talk of things that
1 0.9 0.9 95.3
affect people
Attention catching
1 0.9 0.9 96.2
topics
Truthful 3 2.9 2.9 99.1
Public / state
television favours 1 0.9 0.9 100.0
government
Total 108 100.0 100.0

This research revealed that most of the respondents (73.1 percent) preferred a
particular channel or source of communication as it was easily accessible. 5.6
percent accounted for respondents who preferred particular sources based on
71
good programmes provided. Lack of bias was another factor that made 3.7
percent of the sample to prefer certain sources over others, whereas 2.9
percent preferred specific sources because they were truthful and covered a
wide range of information. 0.9 percent saw the said sources as favouring
government (especially public / state television and radio) and that they had
no choice since those were the only accessible sources of information. The other
0.9 percent pointed to particular sources because they provided platforms to
voice their opinions and talking about things that affect people.

Table 49: Which source of information do you trust?

Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Community radio 17 15.7 15.7 15.7
Both community
13 12.0 12.0 27.7
and public radio
Public radio 13 12.0 12.0 39.7
Public television 4 3.7 3.7 43.4
Private television 8 7.4 7.4 50.8
Both public and
2 1.9 1.9 52.7
private television
Word-of-mouth 2 1.9 1.9 54.6
Private newspaper 4 3.7 3.7 58.3
Internet 3 2.8 2.8 61.1
Booklet/Brochure 3 2.8 2.8 63.9
Meeting/Workshop 5 4.6 4.6 68.5
None 12 11.1 11.1 79.6
Other 2 1.9 1.9 81.5
Missing System 20 18.5 18.5 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

The table above shows that 15.7 percent of respondents trust community radio
as a source of information, while 12.0 percent believe both public and
community radio, whereas 11.1 percent do not trust any source. Some of the
least trusted sources are internet and booklets, at 2.8 percent, and other sources
such as word-of-mouth and public and private television, each at 1.9 percent.

72
 Table 50: Which programs attract your attention on television?
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid News 73 67.6 67.6 67.6
Entertainment 4 3.7 3.7 71.3
Educational
6 5.6 5.6 76.9
programmes
Development
related 1 0.9 0.9 77.8
programme
News analysis 1 0.9 0.9 78.7
Other 5 4.6 4.6 83.3
Missing System 18 16.7 16.7 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Table 50 depicts 67.6 percent of the sample as being appealed by news on

television. 5.6 percent liked educational programmes and 3.7 percent enjoyed
entertainment. Those who liked development related programmes and news
analysis stood at 0.9 percent, respectively.

Table 51: Which section(s) of the newspaper do you like or enjoy

reading?
Valid Cumulativ
Response Frequency Percent Percent e Percent
Valid Sports section 21 19.4 19.4 19.4
Development
28 25.9 25.9 45.3
related story
Editorial section 6 5.6 5.6 50.9
Advertisement
3 2.9 2.9 53.8
section
Entertainment
1 0.9 0.9 54.7
section
Other 21 19.4 19.4 74.1
Missing System 28 25.9 25.9 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Following Table 51, most respondents (25.9 percent) enjoyed reading

development related stories, while 19.4 percent liked the sports section. Another
percentage of 19.4 represented other sections (other than those listed in the
questionnaire) of the newspaper. 5.6 percent enjoyed the editorial section and

73
those who liked advertisements were represented by 2.9 percent. The least liked
section, at 0.9 percent, was entertainment.

Table 52: Frequency of answers: “Which programs attract your attention

on radio?”
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Educational
41 38.0 38.0 38.0
programme
News 33 30.6 30.6 68.6
Development
6 5.6 5.6 74.2
related programme
Entertainment 5 4.6 4.6 78.8
Other 6 5.6 5.6 84.4
Missing System 17 15.6 15.6 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

The research, in Table 52, shows that 38 percent of the interviewees were
attracted to educational programmes on radio and 30.6 percent liked listening
to news and development related programmes. 5.6 percent accounted for
liking of other programmes.

Table 53: Do you find any programmes difficult to understand?

Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 16 14.8 14.8 14.8
No 70 64.8 64.8 79.6
Other 11 10.2 10.2 89.8
Missing System 11 10.2 10.2 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

The table above indicates that a percentage of 64.8 did not find any difficulty in
understanding the programmes they were exposed to from varied media,
whereas 14.8 percent found difficulties.

74
 Table 54: If you find any programmes difficult to understand, why?
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Technical language 103 95.3 95.3 95.3
Stories fake 1 0.9 0.9 96.3
Subject matter
1 0.9 0.9 97.2
complex
Technical aspect 1 0.9 0.9 98.1
Use of English 1 0.9 0.9 99.1
Wants to attract
customer by false 1 0.9 0.9 100.0
stories
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Following Table 54, almost all the interviewees (95.3 percent) cited technical
language as the reason they found it difficult to understand some messages or
programmes. One aspect of language was the technical jargon used in
conveying such messages. 0.9 percent attributed the difficulty to spinned stories,
subject matter complexity, and technical aspect, respectively, whereas another
0.9 percent pointed the use of English and the attempt to lure customers
through spinned up stories as sources of difficulties in understanding messages.

Table 55: Frequency of responses: “Do you know about national

development planning?”
Answer Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 50 46.3 46.3 46.3
No 33 30.6 30.6 76.9
Not sure 8 7.4 7.4 84.3
Missing System 17 15.7 15.7 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Table 55 shows that 46.3 percent of respondents knew about national

development planning, 30 percent did not know, and 7 percent were not sure.

75
 Table 56: Do you know any NDP implemented in Zambia?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 28 25.9 25.9 25.9
No 50 46.3 46.3 72.2
Not sure 8 7.4 7.4 79.6
Missing System 22 20.4 20.4 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

The study, as shown in Table 56 above, suggests that the largest percentage of
the respondents (46.3 percent) did not know about any NDP, 7 percent were
not sure and 25.9 percent were aware of some NDPs that have been
implemented in Zambia.

Table 57: If you know any NDP, which one is it?

Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Agricultural
84 77.8 77.8 77.8
production
All NDP 3 2.8 2.8 80.6
Building infrastructure
such as schools, roads 4 3.7 3.8 84.4
and hospitals
Development Of
1 0.9 0.9 85.3
mines
Educational
1 0.9 0.9 86.2
development
Fifth NDP 6 5.6 5.6 91.8
Fifth and sixth NDP 1 0.9 0.9 92.7
First to fifth NDP 3 2.8 2.8 95.5
Fourth NDP 1 0.9 0.9 96.4
Free education in
government 2 1.8 1.8 98.2
institutions
SAPP and MAL 1 0.9 0.9 99.1
Third NDP 1 0.9 0.9 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Table 57 shows that 77.8 percent identified agricultural production

implementation as one of the NDPs that has been implemented in Zambia. 3.7
percent pointed to infrastructure development such as the building of schools
76
and hospitals, and construction of roads as one of the development plans.
Development of mines and educational development each constituted 0.9
percent of the sample who thought they were amongst development plans that
have been implemented in Zambia. Yet another 0.9 percent accounted for
those who identified the first, fourth, fifth and sixth NDPs as development plans in
Zambia.

Table 58: Frequency of responses: “Are you aware of Vision 2030

and/or other development programmes or projects?”
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Yes 45 41.7 41.7 41.7
No 59 54.6 54.6 96.3
Missing System 4 3.7 3.7 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Following the Table 58 above, 54.6 percent interviewees were not aware of
Vision 2030 and 41.7 percent were aware.

Table 59: If you are aware of Vision 2030, which channel(s) were you
made aware of Vision 2030 and/or other development programmes?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Community Radio 4 3.7 3.7 3.7
Public radio 10 9.3 9.3 13
Both community and
5 4.6 4.6 17.6
public/state radio
Public television 19 17.6 17.6 35.2
Private television 3 2.8 2.8 38.0
Both public and
5 4.6 4.6 42.6
Private television
Public newspaper 2 1.9 1.9 44.5
Both public and
1 0.9 0.9 45.4
private newspaper
Interpersonal
4 3.7 3.7 49.1
channels
Other 11 10.2 10.2 59.3
Missing System 44 40.7 40.7 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

77
The research revealed that 17.6 percent of the respondents became aware of
Vision 2030 through public television, 10.2 percent cited other media, while 9.3
percent through public radio. A percentage of 4.6 percent suggested it was
both through community and public/state radio, and public and private
television, respectively. Interpersonal channels and community radio stood at 3
percent.

Table 60: What kind of source did you become aware of Vision 2030
and/or other development messages?
Valid Cumulative
Answer Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Advertisement 1 0.9 0.9 0.9
Announcer 12 11.1 11.1 12.0
Expert 28 25.9 25.9 37.9
Ordinary
2 1.9 1.9 39.8
person
Not sure 7 6.5 6.5 46.3
Other 12 11.1 11.1 57.4
Missing System 46 42.6 42.6 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

The table above shows that 25.9 percent of the interviewees accounted for an
expert as a source from which they became aware of Vision 2030, 11.1 percent
stated it was from an announcer, and other sources, respectively. The least
percentage stood at 0.9 percent for advertisements. However, 6.5 percent
indicated they were not sure.

