Assessment of Community Participation in Sustainable Local Economic Development: A Case of three Selected Woredas in Lideta Sub-City, Addis Ababa City Administration (in the years: 2011 to 2014)
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Date
2014-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The study dealt with the link between sustainable local economic development and community
participation in Three Woredas of Lideta Sub-city in Addis Ababa. The objective of the study is to
assess the sustainability of community’s participation in local economic development and the
outcome. The issues observed to achieve the objective were areas of community participation,
institutionalization of participatory practices, substantive coordination of the actors and outcomes
of these processes and activities in the selected Woredas of Lideta Sub-city.
Mixed approach (both Qualitative and Quantitative approach) is used. Semi-structured
questionnaire is prepared, pre-tested and administered for randomly selected respondents from the
list of households from woreda 8, 9 and 10. 369 respondents filled the questionnaire. In-depth
interview, focus group discussion and observation tools were developed and employed to elicit
important information from the community and triangulate with secondary and questionnaire
data.
The result of the study has shown that, PLCEDW is not a new thing that was started from zero; it
was and is being under way at different time. The local communities are not fully involved in the
PLCEDW from planning to evaluation phase. Concentration of the development projects on a
locality development only; absence of market relation between the PLCEDWs and small and micro
business organizations; loose relation between the PLCEDW actors and lack of awareness creation
are the major problems that adversely affect participatory process. The study also identified the key
problems that are visible in the study areas. They are: paternalistic role of professionals and
officials; inhibiting and prescriptive role of the state; over-reporting of development success,
selective participation; hard issue bias; miss representing the local community’s development need;
get keeping by local elites; excessive pressure for immediate results than long term goals, lack of
public interest to be involved in PLCEDW.
In general the observations of data results from various sources, the development activities are not
sustainable in the sense also that the process didn’t create sizeable employment to the local
community. The PLCEDW has not been linked to small and micro enterprises. Therefore, the
study concluded with the recommendation that the PLVEDAW should maintain link between the
community, the SMEs and other actors in order to engage in sustainable processes and activities of
local economic development in the Sub City selected for this study
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