Devolution And Ethnic Federalism In Ethiopia

By Judy Wangare, Esther Mwende, Natasha Ndumbi, Iram Chaudhry and Quincy Kiptoo

Ethiopia has great ethnic diversity with 84 ethnic groups[1]Twelve of these ethnic groups have a population of half a million or more, out of a population of 53 million in 1994. The two major ethnic groups (the Oromo and the Amhara) constitute over 62 percent of the population. The third largest ethnic group, the Tigray, has been the politically dominant ethnic group since 1991, but comprises only 6 percent of the population. In 1994, four other ethnic groups, namely, Somali, Gurage, Sidama, and Welaita, had a population of over one million; five ethnic groups (Afar, Hadiya, Gamo, Gedeo, and Keffa) had populations between 599,000 and 1,000,000. Fourteen ethnic groups had populations between 100,000 and 500,000, while twenty-eight ethnic groups had a population of between 10,000 and 100,000. Twenty-three ethnic groups had a population of less than 10,000[2]. It is to be noted that for the most part each group had its own language.

The religious composition of the population is as follows: Christian (61.7 %), Muslim (32.8 %), Traditional[3] (4.6 %), others (0.9 %), and Not Stated (0.1 %). Orthodox Christians constitute 50.6 %, Protestants constitute 10.2 %, and Catholics comprise 0.9 % of the total population.

State formation is a source of bitter contention on one hand Pan Ethiopian Nationalists claim that the state has existed some 3000 years ago, forging a distinct national identity that has successfully countered ethnic and regional challenges. The assimilation of periphery cultures into the Amhara/Tigray core culture made the creation of the Ethiopian nation state possible.

On the other hand ethno-nationalist groups such as the Oromo Liberation Front claim that Abyssinia colonized roughly half the territories and peoples to form a colonial empire-state in the last quarter of the 19 the century. From the ethno-nationalist vantage point, Ethiopia is a colonial empire that needs to undergo decolonization where "ethno-national" colonies become independent states. Its image is one of Ethiopia as a colonial-state.

A better version would be that Ethiopia evolved as a non-colonial empire state, through conquest and incorporation of adjoining kingdoms, principalities and sultanates. The declared objective of the framers of ethnic federalism was to transform the empire-state into a democratic state of ethnic pluralism in order to ensure that no ethnic community would find it necessary or desirable to secede[4].

Modern Ethiopian governments attempted to forge cultural homogenization through state centralization and one-language policy during most of the 20^th century. In the span of a century, three forms of ethnic social engineering have been attempted in Ethiopia. 1^st was by Emperor Menelik (1889-1913), he attempted to create a unitary state on the basis of cultural assimilation, using Amharic as the sole language of instruction and public discourse and Abyssinian Orthodox Christian culture as the core culture of Ethiopian national identity. It failed.

2^nd attempt (1974-91) was by the military government’s attempt to retain a unitary state and address the "national question" within the framework of Marxism-Leninism. It set up the Institute for the Study of Nationalities in 1983. Based on the Institute's recommendations, the military regime created twenty-four administrative regions and five autonomous regions within the unitary form of state, but no devolution of authority was discernible. It also went on a campaign against ethno-national groups. In the last decade of its rule, ethnic based opposition organizations had intensified their assault on the military government and ethnic nationalism became a major factor in the demise of the centralizing military regime.

The 3^rd is from 1991 to present, the Ethiopians People Revolutionary Democratic Front’s government attempt at maintaining the Ethiopian state on the basis of ethnic federalism as well as cultural, language and political autonomy at regional and sub-regional levels.

Some of these ethno-nationalist groups are Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF), Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), and Afar Liberation Front (ALF); minor organizations included Islamic Oromo Liberation Front (IOLF), Western Somali Liberation Front (WSLF), and Ogadeni National Liberation Front (ONLF). After the collapse of the military junta they wanted to forge together because secession was not a viable option at the moment. At the same time, however, a secession provision had to be made a part of the compact, if only to justify the sacrifices they had called upon their mobilized constituents to make during long years of struggle. It is likely that at least one or perhaps more ethno-nationalist movement would not have joined a federal arrangement if secession were not constitutionally recognized.

EVOLUTION OF ETHNIC FEDERALISM

The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front-spearheaded multiethnic coalition convened a national conference in July 1991, and quickly established the Transitional Government of Ethiopia (TGE) under a transitional charter. The charter declared that “freedom, equal rights and self-determination of all peoples shall be the governing principle of political, economic and social life.”[5] It proclaimed fundamental individual human rights and freedoms. It guaranteed the right of each nation, nationality and people of Ethiopia to self-determination.