78
 Table 61: In which message format were you informed of Vision 2030
and/or other development messages?
Valid Cumulative
Response Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Press release 4 3.7 3.7 3.7
Public service
6 5.6 5.6 9.3
announcement
News report 4 3.7 3.7 13.0
Debate 2 1.9 1.9 14.9
Meeting 2 1.9 1.9 16.8
Television forum 22 20.4 20.4 37.2
Radio forum 2 1.9 1.9 39.1
Other 16 14.7 14.7 53.8
Missing System 50 46.2 46.2 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

The research revealed that 20.4 percent respondents cited television forum as
the format in which they became aware of Vision 2030, 14.7 percent were
informed through forums (for example, radio and television), 5.6 percent got
vision 2030 messages from public service announcements, whereas 1.9 percent
got from debates, meetings and radio forums, respectively.

79
 Table 62: Frequency of responses: “What is the central message of Vision 2030
and/or other development messages?”
Frequenc Valid Cumulative
Answer y Percent Percent Percent
Valid To attain universal
primary education by 7 6.4 6.4 6.4
2030
To become a middle
27 25.0 25.0 31.4
income country by 2030
To achieve 100 %
women representation 2 1.9 1.9 33.3
in politics
To transform the
Zambian community
from copper 2 1.9 1.9 35.2
dependency to an
agriculture base
Other 33 30.6 30.6 65.8
Missing System 37 34.2 34.2 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

Table 62 above depicts respondents’ knowledge of the central message of

vision 2030. 25 percent accounted for with the view that the plan was about
attainment of middle income country by 2030, the attainment of universal
primary education was represented by 6.5 percent, whereas 30.6 percent of the
respondents attributed the main message to other elements not outlined in the
questionnaire.

Table 63: Were you consulted during formulation of vision

2030 and/or other development programmes and
projects?

Answe Frequenc Percen Valid Cumulative

r y t Percent Percent
Valid Yes 7 6.5 6.5 6.5
No 87 80.5 80.5 87
Missing System 14 13.0 13.0 100.0
Total 108 100.0 100.0

The table above depicts that 80.5 percent of the interviewed were not
consulted by government during formulation of Vision 2030 whereas only 6.5
percent indicated that they were consulted.

80
 Table 64: Frequency of responses: If you were consulted, how was this
done?
Valid
Response Frequency Percent Percent Cumulative Percent
Valid Cooperative 105 97.3 97.3 97.3
Through a
3 2.7 2.7 100.0
meeting
Total 108 100.0 100.0

The table above shows that 97.3 percent of those who were consulted got
information about Vision 2030 through co-operatives, whereas 2.7 percent
through meetings.

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5.4 Focus Group Discussions

Two focus group discussions were held with staff respondents – the first with
Ministry of Finance’s Budget and Planning Unit senior personnel, and the second
with ZCSD’s personnel at its secretariat. An interview guide was used to find out
issues regarding communication and development in government and civil
society contexts.

5.4.1 Findings

5.5.1.1 Planning Unit – Ministry of Finance

In a focus group of seven personnel, which was largely constituted of supervisors

(5) and a Director and her Deputy (2), one question that was addressed
pertained to coordination and/or consultation with stakeholders in national
development planning, specifically during formulation of Vision 2030.
Communication was found to be instrumental as all (7) discussants cited its
relevance in the process. However, some explanations from four participants
seemed to suggest the ‘transmission’ role of communication rather than the
‘exchange’ function. For example, in their (the four) submissions, they
repeatedly used the phrase “informing stakeholders” about Ministry activities.

Then the discussion focused on models of communication used by the Ministry.

Here most (6) considered communication to be consultative, probably meaning
horizontal. When probed further, submissions revealed that participants were of
the view that before any action was taken, there was adequate consultation
(communication) with stakeholders, including the public.

On what model of communication their organisation used, almost all (6) were of
the view that communication was consultative, probably meaning horizontal.
They further stated that most of government actions were preceded by
adequate consultation.

As regards to strategies, one perception that appeared to have been generally

held amongst respondents was the reference of strategy as being equivalent to
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channel. Almost all respondents kept on saying “one of the strategies we are
using is to televise Ministry programmes on ZNBC…, exhibitions at the show
grounds…” and similar others.

Finally on effectiveness, general statements of effectiveness were based on

sending messages through various media. The sending of messages was
somewhat considered enough and effectiveness. No audience analysis or
studies were cited as a ‘gauge’ of effectiveness.

5.4.1.2 ZCSD

The FDG that was held at ZCSD revealed a different phenomenon from that of
government communications. The discussion, which involved 9 respondents,
brought out the idea that since much of NGOs’ work is on the grassroots,
communications tend to be participative, including interpersonal
communication. At the time of research, one project was running in Chongwe
rural. The coordinator of the project explained that communication in that
respect was bottom-up as it involved him speaking with beneficiaries at the
interpersonal level.

Others (3) also saw possibilities of communication assuming a top-down nature.

They cited instances of press releases as one such example.

As suggested by one participant, communication in their organisation could not

easily be defined due to the small size of the organisations. She further explained
that many NGOs did not have well defined structures due to limited funding
such that it was difficult to clearly categorise communication as top-down,
bottom-up or horizontal. However, even amidst such concerns, others (4) still
rated communication in their organisation as ranging from horizontal to bottom-
up.

Lastly, on effectiveness, responses from respondents were mixed. The majority (6)
thought their communications were effectiveness, whereas the rest (3) were not
sure as their type of work was different from communication.

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5.5 In-depth interviews

5.5.1 MoFNP

Although five in-depth interviews were conducted in total, two appeared more
revealing and detailed. These were with the Deputy Director in the Budget and
Planning section and the Ministry’s Public Relations Officer.

5.5.1.1 Interview with the Deputy Director

The director addressed the question of models of communication by placing it

within the contexts of national development planning and the Ministry’s
administrative and power structures (headquarters, provincial level, and district
level).

He first walked through what led to reversion to planning, after its abandonment
by Frederick Chiluba’s regime in 1991. The 1991 abandonment of development
planning came with consequences such lack of medium term plan to follow
and to guide public investment priorities for implementation of government
programmes. As such the MoFNP was tasked by the then Zambian president,
Levy Mwanawasa, to prepare a Transitional National Development Plan (TNDP)
by 2002, to run up to 2006. Thus it was expected from 2006 onwards that
medium, five year plans would be devised. This saw the need to create a longer
plan with a commonly held national aspiration and vision. Consequently, this
long term plan called Vision 2030 was launched in 2005.

Then, the interviewee walked through the consultative process in planning. He

indicated that the process was two-fold. The first, called bottom-up, involved
districts, particularly District Coordinating Committees, sitting down to come up
with projects of development. At this level church based organisations,
community based organisations, counsellors, MPs and other stakeholders are
invited to take part in the process. From the districts, the final output is submitted
to the Provincial Coordinating Committee, which scrutinises the content, and
synthesises submissions from various districts. Finally, the document is submitted

84
to Ministry Headquarters for consideration and synthesis with other documents
from other provinces.

The second process is top-down in nature. After the Advisory committee has
synthesised submissions from all the provinces of Zambia, the analysis and final
decision is shared with the provinces, which then share with districts, which in
turn share with the grassroots, such as village cooperatives. At the national level,
issues of policy, such as planning are subjected to the scrutiny by stakeholders.
Thus stakeholders, represented by umbrella bodies are invited to participate in
the process. He gave an example of formulation of Vision 2030, during which,
cooperating partners, of about 500 civil society organisations (CBOs, NGOs etc.)
convened to discuss the contents of the draft document of Vision 2030.

As the Director suggested, it is through these structures that information flows,

and thus communication takes place. Thus, as he referred back to the planning
process, he suggested that the communication process was horizontal as it
gave adequate space for citizens’ views to be heard. He recalled his
experience during the formulation of the sixth development plan in which he
was a participant and characterised Ministry communications as consultative –
horizontal.

On coordination with stakeholders, he commented that it is easier to

communicate with umbrella bodies. It was also discovered that some NGOs do
not show up to declare interest. This implies that the problems of communication
could be between these bodies and their affiliates as some affiliates surveyed
were not aware of Vision 2030 and/or other national development messages.
Further, it was revealed that many of the NGOs were not on the ground as they
claimed. Their networks end in main town centres and many have no branches
in rural areas.

Communication problems identified within the ministry pertained to procedural

ones. For example, he cited issues of clearance of certain forms of information

85
with superiors before dissemination, which sometimes takes longer, and
information flows that were often clogged.

5.5.2 Interview with the Public Relations Officer

The interview, in the truest sense, involved a document review of the Ministry
communication strategy.

