An Assessment of Legislative Oversight over Executive Organ: The Case of Amey a Woreda in the Oromia National Regional State
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Date
2015-06
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AAU
Abstract
In modern democracies, the legislature (councilors), often considered as the forum of the
nation, acts as guardian of the electorate's trust. As a result, they are tasked with
ensuring executive accountability through a different process that regularly assesses the
performance of executive institutions and their officials. Accordingly, with regard to our
country Ethiopia, when we look the federal and all states constitution, the legislative
organ at all tier of government is declared to be the highest political authority and
therefore mandated and empowered to check and oversee the performance of executive
organ in-line with the legislatures intention and the people's desire. However; various
complaints appear that there are certain visible problems and defects that hinder the
practical applicability of legislative oversight at all level. Especially at woreda level,
many service takers often complain that the woreda councils are non-functional.
Consequently the objective of this paper is to assess the practice and effectiveness of
woreda council oversight, over executive organ in Ameya Woreda ofOromia region.
To meet the above objectives, the research employed a qualitative case study approach.
Both primary and secondary data sources were used in gathering pertinent information.
The technique of collecting primary data includes personal observation, interviews with
woreda council speaker, with members of woreda council, with selected woreda sector
employees and focus group discussions with the selected standing committees of the
woreda council were conducted. FDRE constitution and ONRS constitutions and also
published and unpublished electronic materials, books, different reports, and articleswere used to get the necessary data. To this end a qualitative descriptive method of
analysis is used to analyze the primary and secondary data.
The findings of the study revealed that, the practice of legislative oversight of executive
organ at woreda level is not effective in ensuring accountability. It is challenged by many
problems such as lack of knowledge and skill, lack of capacity, lack of councilors
commitment, finanCial problems, the extreme fitSion of power between woreda council
and woreda executive bodies and finally the problems related with the election system of
woreda council were assessed in this study as the major hindering factors for the
effectiveness of woreda council oversight.
Finally, to make woreda council oversight meaningful and to create an accountable
government organs at local level, recommendations are made on knowledge, skill andcapacity issues, commitments of the council, financial and human resources, the
separation of power at woreda level and election system.