The regional/national proclamation 7/1992 was to give effect to the nations, nationalities and peoples self-determination and to ensure the preservation and promotion of the languages, culture and histories. The proclamation established fourteen national/regional self-governments and identified the ethnic community inhabiting each of the regions with the exception of that of the capital city.^[6]

Adjacent nations, nationalities and peoples set up necessary intermediate units of self-government between the woreda and the regional levels.^[7] Accordingly five regions (regions7, 8, 9, 10, and 11) entered into an agreement to form a single southern self-governing unit wherein each ethno-linguistic community would retain its own local self-government and be represented at the regional level.

These national/regional self-governments were vested with legislative, executive and judicial powers within their geographic areas in all matters not expressly assigned to the central government.^[8] The stipulated matters in the jurisdiction of the central government included matters of defense, foreign policy, fiscal and economic policy, citizenship, declaration of state of emergency etc. The regional self –governments enjoyed broad powers in matters of language, culture, education, health, police and security, social and economic development activities. They were also to establish their own courts with jurisdiction to decide any dispute in their respective regions with the exception of those assigned to the courts of the central government. The structure of the regional governments was:

1. A council
2. Executive committee
3. Judicial administration office
4. Public prosecution office
5. Audit and control office
6. Police and security office
7. Service and development committee^[9]

The basic unit in the national/ regional self-government is the woreda self-government. The woreda self-government entities have functional organs such as the council, executive committee, judicial administrative organ etc.

The newly established self-governing units remained subordinate to, and financially dependent upon the central government throughout the transitional period. The self-governing units not only lacked constitutional legitimacy but were also made subordinate to the central government.

The transitional period was significant not only because the century old-centralized and unitary state system that Ethiopia had experienced was legally de-constructed, but also because the process of charting and implementing the structural framework was introduced for reorganizing and reconstructing the Ethiopian state on the basis of ensuring equality of the ethno-linguistic communities.

The effects of the charter and Proclamation No 7/1992 and No 33/1992 were significant for the devolution of state power in Ethiopia. They marked the first stage of building regional and local self-governments. The right to self-determination not only was recognized but also was put into operation in such a way that the people could constitute self-governments of their own within their respective geographic areas.

The establishment of a full-fledged federal system whereby the federal and regional governments are each, within their respective constitutionally allocated spheres, sovereign and independent, was delayed until the second stage of the devolution process, which culminated with the adoption of the new constitution.

During the transitional period, the transitional government established the constitutional Drafting Commission and the subsequent process leading to the adoption of the 1995 constitution. The Commission involved two interlinked phases, a civic education phase and a public consultation phase. During the civil education phase, the government used state media to disseminate information on the role of the constitution in building a democratic system and the basic concepts of constitution and constitutional law, and the constitutional process to educate the people. During the consultation phase, the commission published and presented to the public a series of questions and issues regarding the constitution and the public was consulted and their response to the questions invited. This was mainly done through public assemblies.

MAJOR CHALLENGES FACED BY THE TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT

1. Ethiopia was on the verge of state collapse. Even though the Ethiopia People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) played a role in spearheading the armed struggle against dictatorship, there were also more 17 rebel groups that fought the dictatorship and succeeded in controlling several parts of the country
2. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, police and security officers were left jobless.
3. Eritrea achieved its de facto independence from Ethiopia
4. The country was in economic shambles with an import cover of only about one week and or external debt of more than four billion U.S Dollars in 1991.^[10]
5. Maintaining peace and order was difficult because of the collapsed government structure. The existence and spread of a huge number of ex-soldiers, security and police officers throughout the country, the proliferation of small arms and ammunitions into the hands of the civilians, and refusal by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) to garrison its forces.

SOLUTIONS

1. First the government helped to establish peace and stability committees for the purpose of providing administrative and policing services. These committees not only filled the administrative vacuum that was created as a result of the collapse of governmental structures at the local level, but also secured a sense of peace and stability within their respective communities.
2. Pursuant to proclamation No 8/1992, the transitional government accepted and deployed the EPRDF army to serve as the Ethiopian Defense Force, and set up a system of policing for the transitional period. The proclamation provided the legal framework for the establishment of the police forces for the purpose of maintaining peace and order in each of the national regional self-governments. It made the police forces accountable to their respective national/regional self-government.
3. With regard to ex-soldiers, security officers, and other operatives of the military regime, the proclamation provided for the disarmament and encampment of the members of the former military regimes political party (known as ‘Workers Party of Ethiopia’), military, security and other operatives.
4. With regard to the ‘armies of other organizations’, the proclamation required the encampment of each of the armies of these organizations in designated areas, and provided that the central transitional government would cover their expenditures  for education, training and other necessary logistical expenses.
5. Government adopted a stabilization and structural adjustment program, and investment proclamation No 15/1992, which aimed to eliminate restrictions on investment and bureaucratic bottlenecks.^[11]

In order to address the scarcity of skilled personnel in all regional states, and to build the capacity of both the federal and regional governments, the Ethiopian Civil Service College (ECSC) was established as an autonomous higher education institution in 1995.

