The Politics of Local Government Creation and Boundary Demarcation within Ethiopian Federation: Challenges and Implications
| dc.contributor.advisor | Assefa Fisseha (Assosate Professor) | |
| dc.contributor.author | Ayenew Birhanu | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-03-05T12:36:49Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-03-05T12:36:49Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2017-05 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Few issues are as central to contemporary local government systems as their number and boundaries. The central aim of this dissertation is to cast light on trends and implications related to the number and boundaries of local governments in post-federal Ethiopia with special emphasis to two Regional States-Oromia and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's Region (SNNPR). 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: Does the legal framework provide for criteria and procedures for local government creation and boundary demarcation?; Are there mechanisms for popular participation at the local level?; What are challenges and implications of local government creation and boundary demarcation? Methodologically, this study employed a descriptive design and qualitative research approach and analysis. Both primary and secondary sources of data are used in this study. Key informant interview and document analysis are the main methods employed for data collection. Findings reveal that the fundamental decision in federal matters - the creation of local government - has been reserved for the Regional States. 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. This study, therefore, contends 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 uncertainty on how local communities participate in the demarcation of local government boundaries, as the process is not regulated by law in detail. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://etd.aau.edu.et/handle/123456789/4507 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | Addis Ababa University | |
| dc.title | The Politics of Local Government Creation and Boundary Demarcation within Ethiopian Federation: Challenges and Implications | |
| dc.type | Thesis |