The Making and Unmaking of Local Governments in Ethiopia: The National Picture

Abstract

Few issues are as central to contemporary local government systems as their
number and boundaries. The central aim of this study is to cast light on trends
and implications related to the number and boundaries of local governments in
post-federal Ethiopia. This study depicts that, since the inception of the federal
system in the 1990s, the figures of local governments have experienced a conspicuous
sequence of ruptures and shifts. The most obvious are changes at the
woreda level while at the other levels of local governments, a similar tendency
is seen in a slightly different form. Although kebeles have relatively been more
expanded in Ethiopia since the early 1990s, this study focuses on woredas - the
next higher and more expanded level of local government. The study attempts to
respond to the following questions: Who holds the jurisdiction of creation and
demarcation of local governments in Ethiopia? Does the legal framework provide
clear criteria and procedures for local government creation and boundary
demarcation? What comparative insights can be drawn from any relevant federal
system? Both primary and secondary sources of data were used in the study.
Literature review and key informant interview were the main methods employed.
Findings reveal that the fundamental decision in federal matters - the creation
of local government - has been reserved for the regions. The FDRE Constitution
has no express constitutional recognition of local governments, nor does it contain
any specific procedures that govern the creation of local governments and
demarcation of boundaries. It is argued that the creation of local governments,
their upgrading and change of boundaries are determined on ad hoc basis, and
no comprehensible criteria have been laid down for the purpose. There also appears
unclarity on how local communities participate in the demarcation of local
government boundaries.