THE FOUR MAIN PRINCIPLES OF FEDERALISM AND DEVOLUTION IN ETHIOPIA

Principle 1: Right to self determination

• The Nations, Nationalities and peoples (henceforth referred to as NNP) have the unconditional right to self-determination.
• This is found in the Preamble of the constitution which states that; Strongly committed, in full and free exercise of our right to self-determination, to building a political community founded on the rule of law and capable of ensuring a lasting peace, guaranteeing a democratic order, and advancing our economic and social development;
• Article 39(1) of the Ethiopian constitution states that: Every nation, nationality or people in Ethiopia shall have the unrestricted right to self-determination up to secession.
• The constitution promotes the principle of self-determination among NNP that would allow them to exercise their rights on local, regional and federal level without any ambiguity.

Principle 2; Sovereignty of the NNP

• Strongly committed, in full and free exercise of our right to self-determination, to building a political community founded on the rule of law and capable of ensuring a lasting peace, guaranteeing a democratic order, and advancing our economic and social development;
• Article 8 of the Ethiopian constitution states that ;( 1.) Sovereignty resides in the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia. (2.) This Constitution is an expression of their sovereignty. (3.) Sovereignty shall be expressed through the peoples' representatives, elected by them in accordance with this Constitution, and through their direct democratic participation.
• Lastly, article 39(3.) Every nation, nationality or people in Ethiopia shall have the unrestricted right to administer itself; and this shall include the right to establish government institutions within the territory it inhabits and the right to fair representation in the federal and state governments.

           Principle 3; Equality

• Equality of all persons before the law; article 25. All persons shall be equal before the law and shall be entitled to equal protection of the law without any discrimination whatsoever. All persons shall be entitled to equal and adequate guarantees without distinction of any kind such as race, nation, nationality, colour, sex, language, religion, political or social origin, property, birth or other status.
• Discrimination prohibited; (Preamble) Firmly convinced that the fulfillment of this objective requires full respect of individual and people’s fundamental freedoms and rights, to live together on the basis of equality and without any sexual, religious or cultural discrimination;
• Special notion to equal rights of women; article 7. Provisions of this Constitution set out in the masculine gender shall also apply to the feminine gender. (article 35(1) ) Women shall have equal rights with men in the enjoyment of the rights and protections guaranteed by this Constitution to all Ethiopians.
• Equal rights to services; article 41(3.) Every Ethiopian citizen shall have the right to equal access to social services run with state funds.
• Equal statues of religions; (2) The national emblem on the flag shall reflect the hope of the Nations, Nationalities, Peoples as well as religious communities of Ethiopia to live together in equality and unity

              Principle 4: Equity

·         refers to development –

·         special assistance to previously least advantaged NNP (such as the women (article 7) )

·         every individual having the right to the same services

These four principles are determining factors for Ethiopian federalism and decentralization to district level

The Ethiopian polity consists of nine regional states which;

1.      Follow ethnic settlement patterns

2.      Are not completely correspondent regarding their ethnicity

3.      Under the Ethiopian constitution have been assigned mandates under article 52

4.      Enjoy the freedom of self-governance

5.      Finance their mandates through levying taxes such as income taxes, land use fees and taxes of state-owned companies. (article 97)

The Constitution starts with the succinct words ‘We the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia’. The constitution grants every ethno-territorial community the unlimited right to self-determination[12]including and up to secession and this right cannot be limited even in national emergencies.

The constitution establishes a federal and democratic state structure composed of two distinct entities, the federal state and the regional (member) states[13].Each has its own legislative, executive and judicial structure with different functions and concurrent ones. Functions of the federal government include; administering national bank, Transport system and telecommunication services linking states, foreign policy, set standard and criteria for public services like health, utilization and conservation of land, protect and defend constitution etc.[14]

Functions of the state include state administration, enact state laws, administer land according to federal laws, establish state police force, execute social, economic and development policies, levy and collect taxes etc.[15]

Interdependent matters: 1^st the federal state formulates and implements the overall policies and strategies of development whereas the regional states deal with specific policies and strategies. 2^nd in matters of education, health, cultures and history the federal state sets the national standards and basic policy criteria while the regional states are the conduits for the protection and promotion of the languages, cultures and histories of their respective constituent ethnic communities. 3^rd while land laws are enacted by the federal state, the administration of land is left to the regional states.4^th the judicial authority of the federal high court and First-instance courts is delegated to the state supreme courts and high courts respectively.

As self-determining ethno-territorial polities, the component states are imminently entitled to use and promote their respective languages, cultures and histories[16].

Federal Parliament: It is composed of two assemblies that are different in functions except in matters that fall under their concurrent competence. These are the House of Federation and The House of Peoples Representatives.