The interview begun with the question of whether the organisation had a
communication strategy or not, for which it was found it had. Then the officer
gave the specific name of the strategy – “Culture Remodelling and Seamless
Communication Strategy.” By culture remodelling we refer to an “ongoing
process for systematic public and discourse aimed at improved comprehension
and acceptance of Government’s financial, treasury and economic policies
and programmes of all stakeholders – the Zambian people – for maximum
benefit”, he quoted from the strategy.

It was further stated that this would be achieved through among others building
a competitive knowledge and resource base and employing mechanisms that
assist the public to internalise the national vision for development and restoring
the spirit of belongingness espoused in Vision 2030.

The plan involves a consultation strategy that deals with implementation of the
government’s policy to become more service and citizen centred.

It was revealed that the specific methodologies for culture remodelling were:

i. Presidential state of the economy address,

ii. Economic exchange forum,
iii.TV economic exchange forum (for example culture remodelling
programme on ZNBC),
iv. Economic exchange publication,
v. MTEF and post budget outreach, and
vi. Public affairs, media briefings and signing ceremonies (comprising of the
Ministry’s Information Resource Centre, website, and Total Quality
Management).

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Analysis of the above specific methodologies in the Ministry’s outreach
communications strategy, with minor exceptions such as economic exchange
forums which allows for occasional exchange, suggests a bias toward top-down
models of communication. Although government outreach activities are
composed of both bottom-up and top-down models – thus making it horizontal,
they tend to lean toward one-way, top-down communication.

5.5.3 Interview with ZCSD Project Coordinator

This interview revealed that the nature of development work ZCSD was involved
in strongly influenced the existent model of communication. Being a Network
organisation, much of communications involved face to face meetings and
other forms of correspondence such as electronic. Thus communication took a
participatory nature, specifically horizontal. It could be said that communication
leans toward bottom-up approaches.

Besides characterising communication as horizontal, communication can be

seen as top-down. Cases of top-down communication occur when ZCSD
publishes Press Releases.

In relation to effectiveness, the coordinator revealed that it was difficult to

measure effectiveness. However, he suggested that it was possible to deduce
success of communication from project success because it was somehow a
function of communication.

The interview ended with identification of some challenges to outreach

communication. These included not clearly defined organisational and power
structures, limited resources allocated to communication related activities, and
the limited role of the information officer, all of which hindered effective
communication.

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5.6 Conclusion

This chapter presented frequencies of responses from staff and audience

questionnaires. Further, responses from FGDs and In-depth interviews from key
informants in the two institutions were also presented. In respect to
questionnaires this was done by making brief descriptions under each table or
figure to interpret data. For FGDs and in-depth interviews, only relevant data
was recorded.

88
 CHAPTER SIX

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

6.1 Introduction

This chapter is a comparative discussion of the top-down, bottom-up, and

horizontal models of communication in government and civil society
development work in Zambia. The comparison is threefold: (i) amongst the three
models of communication – top-down, bottom-up, and horizontal; (ii) between
government and civil society sectors; and (iii) between policy makers and
development implementers and various audience groups. In doing so, adopt a
thematic approach under which we shall use a comparative method that
presents “… a part of one item and then a part of the second in relation to the
corresponding part of the first part, until we have touched all relevant parts”
(Brooks and Warren, 1972: 57). As further put by Brook and Warren (1972: 57), this
way of presenting comparative material is useful “when a great many detail are
involved….” Thus, the results discussed below focus primarily on salient themes
that shall help in achieving research objectives, and by extension, answer
research questions. Those themes are composed from research objectives and
organised under research questions. Specifically the themes are: (a) profile of
communication; (b) perception of staff respondents on importance of
communication; (c) awareness of development messages (programmes and
projects); (d) channels of communication; (e) strategies of communication and
their effectiveness; and (f) attitudes and preferences of audience segments
toward development messages.

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6.2. Research Questions 1:Which theoretical model (top-down, bottom-up
and/or horizontal) do outreach communications by government and/or civil
society reflect?

6.2.1 Profile of communication

Generally speaking, over the last three decades, discourse, research and
practice of communication in development work has evolved from earlier one-
way, top-down models of transfer of messages to two-way, participatory models
of sharing information. For instance, “…earlier editions of Rogers' work
emphasized the top-down diffusion of technology (1962, 1971), in later editions
(1983, 1995, 2003), he began advocating for the principles of bottom-up
participatory planning and the role of communications therein” (Rogers, 1976:
141).

One of the main objectives in this study sought to establish the top-down,
bottom-up and horizontal profile of communication in government and civil
society development activities (see objectives section). Thus staff respondents
were, in questionnaires, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, asked
to categorise models of communication the organisations they worked for used
in external communication.

Following the data presented in Table 16, the horizontal model of

communication is the most (80 percent) preferred in the two organisations,
followed by top–down communication (at 14.5 percent), whereas 5.7 percent
indicated they preferred the bottom-up model of communication.

The statistics above clearly indicate that against the generally expected
use/preference of top-down models, top-down communication alone is not
preferred by most of the subjects. Instead, an overwhelming majority (80
percent) indicated they employed horizontal models of information flow. These
results show the diminishing influence of the modernist top-down development
and communication paradigm on Zambian policy makers (government
ministries/departments) and development implementers (CSOs), and how
90
participatory models of communication such as horizontal are increasingly
being recognised as significant and gaining ground in the development
process.

This against earlier observations made by Farrigton and Saasa (2002) in which
they analysed the Zambian policy and implementation environment in relation
to agriculture in a paper based on a research done on Bangladesh. They
argued that the process of policy formulation in Zambia followed a linear
technocratic approach – implying that information and resources flow from the
‘top’ to the ‘bottom’ and only stakeholders who are deemed important are
consulted, while the majority of ordinary people do not participate.

These findings, therefore, suggest a gradual attitudinal shift by the elite from the
earlier dominance of top-down development and communication models in
most development contexts, as reported in earlier works such as (Rogers, 1976,
and Farrington and Saasa, 2002), toward participatory paradigms.

Although it is difficult to pinpoint factors responsible and consequences of such

a shift, one inevitable consequence of the observation above is that, unlike the
earlier development situations noted in most developing countries, where
modernist top-down models appear to have dominated development efforts,
and subsequently, communication discourse and practice, the Zambian
context shows an emerging model. As shown in the study presented here, the
elite have begun shifting towards the second phase of the continuum of
communication in development work, namely the intermediate (horizontal)
level where top-down approaches are mixed with those of bottom-up.

In the government domain, such a mixed model takes a horizontal character in

theory, but, in practice, it is characterised by imbalances (in conformity with the
top-down power structure) in planning and decision making (see also the in-
depth interview with MoFNP Director, in which it was revealed that although
government requested for input from stakeholders and grassroots, the final
output was a prerogative of policy makers [government]). One of the
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explanations for the shift towards horizontal communication may be drawn from
the democratic wind of change that swept across the developing world, which
emphasised the freeing of wheels of governance, from the minority elite, toward
people centred styles. Thus calls for decentralisation of authority brought along
this movement. As suggested by Akindele (2003: 58) such antecedents as
language, and by extension communication, also tend to be freed when
changes occur from autocratic to democratic styles of governance.

The case of biases toward top-down communication in government

programmes and projects may be explained by relating those models of
communication to successive political changes (particularly in governance
systems and styles). Since 1964, Zambia has undergone three notable political
watersheds. The first comprised the attainment of political independence from
Britain in 1964, the second involved the amendment of Article 4 of the
Republican Constitution in 1972 to usher in the One-party State, while the third
saw the quashing of the same Article to allow for the re-introduction of political
pluralism in 1991 (CePRA, 2005). Such changes in governance systems, as
suggested above, are associated with shifts in models of communication.

It is therefore possible to deduce that in repressive governance systems, such as

was the case in Zambia’s One-party regime, which was characterised by
political patronage and quashing of dissenting views, communication tends to
be one-way, top-down means of sending government approved messages.
Conversely, in more democratic states, such as from 1991 onwards,
communications, and other antecedents such as language, also tend to also
be freed and allow for exchange of ideas and encourage diversity (see
Akindele, 2003: 58). Going by the fact that in modern democratic states in
Africa there are still remnants of repressive One-party states and dictatorships
that characterised much of the post-independence history of the continent (see
Moomba, in Salih, 2003), it to possible to infer that such dictatorial tendencies
which limit flows of messages, through legal and extra legal means, may

92
naturally overlap. As such, phenomena like these may be explained from such
premises.

CSOs, on the other hand, appear to be well placed in respect to the

intermediate (horizontal) of communication referred above. As revealed by the
Information Officer of the umbrella body of NGOs from which the sample was
drawn, communications in NGO development efforts may be classified as
leaning toward bottom-up approaches. In explaining the model of
communication the organisation used, she said:

“We mostly use all the three models of communication. There are messages, such as press
statements, that require us to use the mass media, in that case we would use top-down
communication. But since most of our projects involve us going to where people are
located, you find that we interact with these people at interpersonal levels. For example,
one of our current projects is in Chongwe and the personnel responsible for that project
have to go their personally. So in this case we use bottom-up communication.”

