Assessment of the effects of decentralization on urban service delivery: case study on education and health services deliverance at Debre Markos town, Amhara National Regional State
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Date
2011-05
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Addis Ababauniversity
Abstract
In Ethiopia rapid urbanization is the product of socio economic development. As a result urban
populations have been growing in an alarming rate. This situation mainly aggravated by the
two major features: rural-urban migration and natural increase of the population. Due to these
demographic changes, pressure put on urban centers in which residents hardly get quality and
efficient services. To tackle down such urban problems, the GoE has established
decentralization policy that aimed to transfer powers, responsibilities and resources from the
central government to regional, zonal, and Wereda levels of administration. This research has
given emphasis on education and health service delivery in Debermarkos town case. In this
town basic services provision intricate with social problems: inadequate and poor quality of
services, less accountability and transparency, insignificant number of professionals, low
institutional capacity and minimum public participation in planning, monitoring and decision
making process. But these poor conditions of service providers of had not been assessed or
studied (i.e. academically); it couldn’t be identified, determined, evaluated and recognized the
hindrance for effective implementation of decentralization at the district level. The research
used qualitative and quantitative data. This study has assessed the local service providers’
performance in line to quality indicators and the governance values indicators: accountability,
transparency and community involvement in the improvement and provision of services. From
the findings, it concluded that that decentralization obviously shown improvement in service
delivery particularly in schools’ and health centers’ service delivery activities: service
providers could perform their duties with autonomy, improve quality and efficient services
delivery. However, administrative constraints: clarity of responsibility, accountability, open
information flows, and participation have made the services provisions inadequate. The paper
suggests that public service providers should be participatory, transparent (free access to
information), empowered to decide administrative issues autonomously, accountable to the
community, dynamic to identify community interest and should include community input in
strategic planning and decision making process in the public service providers.
Key words: decentralization, autonomy, accountability, transparent, participation, social service:
education service, health service
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Keywords
Decentralization, ; autonomy, accountability, transparent, participation, social service, education service, health service