House of Peoples Representatives: Constituted of representatives elected by the people for a term of five years, the maximum number of members is 550 of which at least 20 seats are reserved for minority nationalities and people[17]. It is the legislative organ of the federal state. It has powers to legislate in all matters assigned by the constitution to federal jurisdiction[18]; it legislates on labor law, criminal law and commercial law. It has the power to call and question the prime minister and other federal officials. It can also investigate the conduct of the executive. With the request of one-third of its members it can also discuss any matter pertaining to the powers of the executive and take measures it deems necessary[19]

House of Federation: Each nation, nationality and people is represented by at least one member, and by one additional member for each one million of its population[20].  The members of the house of Federation are elected for a term of five years by the State Councils, and have the choice of electing their representatives themselves or organizing elections in their respective state territories to have the representatives directly elected by people. Competencies of this House are related with the need to preserve the constitutional compact between the regional states of Ethiopia. It was created to maintain and develop their consensual relationships on the basis of equality and respect for their respective diversity while realizing their commitment to uphold the Constitution[21]. It interprets the Constitution, has authority to solve Constitutional disputes[22] while being assisted by the Council of Constitutional Inquiry[23], which also investigate Constitutional dispute but can only make recommendations to the House. It is the ultimate guardian of the Constitutional compact of the peoples of Ethiopia; it also proportionately divides the revenue between federal and regional governments. 

Federal Executive: The political party or coalition of political parties that has the greatest number of seats in the House of Peoples Representatives assumes the power of the federal state[24]; the executive is made up of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. They exercise the highest executive powers of the Federal state.[25]While the prime minister is elected from among members of the House of Peoples Representatives, the members of the Council of Ministers are selected by the prime minister and appointed by the House of Peoples Representatives. Both are responsible to the House of Peoples Representatives[26].The council of ministers is also responsible to the Prime Minister[27]. Real executive power lies with the Prime minister the president is just a ceremonial president.

JUDICIAL BRANCH

Federal Courts

The 1995 Constitution declares the independence of the judicial branch and articulates the structure and powers of the courts.

The federal courts were established by Proclamation 25/1996, and consist of the Federal Supreme Court, the Federal High Courts, and the Federal First Instance Courts. These courts have original and appellate jurisdiction over cases arising under federal law, and in other specified instances.

Most are located in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa

The Federal Supreme Court includes a cassation bench with the power to review and overturn decisions issued by lower federal courts and State Supreme Courts containing fundamental errors of law.

Each court has a civil, criminal, and labor division with a presiding judge and two other judges in each division.

Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases arising under the Constitution, federal laws, international treaties, and particular parties and places identified in federal law. Federal jurisdiction also includes major criminal matters and specific types of civil disputes. Federal courts apply federal laws, international treaties, and relevant state laws unless they are in conflict with federal or international laws. Issues of constitutional interpretation cannot be decided by the courts, and must be referred to the Council of Constitutional Inquiry.

STATE COURTS

The Constitution directs the creation of three levels of state courts: the State Supreme Court (which also incorporates a cassation bench to review fundamental errors of state law), High Courts (or the Zonal Courts), and First Instance Courts (or the Woreda Courts)^[28]

State Supreme Courts sit in the capital cities and have final judicial authority over matters of state law and jurisdiction; they can also exercise the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court if none exists in that state^[29].

Under the Derg regime, the Ethiopian judicial system was unitary and the country was divided into 14 areas in which the High Courts would sit. Decentralization has created many more districts (woredas), as well as the many levels of state and lower courts.

Although not referenced in the Constitution, some states have established Social Courts (aka Kebele Courts)^[30] that handle small claims and minor disputes. These Social Courts are created and recognized under state law, are parts of the official judicial system, and operate at the kebele level. Some situations state law stipulates that cases must be brought first to the Social Courts, although appeals can be made to the First Instance (Woreda) Courts. Non-professional judges who are either elected or nominated within the local community generally staff kebele courts. Social Courts are the source of legal redress for the vast majority of Ethiopian issues.

MUNICIPAL CITY COURTS

The Addis Ababa City Charter creates two levels of City Courts exercising municipal jurisdiction First Instance and Appellate Courts^[31].

There is no Supreme Court in the municipal system, although a cassation bench is included within the Appellate Court. Cassation review of Appellate Court decisions can be brought before the Federal Supreme Court, which also decides jurisdictional conflicts between the city and federal courts.

The Addis Ababa City Charter allows the operation of Kebele Social Courts (more than 200 kebeles exist in Addis Ababa) to hear petty criminal offenses and civil disputes up to 5,000 birr (approximately USD$580)

The City Charter also confers judicial powers on the following entities: the Labor Relations Board, the Civil Service Tribunal, the Tax Appeals Commission, and the Urban Land Clearance Matters Appeals Commission.

Dire Dawa does not yet have a formal municipal court system independent of the federal courts. Social Courts operate at the kebele level, but their legal authority is unclear and no appellate courts currently exist.