Possible explanations may be advanced to corroborate this observation. As

suggested by Edwards (1994) in his paper ‘NGOs in the Age of Information’,
NGOs have competence in linking information, knowledge and action in
efficient and relevant ways because of the following factors:

(1) NGOs have direct access to fieldwork and local accounts;

(2) NGOs normally have offices spanning the different levels of global
systems, and therefore information can flow easily between the
grassroots, NGO local offices, NGO headquarters and NGO lobbying
activity in global centers; and

(3) NGOs’ value base implies a democratic approach to communication

that emphasizes openness, sharing and non-hierarchical communication
channels.

As such, local NGOs may model their practices not only to achieve
international standards but also to conform to funding requirements. For
example:
Over the past three decades, the role of communication at FAO has undergone a
dramatic shift from a one-way, top-down transfer of messages by extension agents to
farmers, to a social process that starts with the farmers and brings together both groups in
a two-way sharing of information (Coldevin, 2002). One of FAO's most significant
achievements is a program called Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems for
Rural Development (AKIS/RD), which links people and institutions to promote mutual
learning and generate, share and utilize agriculture-related technology, 2knowledge and
93
 information (Coldevin, 2002). The system integrates farmers, agricultural educators,
researchers and extensionists to harness knowledge and information from various sources
for better farming and improved livelihoods (http://www.uncdf.org/english/index.php,
accessed 13/04/11).

Overall, the study suggests that changes in models of development translate

into shifts for the function of communication. Earlier modernist development
paradigms that emphasised on technological transfer as the key to the
development predicament saw the role of communication as for sending
messages from development implementers to beneficiaries. Current
participatory models of development employ communication as a means of
empowering populations with necessary information for them to deal effectively
with their environments and participate in the development process. However,
such tendencies differ in respect to type of development agent. The study
shows that government institutions, although employing horizontal models of
communication, tend to be biased toward top-down models. On the other
hand, CSOs tend lean toward bottom-up approaches.

As such the existent model of communication in Zambia’s government and civil

society contexts may graphically be typified as follows.

Top-down Horizontal Bottom-up

(Dominant model) (Mixed model) (Least dominant model)

(Source: author compilation)

94
6.3. Question 2: How do the staff of the two institutions perceive their
communications outreach work?
6.3.1 Importance of communication in development

Following Baofa (2006), ‘Research studies and experience in diverse contexts

and countries in Africa have clearly demonstrated that development
communication approaches can be used to enhance participation in cultural,
social and political change, as well as in agricultural, economic, health and
community development programmes. In a word, regardless of the type of
development challenges in African countries, there is some function for
communication and information in the efforts made to address those
development challenges.’

Further Baofa (2006) writes:

Since the decades of the 1960s and 1970s, development communication strategies and
approaches have been employed in numerous development programmes and projects
across the length and breadth of Africa. A variety of development communication
approaches and strategies have been used by international organizations, funding
agencies, government departments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and civil
society groups in development-oriented programmes and projects designed, inter alia, to
improve agricultural production; tackle environment problems; prevent and manage health
problems and pandemics such as malaria and HIV/AIDS; improve community welfare, the
status of women and educational levels; promote or enhance democracy and good
governance; and encourage local and endogenous cultural expressions and productions.

In this study, another important question considered was the significance of

communication in planned development work in both government and civil
society.

The findings demonstrate that majority (91.4%) of the staff subjects perceive
communication as being relevant in their work (see Table 19). This probably
owes to the fact that communication is one quality managers are expected to
posses besides the traditional managerial functions of planning, organising,
leading, and controlling.

95
However, when examined in relation to amount of resources that are allocated
to communication activities in organisational budgets, we get a different sense.
Results suggest that the value placed to communication by policy makers,
planners and development implementers is minimal. The study showed that
majority (45%) of policy makers and implementers did not know how much
resources were allocated to communication, only a few (17.2%) gave an
indication that allocations fell in the range below 15% of operating budgets (see
Table 26), but responses from the NGOs umbrella body Accountant revealed a
much lower figure. This was the case at ministry headquarters and NGOs
Secretariat. In smaller NGO affiliates, communication was not budgeted for at
all. This is where communication was found to be a one time off process, where
as where communication was planned and budgeted for, it was continuous
(see Table 15).

As echoed in a survey titled “The state of communications in international

development and its relevance to the work of the United Nations”, one of the
reasons given for provision or lack of provision of financial resources for
development communication was that “Very often those who participate in
conferences such as the UN Roundtable mentioned above are experts in
communications and know the importance of communications. But those
making the budgets have a completely different viewpoint on the subject or are
sometime not sensitive enough to the need for supporting activities related to
communication for development" (http://www.uncdf.org/english/index.php,
accessed 13/04/11).

In further assessing the extent to which policy makers, planners and

development implementers regarded communication, this study also sought to
find out if the sample were aware of and implementing the United Nations [UN]
Resolution A 159/207 of August 2004 which emphasised the need for increased
resources to be committed to communications-related activities in
organisational budgets. Frequencies of responses showed that 34.3 percent of
the respondents were not implementing the UN resolution and 31.4 percent
96
were not sure they did so. 25.7 percent of the respondents reported that they
were implementing the international resolution (see Table 23). The results once
again display the minimal role assigned to communication by policy-makers
and development implementers in Zambia. Less than half (25.7%) of subjects
were found to be implementing the international resolution. Levels of budgetary
allocations, however, appear to dispute the claim.

The presence and/or absence of communication plans was also used to further
evaluate the relevance accorded to communication. Close to half (45.7%) of
the organisations surveyed stated that their organisation had a strategic
communication plan and 40 percent did not have plans, whereas the
remaining 14.3 percent did not know (Table 14). It is worth noting that those that
had plans were mainly composed of the government sphere, the secretariats of
NGO umbrella body, and large NGO affiliates.

Moreover, majority of organisations do not have development communication

departments, let alone specialists (see Tables 20 and 21). Many seem to have
Public Relations and Information Officers (see Table 11), whose operations may
be characterised as being ‘image builders’ and ‘reservoirs’ of information about
the organisations they operate in.

As discussed above, although communication is theoretically perceived to be

important in development by majority of respondents, a review of organisational
practices, in terms of budgetary allocation, availability of communication plans
and compliance to international conventions, suggest that communication is
lowly regarded in government and civil society development work in Zambia.

97
6.4. Question 3: What are the attributes communication variables (channels,
messages and sources) in respect to models of communication in the two
institutions?

6.4.1 Channels of communication

Channels of communication used by organisations are usually associated with

systems (models of communication) in place. Drawing from the findings on
models of communication in the section above, it is possible to deduce that
channels used are a combination of top-down and bottom-up, since, as
evidenced in this study, government and civil society communications seem to
be horizontal, with minimal variations.

The study included a question on channels and formats of communication used

in external communication by policy makers and development implementers.

The responses from staff respondents in Table 12 demonstrate a shift toward use
of bottom-up channels of communication in development work. These statistics
positively correlate with the observation in the ‘profile of communication’
section above, particularly in respect to channels of communication
corresponding with the horizontal model of communication. To corroborate this
claim, results in Table 12 clearly show that a combination of participatory
channels (community radio- at 54.3%, booklets – at 11.3%, and meetings- at
5.7%) suggest the dominance of use of horizontal channels. Similarly,
government ministries also tend to employ horizontal channels, with a top-down
bias. However, it should be noted that there are variations in extents of use of
horizontal channels. Civil society organisations are well placed in this regard,
since, as one coordinator of the NGO umbrella body stated, NGOs are more in
touch with communities they work with.

The channels used by organisations seem to correspond with subjects’ preferred

channels of communication, particularly when compared with the models of
communication criterion. As regards to channels suggested by staff
respondents, audience responses preferred bottom-up and horizontal channels.
98
Table 9 displays that 27.8 percent of the respondents preferred community radio
as their favourite source of information. Public radio and both community and
public radio were opted by 17.6 percent of respondents, whereas 10.2 percent
preferred both public and private television. The internet, brochures and face-
to-face communication (word-of-mouth) were respectively liked by only 0.9
percent.

An interesting observation may however be made when results on preferred

audience channels and channels used by organisations are compared with
findings on channels the audience actually accessed development information
from. Although policy makers and development implementers’ suggestion of
predominant use of horizontal channels, responses from the audience suggest a
bias toward top-down models within those channels. These observations on
channels respondents receive development information from are displayed in
Table 59.

Possible explanations for this inconsistency could be that the top-down channels
are cheaper and convenient (on the part of policy makers and development
implementers), and they are the only accessible channels (from the audience
side). Tabulations from the following tables 13 and 48 support these claims.

This research further revealed that most of the respondents (73.1 percent)
preferred that particular channel or source of communication as it was easily
accessible. Other reasons for preferring a given channel were: good
programmes provided; truthfulness of sources; and some specific channels
provided platforms to voice their opinions and talking about things that affect
people.

