Federalism
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Browsing Federalism by Author "Ayitenew, Zemelak (PhD)"
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Item Accommodating Exogenous Communities at Local Level: The Case of Gura-Ferda Woreda of SNNPRS and Pawe Woreda of BGNRS(AAU, 2017-06) Chekol, Melese; Ayitenew, Zemelak (PhD)Ethiopia has adopted what is often referred to as ethnic federalism which aims to accommodate the ethnic diversity of the Ethiopian people principally, if not exclusively, through territorial mechanisms. It establishes nine ethnically demarcated regional states and provides the establishment of sub-regional territorial and political units for intra-regional ethnic minorities based on the same federal principle. Implied, or assumed to have been implied, in this federal arrangement is a notion of endogeneity in a sense only that only those ethnic communities that are viewed as endogenous to a specific territorial area are considered to be entitled for self-government either at regional or sub-regional level. This leaves out the millions who are considered to be exogenous without clear constitutional protection. A qualitative approach with purposive sampling techniques was employed during data collection. Interview, Focus group discussion and field observation was employed in this thesis. Among exogenous communities (not necessarily ethnic communities) in such constitutional quandary are those who moves to the areas now make parts such regions as Benishangul-Gumuz and SNNP as part of the villagization and resettlement of programs of the imperial and Derg eras. These communities are mostly found in clearly demarcated territorial areas which are equal or larger than a woreda in terms of territorial and population size. And, despite being of different ethnic background, the settlers have over the years developed a sense a community. Yet, they seem to have no constitutional protection and under the mercy of the endogenous communities of each region. Regardless of the position of the Constitution regarding such communities, this thesis undertook to investigate whether and how such communities are in practice accommodated in the regions they are found. To this effect it selected the Pawe woreda of Benishangul-Gumuz and Gura-Ferda woreda of SNNP. The so called exogenous communities are found in the majority in both of these woredas. However, they are treated differently. In Pawe woreda, where members of the exogenous community constitute over 99 percent of the population, they are allowed to have full control over the political and administrative institutions of the woreda. They are represented in the regional government and, compared to members of the exogenous communities living in other parts of Benishangul-Gumuz region, are least harassed by members of the endogenous communities. The situation is starkly different in Gura-Ferda. There, despite them being in majority, members of exogenous communities are excluded from the political institutions of the woredas. And they suffer from actual or threat of eviction.Item An Examination of the Role of Traditional Leadership in State Governance: The Case of South Sudan(Addis Ababa University, 2019-06) Joseph, Gonyiri; Ayitenew, Zemelak (PhD)Motivated by the fact that South Sudan is a new country with new setups for local governance and facing many challenges, including shortage of trained cadre in administration, after decades of conflict, this study sets out to explore the extent and strength of involvement of traditional authorities in performing local governance tasks. It is exclusively based on review of relevant literature on South Sudan and four learning countries (Botswana, Ghana, South Africa and Zimbabwe) based on three research questions. Analysis found out that much as mechanisms based on constitutional provisions and legal frameworks have been created, traditional leadership institutions were grossly neglected. For this reason, these institutions could not effectively play their roles as it was the case under colonial and pre-independence governments, which amounts to their underutilization at the time when the country actually needs it most. The study came out with three recommendations to the current and future governments of South Sudan and other important actors. First, the government should draw lessons from the good experiences of the four African countries examined in a parallel study. Second, it is the government’s legal obligation to implement the provisions of the constitution and the enacted Local Government Act regarding the utilization and integration of traditional authority systems into local government systems. Third, government should allocate adequate financial resources in the national annual budgets to sustain traditional leadership institutions and to help them effectively serve the rural populations, especially in remote areas. The study also makes additional recommendations to the civil society and traditional leaders themselves, to exert pressure on the government to fulfil their constitutional mandate of integrating traditional iii leadership into local governance systems, and to enable the environment for sustenance of this desired mutual collaboration, which is anticipated to have long-term developmental benefits to the country at large.