Email this article 
Hide
Show all
Decentralization as an Institutional System, Prospects and Retrospect: Case of Four Weredas of Tigrai
Abstract
Following the demise of the Derg regime in 1991, the most important reform agenda of Ethiopia was to restructure the country and its civil administration along ethnic lines, and to establish ethnicity as the defining principle of political, social and economic discourse. Consequently the country’s political map was redrawn along ethnic lines, which gave way to “Regional states”. The regional states secured administrative and legislative power within a federal framework. . Success stories of decentralization encouraged policy makers to launch fiscal decentralization which extended the regions’ planning and resource allocation powers to each district (wereda)level. This apparently enabled them to improve service expansion and development.
Despite this general perception this study seeks to critically review the impacts of decentralization (both fiscal and administrative) on districts considering four weredas of Tigrai regional state (northern part of Ethiopia). To conduct this study both primary and secondary data sources was and analyzed using simple descriptive, and statistical method of analysis. Results obtained based on the three variables (measures effect of decentralization on community participation good governance, and minimizing revenue expenditure gap) reveals positive progress. Indeed, there are promising changes related to administrative matters and of community participation in designing and implementation of development plans. These changes also are enhanced individuals’ participation in productivity, which expedited poverty reduction as well, as indicated by the growing improvements in local livelihoods. However, the gains of decentralization on governance and minimizing revenue expenditure gap are far from satisfactory. As long as the real participation of locals and problems of local capacity remains at stake but is still suffered more from resource limitations. This study recommends some adjustments with the decentralization approach, and appropriate implementation modalities so as to solve the procedural and skill related problems, and to minimize misuse of resource in a way that assists to be more effectively.
Full Text:
PDFReferences
Abay, A., Frohberg, K., James, K. S., & Jütting, J. (2004). Modeling the Impact of Fiscal Decentralization on Health Outcomes: Empirical Evidence from India. ZEF Discussion Papers on Development Policy, Bonn.
African Development Bank, and African Development Fund. (2009). Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Country Governance Profile, Report.
Bardhan, P., & Udry, C. (1999). Development Microeconomics, Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-877370-6. https://doi.org/10.1093/0198773714.001.0001
BoFED. (2006). Bureau of finance and economic development. GIS department. Mekelle (unpublished).
Bureau of Planning and Economic development. (1995). Five Year Development Plan of the Tigray Region. Mekelle, Ethiopia (Draft compiled by the Region).
Chatfield, C. (1995). Model Uncertainty, Data Mining and Statistical Inference. JRSS-A 158, 419–466. https://doi.org/10.2307/2983440
Dethier, J. (ed.) (2000). Governance, Decentralization and Reform in China, India and Russia. Kluwer Academic Publishers and ZEF.
DLDP Review, PPA, CIDA cited in Dom and Mussa. (2006). Review of Implementation of the Decentralization Policy: A Sample Survey in Four Sentinel Woredas of Tigray Region.
Dom, C., & Mussa, M. (2006a). Review of Implementation of the Decentralization Policy: A Sample Survey in Four Sentinel Weredas of Tigray Region. Report for the Embassy of Ireland and Regional Government of Tigray. Oxford, UK.
Elhiraika, A. B. (2007). Fiscal Decentralization and Public Service Delivery in South Africa. Canada Fund for Africa.
Faraway, J. J. (2002). Practical Regression and Anova using R. Manuscript.
Getachew, M., & Fraser, T. (2001). Decentralization and Local Autonomy: Regional planning in Ethiopia cited in a Book New Regional Development Paradigms-Volume 3, by B. Stohr, W. et al. (Ed.), Greenwood Press, London.
Hertogs, E. J. (1999). What Role for Local Authority in Decentralized Cooperation Under Convention of Lome. ECDPM Discussion Paper No. 8 cited in Tewodros, B.2005.
Juan, C. M. (2001). Analysis of Public Decentralization in Spain. Journal of Public Finance and Management, 1(4), 500-556.
Khaleghian, P. (2003). Decentralization and Public Services: The Case of Immunization. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper, No. 2989, World Bank, Washington, D.C. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-2989
Local Development International. (2013). The Role of Decentralization/Devolution in Improving Development Outcomes at the Local Level: Review of the Literature and Selected Cases, UK Department for International Development South Asia Research Hub, Brooklyn, New York. USA.
Martinez, V. J. (2011). Impact of Fiscal Decentralization, Issues in Theory and Challenges in Practices. ADB Publication.
Meheret, A. (2007). A Rapid Assessment of Woreda Decentralization in Ethiopia‘. Forum for Social Studies, Addis Ababa.
