The Impact of the Charities and Societies Proclamation on Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Addis Ababa: A case study on selected Women and Children CSOs
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Date
2012-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Civil society has emerged as an important catalyst of change in the development and democratic
processes, making tremendous contributions in developing countries where abject poverty still
dominates the livelihood of the people; democratic values and system of governance are yet in
their infancy. With this in mind, the Government of Ethiopia has recently come up with the
Charities and Societies Proclamation (CSP) to aid and facilitate the role of Charities and
Societies in Ethiopia. Therefore, the main objective of this thesis is to assess the impact of the
CSP on Women and Children Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Addis Ababa.
To achieve the objectives of this thesis, the research method used was descriptive case study.
Through the use of primary and secondary data sources, the researcher has gathered the
necessary information regarding the impact of the proclamation. By employing purposive
sampling technique those Charities and Societies working for women and children in Addis
Ababa were purposively selected in consultation with the Network of Ethiopian Women’s
Association (NEWA) and the Union of Ethiopian Women Charitable Association (UEWCA).
Semi-structured interviews were carried out with the selected eight Charities and Societies. In
addition, structured interviews of key informants were carried out with three donor
organizations and with the Charities and Societies Agency. Information obtained from these
sources was then analyzed qualitatively based on descriptive analysis.
As the findings show, the proclamation has brought about new demands on the way these women
and children Charities and Societies operate be it in terms of financial, existential, sustainability
or structural change. Though the proclamation creates an autonomous Agency for the CSO
sector, allows income generation activities, and tries to curb harmful practices by Charities and
Societies; it has strict funding source requirements, potential going out of operation of
organizations and termination of employees. The study reveals that the Ethiopian Charities and
Societies are most affected by the proclamation. A great challenge for them has been raising
90% of their funds locally; which has led to termination of activities, closure of organizations
and termination of employment of staff. The absence of a tradition of giving financial support to
human rights organizations, and the lack of the necessary skill and experience in generating
funds from local sources are currently challenging the Charities and Societies
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Keywords
Children CSOs