OTHER COURTS

The Constitution of Ethiopia permits the adjudication of disputes relating to personal and family matters in accordance with religious or customary laws, but only with the consent of all parties^[32].

Sharia Courts, applying Islamic laws, are the only religious courts that have been officially established in states, districts, and municipal districts. Sharia Courts apply only Islamic laws and have their own appellate system. They are, however, required to follow the procedural rules of ordinary courts and receive their budgets from the Federal Judicial Administration Commission. Parties must voluntarily submit to the jurisdiction of these courts, or the dispute should be redirected to ordinary justice.

Customary/Traditional Courts are not yet widely established by law, despite their constitutional recognition. Unlike social courts, customary courts are only recognized, not created, by law. The authority of these courts stems from tradition and local customs. These courts have evolved from traditional arbitration committees or elder councils, which do not have legal authority, but carry moral force and still operate widely as primary decision-makers in rural areas throughout Ethiopia. It appears that people often submit disputes to these courts when they do not have adequate evidence to support a case before an official court.

KEY MEASURES TAKEN TO ENTRENCH THE PROCESS OF DEVOLUTION

The process of devolution of power in Ethiopia has been supported and facilitated by a number of crucial national and regional economic and development strategies, policies and programs. These include the Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI) Strategy, the Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program (SDRP), the Capacity Building Strategy, the Woreda (district) Level Decentralization Program[33] and the Civil Service Reform Programme (C.S.R.P).

·         Agricultural Development Led Industrialization

It has been in place since 1995, it’s a long time development program aimed at empowerment and to eradicate poverty. More than 85% of Ethiopia survives on subsistence production thus this program allocates a crucial role to agriculture in economic development.

This program’s distinct features include: distinctive features include: commercialization of smallholder agriculture through product diversification; a shift to higher-value crops; promotion of niche high-value export crops; support for the development of large-scale commercial agriculture; effective integration of farmers into domestic and external markets; and tailoring interventions to address the specific needs of the country’s varied agro-ecological zones[34].  

·         Sustainable Development and Poverty Reduction Program[35]

 The objectives of this policy focus on sustainable growth and poverty reduction while maintaining a macro-economic stability within a decentralized democratic setting, its key areas include; Agriculture, empowering the private sector, rapid export growth through production of high value agricultural products, major investment in education and deepening as well as strengthening the decentralization process to shift decision-making closer to the grass-roots.

As a result of this there has been significant progress in the public sector, for example primary school enrolment has risen to over 91 per cent, infant mortality has fallen from 123 per cent in 1990 to 77 per cent by the end of 2005, and access to clean water had more than doubled from 19 per cent to 52.4 per cent by the end of 2006/07[36].

·         National Capacity Building Strategy

Its main aim is to bring about sustainable development while strengthening democracy, it establishes the ministry of capacity[37] whose main aims are; studying and identifying capacity building gaps, following up on the design and implementation of programs, launching systems for monitoring the reform programs, creating programs for capacity building and ensuring their proper  implementation etc. Ethiopia’s capacity building strategy aims at creating a systematic combination of human resources, working systems and institutions that should enable the country to achieve its development objectives.

·         Woreda (district) Level Decentralization Program

This is a sub program of Ethiopia’s capacity building strategy. It aims to deepen the process of devolution by empowering the lower tiers of the regional governments, the woreda administrative units. The implementation of the program required that regional constitutions be amended – constitutions that provided the legal framework for not only the devolution of decision-making powers and functions but also for the transfer of financial and human resources from regional states and zonal administrative units to the woredas.

The first phase of the implementation of the program was limited to four regional states: Amhara state, Oromia state, Southern Nations/Nationalities and Peoples’ Region (SNNPR), and Tigray. The two main instruments deployed to implement the program were the introduction of the Block Grant system and the reassignment of public employees to woredas. Block grants are transfers from regional states to woreda administrative units according to predetermined formulae and with minimal conditionality. The providing of the block grants has allowed the woreda governments to implement their administrative and development plans without undue interference from the higher-level administrative tier of the regional governments. Redeployment of public employees from regions and zones to woredas has also contributed to creating an enabling environment for effective, equitable and efficient service delivery.[38]

·         Civil Service Reform Program

In 1994, the Prime minister established a task force that undertook an in-depth evaluation of the management and administrative practices of the civil service; it was done both at the regional and central governments. This revealed serious management problems in finance, human resources and public service delivery.

 The CSRP aims at building a fair, transparent, efficient, effective, and ethical civil service. It seeks to realize these objectives by creating enabling legislation, developing operating systems and training staff in the following five areas: 1) expenditure control and management with a focus on accounting, auditing, budgeting, procurement and cash management.

2) Human resource management (HRM) with a focus on information systems, HRM professionals development, job classification and grading, HR planning, recruitment, selection and transfer.