An appraisal of basic communication infrastructure revealed that majority of

respondents owned radios; especially amongst rural and high density urban
samples (see Table 41). This entails that the radio channel should be explored
more in these areas. In rural areas, respondents indicated that interpersonal
channels are most in use. Majority (97.3%) became aware of Vision 2030 and/or
99
other development messages through cooperative meetings. However, a study
by Mbashila (2007) on Radio Farm Forums in Solwezi district revealed the
significant role radio can play in extension work. Therefore, both interpersonal
channels, such as cooperative and town hall meetings, and community radio
should be explored for maximum impact.

Although 60.2 percent of the respondents owned television sets, majority (more
than 80%) could be said to have been domiciled in urban areas because of the
representations in the sample. There is a general lack of infrastructure such as
electricity to encourage overwhelming ownership of television sets in rural areas
and, moreover, majority of the rural people may not afford them.

As regards to newspaper channels (see Table 43), although majority (73.2%) of

respondents were found to have had access to newspapers, much of this group
was composed of urban residents, since it was highly represented in the overall
sample, and thus hardly constituted the rural sample. From the findings, it
appears newspapers, especially those published in English, are somewhat a
limited franchise of the literate urban and rural people.

Writing on rural newspapers, Kasoma (unpublished), stated that there are two
types: those sponsored by the government and which were then popularly
known as provincial newspapers; and those published by the local people
themselves, sometimes with little help from donors. In the UNIP era, there were six
provincial newspapers, namely Tsopano, Imbila, Ngoma, Liseli, Lukanga, and
Itanda. They were all written in vernacular (GRZ, 1999). The editing of these
newspapers was centralised and it was done by the Zambia Information
Services (ZIS) at its headquarters in Lusaka. News gathering was a tedious
process that involved District Information Officers (DIOs) moving from one village
to the other. The whole process of news gathering, writing, editing and
dissemination was top-down.

The second type, spread across the country and varies in standards from simple
sheets to more elaborate ones, uses very simple and basic technology (Kasoma,
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unpublished: 20). However, high illiteracy levels and poor reading culture has
rendered this channel underutilised in development work.

Further interesting results were revealed in relation to new ICTs (particularly

personal computers). Majority (62%) did not own personal computers. The
situation was worse in rural areas. Possible explanations could be that high
poverty levels do not permit people in both urban and rural areas to buy their
own computers. The situation is worsened by lack of ICT literacy. In trying to
minimise such ICT problems, the South African government embarked on a
project in which it opened tele-centers to enable citizens have access to such
facilities. This may be emulated in Zambia. Emphasis should however shift from
access to capacity building or empowerment so that people can be able to
use as well as acquire such tools on their own.

Thus channels of communication appear to be modelled against approaches

of communication existing in specific contexts. Results of this study reveal that
intermediate channels (a mixture of to-down and bottom-up) are used in
government and civil society development work. However, specific distinctions
may be noted. Whereas government communications are characterised by
top-down tendencies, NGO communications are inclined toward bottom-up
approaches. It is also important to note that the channels of communication
employed by policy makers and development implementers may not always
correspond with accessible channels by the audience, as is the case in the
findings of this study. This entails that choice of channels should be guided by
both the organisation’s approach and audience preferences. As such, policy
makers and development implementers ought to conduct audience
analyses/research before deploying a given channel of communication.
(Messages and sources of communication are discussed in sub-section 6.7
below).

101
6.5. Research Question 4:Are the communication strategies used by the MoFNP
and the ZCSD effective?

6.5.1 Strategies of communication and their effectiveness

6.5.2 Strategies

Cecilia Cabañero-Verzosa, a senior communications officer at the World Bank

and author of Strategic Communication for Development Projects (2003) states
that ‘…in order for a communication strategy to take an empowering
approach, one should look not only at employing top-down methods such as
mass media through newspaper or television, but also bottom-up or interactive
methods such as town hall meetings. Both media plans and interpersonal
communications should play a complementary role in the process’
(http://www.uncdf.org/english/index.php).

From the results of this study, it is evident that communication strategies in

government and civil society development work vacillate between those that
stress on information dissemination, mobilization and persuasion (collectively
grouped as top-down) and participatory strategies used to support various local
initiatives to facilitate community participation (bottom-up). Table 33
corroborate this claim. Strategies employed by the organisations to achieve
Vision 2030 and/other development messages are as follows: 60 percent
engage with stakeholders including the media; 11.4 percent employ awareness
programs; 8.6 percent use exhibitions; 5.7 percent involve community
sensitisation and working with community radio stations; and at 2.9 percent,
strategies employed are television programmes.

Although the majority (60%) of interviewees suggested participatory strategies of

communication, through collaboration with stakeholders, a considerable
combined percentage (awareness programmes – 11.4%, television programmes
– 2.9%) of top-down oriented strategies somewhat quashes that bottom-up
tendency.

102
A comparison between government and civil society in this respect reveal use
of top-down oriented strategies by government and bottom-up oriented
strategies by NGOs, respectively. For instance, the in-depth interview with
MoFNP Public Relations Officer discovered that some of the strategies used in
government communication include: Presidential state of the economy
address; Economic exchange forum; TV economic exchange forum (for
example culture remodelling programme on ZNBC); Economic exchange
publication; MTEF and post budget outreach; and Public affairs, media briefings
and signing ceremonies (comprised of the Ministry’s Information Resource
Centre, website, and Total Quality Management).

6.5.3 Effectiveness

Effectiveness of communication strategies was another important research

question that this investigation sought to address. To assess efficacy of
communication strategies, an assessment of other antecedents (such as
awareness of Vision 2030) helped to determine whether the said
communication strategies above were effective or not.

In respect to levels of awareness of Vision 2030 amongst audience subjects,

findings suggest that, although quite effective, current communication
strategies employed by government and civil society need to be revamped as
only slightly more than half (54.6%) of interviewees were not aware of Vision 2030
and only 41.7 percent were found to be knowledgeable of the plan.

Policy and implementation implications may be suggested in respect to

channels, messages, audience needs, time, resources and similar other
determinants. There is need to deploy strategies that will ensure that the majority
of citizens become aware national development plans and other development
efforts such as millennium development goals. To achieve this, channels,
messages and similar others that take a horizontal nature and addresses
audience needs need to be considered when formulating communication
strategies.
103
However, such a task comes with challenges. When asked whether they found
any difficulty in understanding development messages, majority (64.8%) of
respondents indicated that they did not find any difficulty in understanding the
programmes they were exposed to from varied media, while 14.8 percent found
difficulties (see Table 53).

This demonstrates that the nature of the message itself in not the biggest
problem, even if a considerable percentage (14.8%) of respondents, especially
those in rural areas, found certain development messages difficult to
comprehend.

Results in Table 54 outline possible sources of infectiveness of communication

strategies in development work, in respect to understanding of development
messages. Majority of respondents (95.3 percent) cited technical language as
the reason they found it difficult to understand some messages or programmes.
One aspect of language was the technical jargon used in conveying such
messages. 0.9 percent attributed the difficulty to spinned stories, subject matter
complexity, and technical aspect, whereas another 0.9 percent pointed the use
of English and the attempt to lure customers through spinned stories as sources
of difficulties in understanding messages.

Formats of communication adopted by policy makers and implementers may

also help to explain why current strategies are not very successful. Although the
study suggests that much of communication involves horizontal formats such as
meetings, a comparison with preferred formats by the audience reveals a lack
of correspondence with those used by policy makers and implementers.
Majority of audience respondents got to know about Vision 2030 and/or other
development messages through the television format. Such a difference may
be explained by examining government and civil society communication. For
example, one defining feature of government outreach communication is its
bias toward one-way, top-down information flows (see in-depth interview with
MoFNP Public Relations Officer). Further, use of interpersonal formats may closely

104
be associated with civil society (see in-depth interview with ZCSD Information
Officer). Since messages about Vision 2030 are mainly ‘communicated’ by
government, which uses top-down oriented formats, such a difference seem to
be present. As such there is need of a coordinated development process.

Other factors such as channels, resources, and audience needs ought to be

considered in order to come up with effective communication strategies.

As has been noted in the case of communication channels, strategies of

communication also appear to be modelled against approaches of
communication existent in specific contexts. Results of this study reveal that
intermediate strategies (a mixture of to-down and bottom-up) are used in
government and civil society development activities. There are however
notable differences. Whereas government communications strategies tend to
have top-down tendencies, NGO plans lean toward bottom-up approaches. By
implication, the choice of communication strategies should account for both
the organisation’s philosophy and audience predilections. As such, the selection
of strategies for use in development work requires sensitivity to audience needs if
they are to be rendered effective.

105
6.6. Question 5: How does the audience perceive communications by the
Ministry and ZCSD?

6.6.1 Awareness of development messages

The other important objective of this research sought to determine awareness of

Vision 2030 and/or other development messages amongst audience (public)
respondents.

