Journal of Social Development in Africa (2000), 15,1,3-4 
Editorial 
The articles in this issue cover a wide variety of themes, ranging from specific 
development initiatives to broader socioeconomic and political issues, such as 
ethnicity, social security systems, and the impact of government policies on 
economic growth and differing agricultural modes of production. 
Paul Kishindo provides a useful analysis of how community project funding in 
Malawi has tended to adopt a demand-driven approach, introducing an element 
of competition in community development, which has in turn led to infrastructure 
imbalances. Kishindo believes that the major obstacle to this new form of 
community development is at the initiation stage, so where appropriate leadership 
from within a community is lacking, there is a need for direct external intervention. 
Within this context, he suggests ways in which more effective implementation 
of com munity development projects can be handled both by government and 
non-governmental agencies in Malawi. 
The article by Sabo Indabawa describes an experimental literacy programme 
for the disabled set up in Kano State in Nigeria between 1989 and 1990. Indabawa 
demonstrates through his analysis, that literacy may enable adult destitutes to 
generate social and economic returns for self-reliance, if there is adequate followup. 
Although the programme never went beyond the first two years of its 
inception, the author explains how similar initiatives would be very helpful for 
overcoming destitution among marginalised groups in Nigeria, where street 
begging is a widespread social problem. 
Like Indabawa, Sonja Goedeke presents an interesting project undertaken in 
Kwa Zulu Natal in collaboration with the University of Natal, to assist guidance 
educators in providing a mental health service to their students. Goedeke provides 
an in-depth analysis of education and psychology within the South African 
context, as well as a detailed description of the Imbali guidance project. She 
outlines the positive outcomes and the drawbacks to the programme, while 
advocating community psychology as an important means for serving underresourced 
and disadvantaged communities in South Africa. 
The article by John Dixon on African social security systems differs in 
approach, in that it provides a broad overview of system design standards 
throughout Africa, as compared to those in Latin America. The author ranks the 
social security systems in 45 African countries, using a comparative evaluation 
methodology that permits the assessment of national social security intent. He 
demonstrates how the conventions devised by the ILO on minimum social 
security standards are useful for making such a qualitative analysis, which aims 
to extend the existing comparative social security literature.
4 Editorial 
Edlyne Anugwom presents in his article, a stimulating historical and political 
analysis of the marginalisation question in Nigeria. He suggests that the creation 
of a realistic and workable form of federalism, inspired by the American model, 
may be one way to confront ethnic conflict in Nigeria. Anugwom emphasises that 
the present attempts at democracy as a sustainable sociocultural formation in the 
country, will only succeed if perceptions of ethnic marginalisation are directly 
confronted. He outlines several ways of doing this, so that a new political culture 
in Nigeria, making adequate provision for diverse group interests, may endure in 
the future. 
The article by Noah Karley provides an economic critique of the impact of 
government investment on growth and employment in South Africa. The author 
outlines investment patterns in South Africa in the last two decades, as a prelude 
to his analysis of how government investment strategies may currently be improved. 
Karley demonstrates how institutional reforms may also expedite this 
process, where there is sound economic policy formation and widespread popular 
support. 
The final article by Jilly Ngwainmbi in this issue, discusses the reasons for the 
persistence of the family farm and the economy of affection in Cameroon. The 
author presents the findings of the case study she conducted in 1990 in Cameroon, 
on the impact of state agricultural policies on farming practices and beliefs. 
Ngwainmbi concludes, like other researchers have done, that the economy of 
affection persists due to subjective values that Cameroonian farmers attribute to 
their activities. This article provides, therefore, a theoretical analysis of the 
economy of affection, as well as concrete examples taken from the case study.