3) Executive management systems with a focus on building the capacity of staff of federal and regional governments to undertake planning, management and performance evaluation, strengthening of delegation and accountability of line ministries.

4) Service delivery and quality service with a focus on the development of best practices and the establishment of complaint and redress mechanisms.

5) Ethics, with a focus on developing a code of conduct, strengthening capacity of mass media, and ethics education.

First phase took place in 1996 to 2000 whereby the fruits were the promulgation of a new civil service law, a code of ethics, a financial management proclamation, complaints handling procedures and a service delivery policy.

Second Phase was from 2000-2010 with the launch of the comprehensive National Capacity Building Program (NCBP) by the federal government. Significant progress has been made in areas of service delivery, budget and accounting systems, tax systems, human resources and executive management systems.
However these phases haven’t addressed the problem of capacity building.

THE IMPLICATIONS OF FEDERALISM ON SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS IN ETHIOPIA

                                  SUCCESSES OF FEDERALISM

1. Development in the Education sector

• The Derg regime was the first to attempt broadening education. This resulting in a 100% increase of children attending primary school between 1974 and 1986. This however had its disadvantages which forced the children to walk for long distances in order to attend school. This was because education was available in an assemblage of significant sizes.
• By 2011, 96.4% of the younger children were enrolled in primary education. This was because primary schools were available in every kebele. In 1995 only 41.8% enrolled in primary school
• Article 41 requires the provision of equal access to social services and obliges the government to allocate ever increasing resources to provide health, education and other social services.
• The government has set up the Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) in order to improve access and quality. The plan is currently in its fourth phase now.
• The plan;

1.)    Guides the implementation of the mandate to set out standards and to establish policy criteria

2.)    Sets criteria regarding all levels of education from kindergarten to university education

3.)    Aligns the programme phases (phase 1-4) with the government’s general development plans

4.)    Addresses challenges that occurred during the previous programmes.

• During the years 2000-2005 is when there was the highest increment in growth of enrolments. In between these years is when decentralization took place.
• The number of primary schools has tripled within 15 years from almost 9 670 to 28, 349 schools in 2010, of which almost 10,000 were built between 2005 and 2010.
• The use of the mother tongue as the medium of instruction in primary education. Every child has the constitutional right to mother tongue education.
• Decentralization benefited the disadvantaged districts, contributing to the increase in rural enrolment rates

2. Agriculture

Some of the proposed measures in the agricultural sector were taken into consideration during the transition to federalism. This was done under a program called the Extension package program. A few of these measures included;

·         Expansion of the borrowers’ coverage of micro financing institutions

·         Establishment of an institute for diploma- level training of extension agents and expand agricultural education training.

·         Measures for the improved functioning of markets for agricultural inputs and outputs.

·         Agricultural research, water harvesting and small – scale irrigation

  There were only 32,000 farmers when the package was introduced in 1994 – 1999. By 2000 – 2001, the number rose to 4 million farmers, and is expected to increase to 6 million by the end of the program.

 Agriculture accounted for 46.3% of GDP, 83.9% of exports, and 80% of the labor force in 2006/2007, compared to 44.9%, 76.9% and 80% in 2002/2003. Agriculture remains the Ethiopian economy's most important sector.

3. Health services

    Health Extension Package is a new initiative which is an innovative community-based health care delivery system. Its main objective is to;

·         Improve access and equity through kebele based health services

·         Focus on sustained preventive health actions and increased awareness on issues dealing with heath

·         Focus on women/mothers health at kebele level

Implementation began in 2002-2003 using the existing primary workers. As years went by, new units of health workers were trained. 75% of the trained workers consisted of females, who are deployed utmost two in each kebele and are accountable to health centers in their areas.  This resulted to an increase of life expectancy to 54 years for male and 55.4 years for females. There was a decrease in under-five mortality rate to 101/1000 by the year 2010. Women’s health was also impacted as MMR (Measles Mumps and Rubella) has declined to 590/100,000.

 In terms of physical health facilities, the improvements have been the construction of additional 3,135 New Health Posts reaching 2899 in 2003. The number of hospitals increased from 87 in 1996 to 126 in 2003. There have also been significant increases in the availability of health workers of all professional categories among which the increase in number of nurses and heath officers have been most remarkable.

Devolution led to an increase to access of health services. Health service coverage increased from 52% in 2001 to 65% in 2005 which marked the end of the Program period.