In respect to policy makers and development implementers, the results

displayed in Table 29 revealed that the majority (91.4 percent) of staff
respondents were aware of Vision 2030, whereas only 5.7 percent indicated that
they were not aware of the plan. Although the subjects’ level of education
(which is treated in a later section, alongside other variables like area of
residence) have not been factored out in the results given in Table 29, given
their positions and workplaces, one possible explanation for this (high level of
awareness) could be that most of the respondents in this sample were
composed of educated people who have ideas about development issues
because of their education.

Subjects that composed the audience sample, on the other hand, displayed
high levels of lack of awareness and/or knowledge of Vision 2030 and/or other
development information, when compared with staff respondents. Following
audience responses in Table 58, 54.6 percent interviewees were not aware of
Vision 2030 and 41.7 percent were aware. These observations could be
explained from the fact that the audience sample was composed high density
area and rural areas groups, which were found with low levels of education and
thus fewer ideas about development issues.

Respondents were also assessed on understanding of development messages.

Results displayed in Table 62 depict views of respondents on what they thought
was the central message of Vision 2030. 25 percent accounted for subjects who
thought Vision 2030 was about becoming a middle income country by 2030,
while the achieving of universal primary education was represented by 6.5
106
percent. However, 30.6 percent of the respondents attributed the main
message to other elements not outlined in the questionnaire. As it may be
observed, only 25 percent of audience respondents that attempted the part
exhibited understanding of Vision 2030. From the urban and rural research areas
from which the sample was drawn, majority of respondents that did not know
what Vision 2030 was were from the high density urban area and rural locality.
Overall, it is worth noting that figures of those who understand development
messages are very low.

To corroborate this claim, a similar set of questions were posed to interviewees in

respect to national development planning in general. Frequency of responses to
the question “Do you know about the national development plan?”, as shown
in Table 55, revealed that only 46.3 percent of respondents knew about national
development planning, 30 percent did not know, and 7 percent were not sure.
Further, results to the question “Do you know any NDP implemented in Zambia?”
in Table 56 suggested that the largest percentage of the respondents (46.3
percent) did not know about any NDP, 7 percent were not sure and 25.9
percent were aware of some NDPs that have been implemented in Zambia.
Interesting results were obtained when respondents were asked to identify any
NDP they might have known. Here answers ranging from agricultural production,
infrastructure development, development of mines to educational
development were suggested (see Table 57). These findings demonstrate a
general lack of awareness and knowledge by the public of development
policies, programmes and/or projects.

Several factors may be suggested to explain such low levels of awareness or

understanding. As results show (see profile of communication section), one
factor is the mixed model of communication that is employed by government
and civil society organisations which is not very effective. As available literature
and findings from various studies (see http://www.uncdf.org/english/index.php,
accessed 13/04/11) suggest, models of communication with a top-down
orientation have been found to be ineffective in development work. It is more so
107
in government communications where such horizontal approaches are biased
toward top-down ones.

At a general level, in formulating Vision 2030, majority (57.1%) respondents at

Ministry of Finance and National Planning indicated that all stakeholders were
consulted, as displayed in Table 36. If this was the case, the general expectation
would be that, many citizens would be aware of Vision 2030. However, an
overwhelming majority (80.5%) of audience respondents reported that they
were not consulted (see Table 63).

When asked to suggest reasons why they might not have been consulted, as
displayed in Table 63, majority (94.3%) of audience subjects suggested the lack
of coordination between government policies and stakeholders activities as a
major reason why all stakeholders were not adequately consulted.

As it has been demonstrated above, there is a correlation between

coordination of development projects (government and local/international
development agencies) and awareness of development messages, including
Vision 2030. Therefore, uncoordinated development work, could be the reason
of them not knowing of development plans, programmes and projects such as
Vision 2030. As has been noticed elsewhere on the continent, development
projects are conceived without regard of the country’s national agenda,
especially amongst international development agencies.

The other possible explanations for lack of awareness and/or knowledge of

Vision 2030 pertain to none correspondence of channels and formats used by
policy makers and development agents with those preferred by audiences (see
section on channels and formats of communication), lack of communication
infrastructure such as television sets and radios and access to information,
especially amongst rural people (see Tables 39-46), and audience preferences
and attitudes to development messages (see section on attitudes and
preferences toward development messages).

108
6.6.2 Attitudes and preferences of audiences toward development messages

In the study, a synergetic assessment of sources trusted, and programmes that

attract attention or liked by audiences on television, radio and newspapers, was
used to determine audience attitudes toward development messages and
subsequently sources of these attitudes. Tables 49-52 display these attributes
consecutively.

In respect to audience preferences, majority of subjects indicated the following:

67.6 percent were attracted to programmes such as news; 25.9 percent reading
development related stories; whereas 30.6 percent and 38 percent respectively
liked to listen to news and educational programmes. One underlining theme in
these statistics is that most respondents have a liking for information
programmes. Information on development is amongst the most preferred. One
lesson that can be learnt from the results is that information on development,
besides being isolated, can be packaged with other forms of information for
communication to the audience. Other forms such as entertainment should
therefore be seen as opportunities that may help in communicating
development information. Thus we now have concepts such as ‘edutainment’
in communication and development studies.

As regards to attitudes, it is not quite easy to pinpoint sources of attitudes.

However, one such factor pertains to trust. Findings show that there is a close
correlation between trust and levels of audience preferences. For example,
participatory channels such as community radio tend to be preferred and
trusted (see section on channels of communication).

Other factors may include type of message and media used, source of
message, and other similar antecedents. For instance, as shown in Table 60,
majority (25.9%) of the respondents who were aware of Vision 2030 got the
information from expert sources. Therefore a significant relation between type of
source and knowledge of development information exists. As such, source of
message may be considered as a factor that shape attitudes and preferences.
109
6.7 Conclusion

Against the generally expected dominance of the top-down model, one-way,

downward communication alone is not preferred/practised by most of the
respondents. Instead, an overwhelming majority indicated they employed
horizontal models of information flow in development work. Specific differences,
dependent on development agent, were however observed, with government
biased toward top-down models, whereas civil society had a tendency to lean
towards bottom-up approaches. It was further hypothesized that changes in
models of development translate into shifts for the function of communication in
development work. However this is not to suggest that communication variables
are always dependent models of development. Also, communication variables
such as channels were positively correlated with existent models of
communication in specific contexts.

110
 CHAPTER SEVEN

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

7.1 Introduction

This chapter outlines the conclusion and recommendations, which resulted from
the discussion of findings from staff and audience questionnaires, focus group
discussions, and in-depth interviews in relation to identified themes and research
objectives. From the presentation and discussion of findings, it is possible to draw
the following conclusion and recommendations. Suggestions are organised
under two heads – policy level and implementation level.

7.2 Conclusion

This study has examined the comparative top-down, bottom-up and horizontal
profile of communication in government and civil society development work. In
doing so, the discussion of findings looked at the subject under the following
themes that were organised under research questions: (a) profile of
communication; (b) importance of communication; (c) awareness of
development messages; (d) channels and formats of communication; (e)
strategies of communication and their effectiveness; (f) and attitudes and
preferences of audience segments toward development messages.

In relation to top-down, bottom-up and horizontal models of communication,

the research found that against the generally expected use of the top-down
model, one-way, downward communication alone is not preferred/practised by
most of the respondents. Instead, an overwhelming majority indicated they
employed horizontal models of information flow in development work. Specific
differences, dependent on development agent, were however observed, with
government biased toward top-down models, whereas civil society had a
tendency to lean towards bottom-up approaches. It was further hypothesized
that changes in models of development translate into shifts for the function of
communication in development work. However this is not to suggest that

111
communication always assumes a subsidiary role (on the contrary it may be
used to change those systems) nor is it an indication that other factors such as
politics are not determinants.

As regards to the significance of communication, although communication is

theoretically perceived to be important by majority of respondents, a review of
organisational practices, in terms of budgetary allocation, availability of
communication plans and compliance to international conventions, suggests
that communication is lowly regarded in government and civil society
development efforts in Zambia.

In terms of awareness of development messages, staff interviewees were found

to be more knowledgeable of development messages than audience
respondents. The disparity was more so amongst subjects in middle and low
density urban areas and rural and high density urban area residents. One
explanation offered was that these groups were in a disadvantaged socio-
economic position that they could not, in many cases, afford basic
communication infrastructure such as radio and television sets, let alone
electricity, to enable them access information. Thus interpersonal channels such
as co-operatives largely facilitate awareness of rural residents. Other factors
such as attitudes were found to contribute to the difference.

Channels and strategies of communication, on the other hand, were found be

modelled against approaches of communication existing in specific contexts.
Results of this study revealed that intermediate (a mixture of to-down and
bottom-up) channels (for instance mass media, community radio and
interpersonal channels) and strategies (for example co-ordination with
stakeholders) were used in government and civil society development activities.
However, specific distinctions between government and civil society
communications were observed, that is government communication appeared
to have been influenced by the top-down power structure, whereas civil society
communication seemed more participatory. This entails that choice of strategies

112
and channels should be guided by both the organisation’s philosophy and
audience preferences. As such, policy makers and development implementers
ought to conduct audience analyses before deploying given channels and/o
strategies of communication.