Melese, D. (2003). Urban Financial Management, Module 3 for MDP Training Program, 5th Urban and City Management Course for Africa, http;//info.worldbank.org/etools/docs/Liberary/114925/eum/docs/eum/ehiopiaeum/Module3 Urban Financial Management.
MOFED. (2005). Ethiopia Participatory Poverty Assessment 2004-05, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
MOFED. (2010). Trends and Prospects for Meeting MDG by 2015. 2010 MDG Report, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
MOFED. (2012). Ethiopia’s Progress Towards Eradicating Poverty: an Interim Report on Poverty Analysis Study (2010/11). Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Nadeem, S. B., N., Qaiser, M., & Kamal, S. (2008). MANOVA with Summary Statistics: A STATA Program. College of Statistical and Actuarial Sciences, University of the Punjab, Lahore.
Ndegwa, S. (2002). Decentralization in Africa; A Stocktaking Survey Africa Region. Working Paper Series No.40, World Bank Washington.
Nupia, O. (2007). Decentralization, Corruption, and Political Accountability in Developing Countries, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
Oskar, N. (2006). Decentralization, Corruption and Political Accountability in Developing Countries, Working paper.
Shah, A. (2006). Corruption and Decentralized Public Governance, World Bank Publication. https://doi.org/10.1596/1813-9450-3824
Shah, A., Thompsont., & Zou, H. (2002). The Impact of Decentralization on Service Delivery, Corruption, Fiscal Management and Growth in Developing and Emerging Market Economies: A Synthesis of Imperial Evidence. CES ifo DICE Report.
Smith, S. C. (2005). Ending Global Poverty. Palgrave Macmillan, New York.
Spielman, D. J., Cohen, M. J., & Tewodaj, M. (2006). Mobilizing Rural Institutions for Sustainable Livelihoods and Equitable Development: A Case Study of Local Governance And Smallholder Cooperatives in Ethiopia, IFPRI, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, working paper.
Steinich, M. (2002). Monitoring and Evaluating Support to Decentralization, Challenges and Dilemmas. A Seminar Paper on ― European Support for Democratic Decentralization and Municipal Development- A Contribution to Local Development and Poverty Reeducation, ―held in Maastricht, 14-15 organized by ECDPM and Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Stöhr, W. B., Edralin, J. S., & Mani, D. (eds.) (2001). New Regional Development Paradigms. Vol. 3, Greenwood Press, London, pp. 21-35.
Tanzi, V. (1995). Fiscal Federalism and Decentralization: A Review of Some Efficiency and Macro Economic Aspects’, in Bruno, M. and Pleskovic, B. (eds.): Annual World Bank Conference on Development Economics, Washington D.C, World Bank.
Tegenge, G., & Kassahun, B. (2007). The Role of Decentralization Governance in Building Local Institutions, Diffusing Ethnic Conflicts, and Alleviating Poverty in Ethiopia. Regional Development Dialogue, 25(1).
Tesfay, T. (2006). Decentralization and Service Delivery in Ethiopia; (A Case of Moretenna-Girr and Bereh Aletu Woredas in Amhara and Oromia Regions Respectively). MA Thesis , RLDs/AAU, Addis Ababa.
Tewdros, B. (2005). Decentralization Development Cooperation, Governance and Rural Livelihood: The case of Amhara region. Ethiopia in Issues and Challenges in Local and Regional Development, Tegegne g., and Pitter Van Dijk, P. 2005 (Edi.).
Turner, M., & David, H. (1997). Governance, Administration and Development; Making the State Work, New York, Palgrave. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-25675-4
UNCDF. (2003). Decentralization and Local Governance From the Perspective of Poverty Reduction. Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid and Peace Building Department, Good Governance and Peace Building Division (DMV/VG).
World Bank. (2003). Making Services Work for Poor People. World Bank and Oxford University Press, Washington, D.C.
Yigremew, A., Nega, W., & Haregewoin, C. (2005), study on implementation of Decentralization Policy in Ethiopia Oxfam GB Ethiopia Publications.
Yon, B. J., & Grote, U. (2001). Does Decentralization Serve the Poor? In: IMF, Fiscal. Chatfield, C. (1995). Model Uncertainty, Data Mining and Statistical Inference. JRSS-A 158, 419–466.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v8i2.13279
Copyright (c) 2018 Sintayoh Fissha, Meheret Berhanu
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Journal of Public Administration and Governance ISSN 2161-7104
Email: jpag@macrothink.org
Copyright © Macrothink Institute
To make sure that you can receive messages from us, please add the 'macrothink.org' domain to your e-mail 'safe list'. If you do not receive e-mail in your 'inbox', check your 'bulk mail' or 'junk mail' folders.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