To deal with HIV/AIDS, the federal government approved a comprehensive HIV/AIDS policy in 1998 with the overall objectives of guiding the implementation of successful programs to prevent the spread of the disease, decreasing the vulnerability of individuals and communities, caring for those living with the disease, and reducing the adverse socio-economic consequences of the epidemic. So far they achieved to;

• Reduce the level of transmission of the disease
• Strengthen the secretariat offices at the regional, zonal and woreda levels to be able to provide appropriate treatment for STDs and extend support to people living with HIV/AIDS
• Define work programs to facilitate the functioning of woreda councils
• Increase the number of clinics providing voluntary counseling and testing
• Reduce the level of HIV transmission by 25% 

4. Roads

The federal government set up the Road Sector Development Program which aimed at upgrading and rehabilitating the existing road network. As a result of this program, as of 2002 Ethiopia has a total of 33,297 km of road, both paved and gravel. This is at both federal and regional levels. The share of federally managed roads in good quality improved from 14% in 1995 to 31% in 2002 and to 89% in 2009. The road density increased from 21km per 1000km2 in 1995 to 889km in 2009. The Ethiopian Roads Authority and China Communications Construction Consultancy are presently building a new six-lane expressway between Addis Ababa and Adama (Nazaret). The expressway will be 80 km long and will shorten the Addis to Adama distance by 20 km. To build this expressway will cost Ethiopia US$350 million. The expressway will be completed in 2014. According to the Government of Ethiopia, it has spent over 600 billion birr (USD $50 billion, €30 billion) in infrastructure since 1990.

5. Water and Sanitation

The National Water Resources Management Policy of Ethiopia set its objectives to enhance and promote efforts towards an efficient, equitable and optimum utilization of the available water resources and contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development.

During 2002 – 2005 water supply coverage of urban, rural and country level reached 82.5%, 31.4% and 39.4% respectively. With respect to urban sewerage, coverage increased annually by 3.5% from 7%. Access to clean water doubled from 19% to 52.4% by the year 2007.

                          THE FAILURES OF FEDERALISM

1.)    Unsupported Liberal democracy

Federalism in Ethiopia failed not only because of the reluctance of the Ethiopian elites to adopt its principles, but also because it did not gain critical popular support. This is intimately linked to the lack of a democratic political culture in Ethiopia. Most analysis claims that the failure of federalism in such context was to be expected unless the center democratized. However the government indicated no such intention. Thus, the legal and administrative systems provided little (if any) means to redress the grievances of disenfranchised groups. The heavy handed state rule hindered the socialization of federalist principles among the population.

2.)    Lack of Capacity

Since the commencement of devolution, one of the most difficult challenges faced has been that of capacity. Both federal and regional governments suffer from serious lack of education and skilled personnel, lack of financial and material resources and inadequate technological facilities. Regional governments have limited taxing power from which to finance their constitutionally allocated functions and services, and hence, they are still heavily dependent on federal transfers. Regional and woreda administrative institutions and organizations have been created with new and expanded mandates, while provision of sufficient numbers of staff has been inadequate. Transfers of available staff from federal to regional and later to woreda level have weakened already strained institutions and particularly affected primary service delivery in health and education. There is a huge need for capacity building to retain skilled staff in more remote locations.

3.)    Poor Federal Institutional Setting

Ethiopia suffered a weak and flawed institutional design. This weakness consists in a number of constitutional deficiencies and in the inadequate accommodation of cultural and regional identities. One of the constitutional deficiencies would include the consolidation of an irregular arrangement which privileged the federal government with excessive power. The federal government under the constitution is granted with excess power in that what they delegate to the regional government is not as major. This leads to slow development, time wastage and lack of development in some regional areas. There was no point of devolution if the federal state still attained excess power and the final say.

4.)    Lack of Identity Accommodation

The Ethiopian government was reluctant to create and institutional framework that would accommodate regional and cultural identities. Ethiopia never implemented any meaningful program of decentralization. The institutional mechanisms through which regional claims could reach the central government were notably weak and, in general, were treated as administrative units to be controlled with minimal concessions.

The state was dominated by Amhara ethnic group, whereas most other groups especially those in southern Ethiopia were relegated to a subordinate status both in political and economic terms. Although the Amhara culture was open to anyone speaking Amharic and professing Orthodoxy, the predominantly Amhara state- elites actively implemented policies of Amharization, especially through education. Amharic became the official language in Ethiopia whereas all other languages were banned from the public sphere. This was justified through ‘the need to establish a national identity’. Thus, the central government began imposing an overarching ‘state’ identity over the numerous ethno cultural groups. This of course led to a lot of conflict and rivalry among the cultural groups with some feeling too superior and the rest left disregarded.

                     Future Prospects for Devolution in Ethiopia

In order for federalism to positively benefit Ethiopia and every part of it is if the following prospects were to be implemented;

·         Dominant ethnic parties within EPRDF openly tolerate competing political parties in their regional areas. In previous events, dominant parties would not agree to have other political parties compete against them. Although elections would be held, the dominant parties would always win through means of violence and intimidation. Opposition was not tolerated.

·         EPRDF to agree to other ethnic or multiethnic parties to join membership in its coalition. Other multiethnic parties including the Afar, Somali and the Harari, Benishangul- Gumuz should be allowed to become members of the EPRDF and this should be done based on an equitable footing or proportional basis.

