The continuing economic and social hardships in Africa south of the Sahara cast doubt on the effectiveness of the region's development programs. These hardships occur regardless of the efforts of development specialists to reformulate and reconceptualize development programs to respond to the limitations of earlier development strategies. Therefore, this commentary argues, the region's failed development experiences are not necessarily a consequence of the limitations of communication for development per se, but of two management-related factors: ineffective political leadership and the inherent limitations of the region's strategic development plans.
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