Cementing Uneven Development: The Central African Federation and the Kariba Dam Scheme

Abstract

Using the Kariba dam project as a case study, this article examines some of the biases and interdependencies of development planning in 1950s Northern Rhodesia in order to consider Zambia's trajectory into independence. The Kariba dam, a highly controversial hydro-electricity scheme in the short-lived Central African Federation, crystallises the ambivalent practices of building nations – materially, politically and ideologically. Colonial imbalances of development planning, most notably its ‘urban bias’, were bound to have a profound effect on the postcolonial period. I illustrate this, first with regard to Kariba's materiality. Given that infrastructures remain long after the planners and decision-makers leave, one must explore their potential for pre-structuring social change, including some types of change and excluding others. Secondly, Kariba is a prime example of the priorities in development politics that characterised both the colonial and postcolonial eras, particularly...