The Financial Management of Jimma Town
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Date
2000-05
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Urban centres constitute an important part of local government in Ethiopia.
They serve as the centre of services, manufacturing and markets for both
urban and rural people. Thus, improving urban management should be part
of the national development endeavor. One of the important conditions in
this regard is improving the financial management of the urban centres. This
in turn calls for improving revenue bases, proper allocation, spending and
record keeping. However, the fact that urban centres in Ethiopia are being
governed by age-old rules and regulations, lack of viable revenue bases, less
buoyant sources, lack of stable management and poor municipal staff profile
have obstructed municipalities ji-om providing urban services to their
residents in a meaningful manner.
This paper analyses the financial management of Jimma town in light of the
above issues. It appears that the financial management of the city is
characterized by dual problems of scarcity of fimds on the one hand and
inappropriate management of those which are available on the other. These
problems are analyzed in terms of the revenue structure of the city, its
collection process and the problems encountered. It also critically assesses
the allocation and spending which includes the budgeting process, record
keeping and inspection. Then in its conclusive remarks, the paper tries to
suggest ways and means to improve sources of revenues and their
management. This last part consists of two issues. Since urban centres are
affected by both internal and external forces, any attempt to reform urban
finance must take duly these factors in to account. Internal financial issues
include effective institutional capacity that could enable the municipal
government to manage its financial resources. External factors include the
removal of heavy hands of higher tiers which in this case includes zonal
administration and zonal bureau of works and urban development.
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Keywords
Financial Management