Abstract
M.A.
Development administrators in the Third World, whether attached to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) or Third World governments, face the same kind of problems. Considering the high failure rate of "development" in Third World countries, the major challenge is to implement development programmes effectively.
Development in the Third World is highly complex due to a vast variety of regional variations in terms of historical, economic and political factors, and diverse cultures and traditions, etcetera, crammed together in states that were initiated and demarcated by the previous colonial powers of the Western world. Implementing Western development policies successfully in the Third World without taking the above diversity into consideration has detrimental and stagnating results.
This study highlights some causes, elements and the consequences of inertia. The purpose is to make administrators, organizations and governments aware of the negative effect of this phenomenon.
A literary review indicates that inertia exists virtually in all development circumstances, and if inertia is ignored, it will inhibit the effective and efficient implementation of development programmmes. This finding is substantiated by the experiences of the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP), indicated in case studies from the Northern Province of South Africa. These case studies revealed certain elements of inertia that not only delay the execution of RDP projects, but also underline the nature of financial burdens as a result thereof.
Furthermore, the different types of pathology in the Third World, such as the patrimonial state and Sultanism, create a situation full of loopholes allowing inertia to take its toll. The impact of these "types" of government is highlighted by the excessive centralization of decision-making, the sheer size of the civil services as well as the obsession of political leaders in the Third World to obtain power and self-enrichment.
Inertia is like an octopus that spreads its tentacles to all spheres of civil service operations and has a detrimental impact on the effective implementation of development projects. The operation of civil services in the Third World not only delays the processing of development policies, but has a negative impact on the attitude of civil servants as well. The findings are substantiated by the consequences of the rigid rules and regulations in the civil service as well as the inadequacy of civil servants to operate efficiently.
The implementation of the recommendations of this study to eliminate inertia calls for a review of development strategies used by developers in order to successfully address the highlighted practical problems of implementation.