It was also discovered that effectiveness was hindered by such factors as

difficulties in understanding messages or programmes. The study revealed that
almost all the audience interviewees on this aspect cited technical language as
the reason they found it. Other factors such as channels, resources, and
audience needs and preferences ought to be considered in order to come up
with effective communication strategies.

As regards to attitudes, it is not quite easy to pinpoint sources of attitudes.

However, one such factor pertains to trust. Findings show that there is a
correlation between trust and audience preferences. For example, participatory
channels such as community radio tend to be preferred (see section on
channels of communication). Other factors may, as shown above, include type
of message and media used, source of message, and other similar antecedents.

Notable correlations between awareness and understanding of development

messages in relation to other variables (sex, age, and education) were found to
exist in respect to education and age.

Overall, the segmentation of development communication into models or

analytical frameworks has led to the holistic approach for studying the
phenomenon. Research is required to study whether the holistic approach or
theoretical framework in which the models of communication interact with
each other to form a “communication for development ecosystem” is
conceivable. The present research sought to make a contribution to this
research need. Development communication in Zambia’s policy and
implementation contexts vacillates between top-down and bottom-up
approaches. Policy makers and implementers are yet to set a profile of
communication that could serve as a standard for practice communication in
113
development work. The search for common attributes in government and civil
society outreach communications and the formation of the communication
profile has thus contributed insights into communication for development theory
and practice.

114
7.3 Recommendations

7.3.1 Policy level

1. Pursue social-economic policies aimed at reducing and eradicating rural

and urban poverty.

At individual level, there is need to empower rural and urban poor

communities for them to afford basic communication tools such as cell
phones and radio receivers to enable them access information; whereas
at national level there is need of resources to build a more capable
communication system.
2. Enhance communication and information infrastructure (also suggested
by Boafo, 2006);

3. Strengthen communication capacities (also recommended by Boafo,

2006). This can be done through among others deployment of
infrastructure and training ;

4. Nourish the emerging independent and pluralistic media (also suggested

by Boafo, 2006). This includes social media such as Facebook and blogs. A
study by Brenda Bukowa (2012) provides useful insights on the role of
internet (blogs) in enhancing freedom of expression in Zambia;

5. Increase access to communication and information systems (also

recommended by Boafo, 2006);

6. Develop human resources in communication and information in Africa

(also suggested by Boafo, 2006);

7. Prioritise communication and making it an integral part in development

efforts in both rural and urban areas;

8. Enhance coordinated partnerships amongst government, civil society and

beneficiaries through participatory communication. The study revealed
high levels of uncoordinated development work. Participatory
115
 communication, according to Bessette (2006), ‘requires moving from a
focus on information and persuasion to facilitating exchanges between
different stakeholders to address a common problem, to develop a
concrete initiative for experimenting with possible solutions, and to identify
the partnerships, knowledge and materials needed to support these
solutions.’ As it has been demonstrated in this study, solving development
challenges demands community participation and synergy between
different development actors. Numerous research studies (for example,
Sankaré and Konaté’s 'From Rio to the Sahel: Combating Desertification')
and experience have found and shown that projects that do not involve
communities are not sustainable.

9. Initiate simultaneously the two processes: one, of reorienting, restructuring,

and if necessary demolishing institutional structures; and second, of
building up new institutional structures which could provide a base for
accomplishment of new goals. Without this base, any new innovation
such as ICTs and development projects may not successfully be adopted
at least in the long term. However, this process of changing existing
institutional structures and social relations that impede adoption is not an
easy one as ‘social structure types and attitudes are coins that do not
readily melt. Once they are formed, they persist, possibly for centuries…’
(Shumpeter, 1947; in Shukla, 1987);

10. Bridge the gap between rural and urban communications in order to
reduce the dislocation and disparities in communication and information
flows between urbanized areas and rural communities, as well as
disadvantaged population groups, because of insufficient access for
large segments of the national populations to modern communication
and information means;

11. Encourage and support the development of more community radio

stations especially in rural areas;

116
 Community radio was found to be one of the most preferred channels of
communication.
12. Establish community multimedia centres and tele-centres where rural
populations and urban poor can access ICT services such as internet in
strategic areas such as schools that may be connected to the electricity
grid or use alternative source of power such as solar energy;

13. Engage and encourage government to embrace fully incorporate

communication in governance and development. As Rodgers (2005)
suggested and found in this study, some of the reasons development
communication is not sufficiently appreciated by decision and policy
makers in development organizations is correct are: (a) a deficiency of
empirical indicators on which policy makers can base their budgeting
decisions; and/or (b) a lack of effective communication between those
that advocate for development communication and those at the top of
the organizational hierarchies; and

14. Emphasise on not only access but also on capabilityof citizens to use tools
and innovations, such as ICTs, in policy and implementation frameworks.

117
7.3.2 Implementation level

1. Install better telephone / mobile phone and postal facilities in rural areas.
Currently few telephone and postal facilities exist in rural areas, and a few
are domiciled at district centres. The only links are school, agricultural and
hospital post boxes, which then forward the letters to the urban centre.
However mobile phones are becoming central in linking rural areas to
urban centres.
2. Reassess the notion of grassroots. Presence of a district offices is often
considered being on the grassroots. This affects policy and
implementation on communication and communication infrastructure
follows the same pattern. Grassroots should refer to where people live and
not miles away.
3. Promote use of multimedia channels to support development projects.
One advantage of triangulating communication mediums is that it
provides different aspects of learning for different audiences and
preferences. Therefore interpersonal channels may be use with other
channels at the same time.
4. Use ICTs to supplement interpersonal communication.
No amount of media use can supplant interpersonal communication.
Thus, they can only work if they are used in collaboration with
interpersonal communication.
5. Encourage open rural newspapers and broadcasting.
Radio is one aspect of ICT that has taken centre stage in rural areas. The
emphasis on ‘open’ owes to the fact that radio or other forms of
broadcast are often not directed at one organised audience.
6. Promote both government and private investments in rural broadcasting
and internet provision.
At the moment, many challenges face rural radio broadcasting such as
low budget allocations, poor equipment, poorly trained producers or lack
of training at all, and programmes tend to be dull and repetitive.

118
7. Encourage prioritisation of educational and development programmes
on ICT platforms such as community radio.
8. Advise extension workers to use group media in execution of their duties.
‘Group media are such media as video, slide-tapes, film-stripes, overhead
transparencies, and traditional puppet shows and theatre’ (ACCE, p. 35).
Such media may be mediated (by technology) or non-mediated. Group
media are useful in ‘in-depth training farmers and fieldworkers, but they
may also form the basis for village-level support in a mass media
campaign’ (ACCE, p. 36). For example, in agriculture training, the entire
crop cycle may be ‘squeezed’ on a poster or video of 20 or 30 minutes
long.
9. Establish agriculture, health and education information and technology
resource centres in urban poor and rural areas.

119
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9.0 APPENDICES

Appendix ‘1’: Staff Questionnaire

SECTION 1 – DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

1. What is your sex? For Researcher’s use

1. Male

2. Female

2. What is your age or range in which your age falls (as of your last birthday)?

1. Below 20 years

2. 21 – 30 years old

3. 31 – 40 years old

4. 41 – 50 years old

5. 51 – 60 years old

7. Above 61 years

8. Specify (if you so wish) ____________________

3. What is your level of education?

1. Primary

2. Secondary

3. Tertiary

4. What type of organization do you work in?

1. Non-governmental Organisation (NGO)

2. Government Ministry/Department

3. Other (specify) ____________________

5. How long have you been with the organization?

1. Less than five (5) years

2. between six (6) – ten (10) years

3. between eleven (11) – fifteen (15) years

4. More than sixteen (16) years

126
 5. Specify (if you so wish) ____________________

6. What is/are your position (s) or role(s) in the organization?

1. Director

2. Supervisor

3. Middle management staff

5. Top management staff

6. Lower level staff

7. Other (specify) ____________________

7. In which type of residential area do you live?

1. Low density area

2. Medium density area

3. High density area

4. Other (specify) ____________________

SECTION 2 – CHANNELS AND PROCESSES OF COMMUNICATION

12. What communication channel(s) does your organization usually use to

communicate (both sending and receiving messages) with external institutions or
individuals?

