Compatibility between the Millennium Development Goals and the Global Development Discourse: PERSPECTIVES FROM ZIMBABWE

Abstract

The Millennium Development Goals were a rather a bold initiate meant to curtail rising levels of poverty in developing countries. While the intention of the MDGs has been roundly praised, what has beenquestioned is the capacity of the respective governments to implement and achieve the stated goals. Conceptually, there were also questions about a program with uniform indicators that did not take cognisance of disparities within countries. However, the design of the MDGs did not raise as much questions as the execution of them. In recent, there have also been questions on the possibility and efficacy of achieving the MDG. While there were always doubts about the capacity of the international community to raise the requisite resources to achieve the MDGs, there were always undercurrents of the capacity of beneficiary countries to implement the goals. Further, the study argues that the prevailing development discourse in Zimbabwe entrenched in the use and dependence of donor agencies and their respective implementing NGOs further reduced the chances of the MDGs, and consequently, sustainable development ever being achieved in the country.