1. Mass media (radio/television/newspaper etc.)

2. Telephone (including cell phones)
3. Through written means (e.g. letters)
4. Through interpersonal means (e.g. messengers)
5. Other(specify) ____________________

13. Who is the primary officer or department responsible communicating with external
institutions or people?
1. Public Relations Officer/Manager
2. Communications Officer
3. No specific officer (anyone can communicate with external organizations)
4. Other (specify) ____________________

127
SECTION 3 – THE STATE OF COMMUNICATIONS IN THE ORGANISATIONS’ PLANNING AND
IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AND ITS RELEVANCE TO THE VISION 2030
14. The correlation between communications and development has in the recent past
decades been transformed into a field of study in the social sciences and humanities
and now appears under several appellations or names such as: ‘participatory
development communication’; ‘communication for development’; ‘development
support communication’; ‘information education communication (IEC)’; ‘project
support communication’; ‘social marketing’; ‘communication and development’ and
others. Have you ever heard or read any of the above terms?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Not sure

15. If YES, please briefly describe what you understand by the concept.

16. In your view, are communications relevant to the development of a society or

nation?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Don’t know
17. If you answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to question 14, why?

18. What is your view on the argument that communication has been and is
increasingly becoming important in the development process of any country?

1. It’s a very true statement

2. It’s quite true
3. It’s a very wrong statement
4. It’s quite wrong
5. Neither true nor wrong
6. Don’t know

19. Does your organisation have a Development Communications Department (Not

Public/Media Relations or Marketing)?

1. Yes

2. No

128
 3. Don’t know

20. Do you have any development communications specialists in your organisation?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Don’t know

21. If YES, how many?

1. 1

2. 2

3. 3

4. 4 or more

5. Don’t know

22. The ninth United Nations (UN) Roundtable on Communications for Development
that was held in October 2004 called for a dedicated percentage of projects budgets
to be committed to communications-related activities.

*In your opinion, is this being done in national development planning, civil society,
bilateral and other international development efforts in Zambia?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Don’t know

23. If your answer to question 18 was either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, why do you think this is the
case?

24. Has your organisation committed resources to development communications in any

way, shape or form?

1. Yes
2. No
3. Don’t know

25. If your answer is ‘yes’ to question 20, what percentage of your total operating
budget has been committed to this area in your current budget?

1. 0 -5 %
2. 6 – 10 %
3. 11 – 15 %

129
 4. 20 %
5. Don’t know

26. Since you have been allocating resources to communications, if you have been,
what has been the status of your budget in regard to communications in the last three
or five years?

1. Decreased its budget

2. Remained the same
3. Increased its budget
4. Don’t know

27. Are you aware of the Vision 2030?

1. Yes

2. No

28. If yes, what is its main message in respect to Zambia?

1. To attain universal primary education by 2030

2. To attain a middle income status by 2030

3. To achieve 100 percent gender representation in politics

4. To transform the Zambian economy from copper dependency to an agrarian

based Economy

6. Other(s) (specify) ____________________

29. How did you become aware of the plan (Vision 2030)?

1. Radio

2. Television

3. Word-of-mouth (friend/family member e.t.c.)

4. Newspaper

5. Internet

6. Booklet or brochure

7. Meeting/workshop

8. Other (specify) ____________________

30. In your view, did all stakeholders (including ordinary people) adequately participate
during the formulation of the Vision 2030 and/or other development programmes?

1. Yes
130
 2. No
3. Don’t know

31. If your response to question 26 is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’, why is this the case?

32. What is your view on the relevance of communications in the development efforts
of your organisation leading towards the achievement of the ‘middle income status’ by
2030 outlined in the Vision 2030?

1. Not relevant at all

2. Somewhat relevant
3. Neither relevant nor relevant
4. Somewhat irrelevant
5. Very irrelevant

-END-

131
Appendix ‘2’: Audience Questionnaire

SECTION 1 – DEMOGRAPHIC DATA

1. What is your sex? For Researcher’s use

1. Male

2. Female

2. What is your age or range in which your age falls (as of your last birthday)?

1. Below 20 years

2. 21 – 30 years old

3. 31 – 40 years old

4. 41 – 50 years old

5. 51 – 60 years old

7. Above 61 years

8. Specify ____________________

3. What is your level of education?

1. Primary

2. Secondary

3. Tertiary (College/university)

4. What is your marital status?

1. Single

2. Married

3. Widowed

4. Divorced

5. Other (specify) ____________________

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SECTION 2 - CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION THROUGH WHICH PEOPLE ACCESS OR
RECEIVE INFORMATION

5. Do you own a television set (it may be guardians’ or yours)?

1. Yes

2. No

6. Do you own a radio?

1. Yes

2. No

7. Do you have access to a newspaper?

1. Yes

2. No

8. What other forms of media do access information from?

1. Word-of-mouth (friends, family e.t.c.)

2. Meetings

3. Workshops

4. Loudspeakers

5. Other (specify) ____________________

8. If you answered YES to questions 5, 6 and 7, how frequent do you access information
from these sources on a weekly basis?

1. Very often (every day of the week)

2. Often (three to four days a week)
3. Sometimes (twice a week)
4. Rarely (0nce in a week)
5. Never

9. Do you have any preference amongst these and other sources of information?

1. Yes

2. No

133
10. If you answered yes to question 9, which source of information is your most
favourite?

11. Which information source is your least favourite?

12. Why is it your least favourite?

13. What programmes do often like to listen to from your favourite sources of
information?

14. Why do you like these programmes?

SECTION 3 - UNDERSTANDING, ATTITUDES AND VIEWS OF PEOPLE IN REGARD TO VISION

2030 MESSAGES

13. Do you know what national development planning is about?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

14. Do you know any national development plan(s) that has been formulated in
Zambia?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

15. If yes, which one(s) in particular?

134
16. What is your view on national development planning in regard to the development
of Zambia?

17. Are you aware of the Vision 2030 and/or any other development messages?

1. Yes

2. No

18. If yes, briefly explain what you understand on the concept of Vision 2030?

19. If your answer to question 17 is YES, where did you hear the concept or term from?

1. Radio

2. Television

3. Internet

4. from a friend

5. Booklet or brochure

6. Loudspeaker

7. Other (specify) ____________________

20. The government (in particular the Ministry of Finance and National Planning)
asserted that in its formulation of the Zambia’s long term national development plan
(the Vision 2030), it consulted all stakeholders. Were you consulted?

(1) Yes
(2) No

21. If yes, where were you consulted from?

22. Have you ever participated in any development related meeting or workshop or
forum?

(1) Yes

(2) No
135
23. If yes, did you benefit from this meeting or workshop or other forum?

(1) Yes

(2) No

(3) Not sure

24. If your response is NO to question 22, why?

1. Never heard of meetings of this sort

2. Not interested

3. I wasn’t invited

4. Other (specify) ____________________

25. Do you know any national development plan(s) that has/have been implemented
in Zambia?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

26. If yes, which one(s) in particular?

27. Are you aware of Vision 2030 and/or other development programmes?

1. Yes

2. No

28. If your answer to question 27 is yes, from which channel(s) did you
hear/read/become aware of Vision 2030?

1. Community radio 2. Public/state radio

3. Both community and Public/state radio 4. Public/state television

4. Private television 6. Both public and private television

7. Public/state television 8. Private newspaper

9. Both public/state and private newspaper 10. Internet

12. Booklet or brochure 13. Meeting (e.g. workshop)

136
 14. Interpersonal channels (e.g. word-of-mouth)

15. Exhibitions (e.g. agricultural shows)

29. What kind of source did you become aware of Vision 2030 and/or other
development messages?

1. Advertisement

2. Announcer (radio or television)

3. Expert

4. Ordinary person (e.g. friend)

5. Not sure

6. Other (specify)

30. Which format of message did you receive Vision 2030 and/or other development
information?

1. Press release

2. Public service announcement/discussion

3. News report

4. Debate

5. Meeting

6. Television forum

7. Radio forum

31. What is the central message of Vision 2030 or any development programme you
know?

1. To attain universal primary education

2. To become a middle income country

3. To achieve 100 percent women representation in parliament

4. To transform the Zambian economy from copper dependency to an agrarian

economy

5. Other (specify)

137
32. Were you consulted during formulation of vision 203 and/or any other development
programme or project by government or development implementer?

1. Yes

2. No

33. If yes, how were you consulted?

138
Appendix ‘3’: Interview Guide

1. How would you characterise your outreach communication, in respect top-

down, bottom-up and/or horizontal?

2. Which channels do you use to communicate with other organisations and the
public?

2. What is your organisation’s stance towards communication in your planning

and Implementation of your development programmes or projects?

4. In your view, is communication relevant to the development efforts of a

society or country?

5. Has your organisation committed resources to development communications

in any way, shape or form?

6. What are some of the strategies you are employing to ensure the
achievement of your efforts?

7. Is the strategic use of communication amongst your strategies? How?

8. Is your organisation involved in sharing of development information?

139
Appendix ‘4’: Map of Africa

Map source: The African Conservation Foundation,

http://www.africanconservation.com/zambiaprofile.html

140
Appendix ‘5’: Map of Zambia

Map source: University of Pennsylvania, African Studies Center,

http://www.africa.upenn.edu/CIA_Maps/Zambia_19892.gif

141
Appendix ‘6’: Map of Lusaka

Source: Encarta Encyclopedia, 2009.

142