·         Minimizing dependency on foreign aid. Ethiopia must improve its position in international trade and gain from trading by ensuring rapid and sustainable economic growth and constantly improving the level of its technology and capital accumulation. This helps mitigate dependency on foreign aid in the long term.

·         Concentration on the four building blocks. Viewed in conjunction with the political process, the economic strategy will be effective in terms of development and poverty reduction. Given poverty reduction will continue to be the core of the agenda of the country’s development, the strategy is built on four pillars, i.e., Agricultural development led industrialization, justice system and civil service reform, decentralization and empowerment and lastly capacity building in public and private sectors. This approach is believed to be effective in a fight against poverty and to ensure sustainable development.

·         EPRDF to transform to one national party of citizens. EPRDF is currently a coalition of ethnic parties which causes a great advantage to the dominating ethnic parties and a disadvantage to the minority parties

The success of this experiment of ethnic federalism is contingent on the ruling party’s willingness and capacity to disengage itself from democratic centralism, and instead extend and deepen the democratization process.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Charters/Conventions/Treaties

1.      Transitional Period Charter of Ethiopia 1991

2.      Constitution of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia

National laws

3.      Proclamations

Journals/Articles

4.      Eshetu Chole and Mekonen Manyasewal, the macroeconomic performance of the Ethiopian economy 1974-1990

5.      Theodore M. Vestal, Ethiopia: A Post-Cold War African State (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999), an ethicized attempt at democratization.

6.      H. Tewfik, Transition to Federalism: The Ethiopian Experience 2007.

7.      Ethiopia: Progress Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Successes, Challenges and Prospects, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, September 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,

8.      M. Garcia, Achieving Better Service Delivery Through Decentralization in Ethiopia, World Bank Working pp. 4,pg 37. (2008) A.H.R.D.D Press.

9.      Selassie, Alemante G., "Ethnic Federalism: Its Promise and Pitfalls for Africa" (2003). Faculty Publications. Paper 88. http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/facpubs/88

10.  Zahorik, Jan. 2011. Ethnicity and Nationalism in Ethiopia: Some Recent Reflections. The Annual of Language & Politics and Politics of Identity, Vol. V. p. 91- 108.

11.  M. Taddaru. Devolution of Power in Ethiopia: The Legal and Political Aspects, 2008,Oxford Press

Reports

1.      FDRE Central Statistical Authority, the 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results at Country Level Volume II Analytical Report. (Addis Ababa: CSA, June 1999).

2.      Minutes of the Constitutional Assembly, (Amharic Version), Hidar 21, 1987 E.C.

Internet Websites

1.        http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un-dpadm/unpan040825.pdf Accessed on 11/9/2014

2.       http://webapps01.un.org/nvp/indpolicy.action?id=124 Accessed on 11/9/2014

---

[1] U.S, Canada, Nigeria have a similarly high number of ethnic groups

[2]  FDRE Central Statistical Authority, the 1994 Population and Housing Census of Ethiopia: Results at Country Level Volume II Analytical Report. (Addis Ababa: CSA, June 1999), 41-43.

[3] Those who follow indigenous religions: Falasha and Bete Israel

[4] Theodore M. Vestal, Ethiopia: A Post-Cold War African State (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999), an ethicized attempt at democratization.

[5] The Transitional Period Charter of Ethiopia, Charter no.1 of 1991. Negarit Gazetta, 50th Year, preamble, para.2.5. ibid article 6.

[6] The proclamation recognizes 65 ethno linguistic communities

[7] Ibid article 3 (2) (b)

[8] Ibid article 9 (1)

[9] See article 2 (a) & (b) and article 13 of the Ethiopian Transitional Period charter and article 8 of the proclamation No 7/1991

[10] Eshetu Chole and Mekonen Manyasewal, the macroeconomic performance of the Ethiopian economy 1974-1990

[11] Policy framework paper 1992/1993-1994-1995 October 6, 1992

[12] Art 32. The Federal Constitution of Ethiopia 1995.

[13] The Federal Constitution of Ethiopia: article 1 and article 50(1). The nine member states are Tigray, Amhara, Somali, Oromia, southern Ethiopian peoples, Gambela, Benishangul/Gumuz, Afar and Harar.

[14] Article 51 Ibid

[15] Article 52 Ibid

[16] Art 5(3),39(2)

[17] Art 54(3)

[18] Art 55(1)

[19] Art 55(17)

[20] Art 61(2)

[21] Minutes of the Constitutional Assembly, (Amharic Version), Hidar 21, 1987 E.C, Nos. 26-29.

[22] Art 83(1)

[23] Composed of the Chief Justice and the Vice Chief Justice of the Federal Supreme Court, and six legal experts who are nominated by the House of Peoples Representatives and appointed by the President

[24] Art73(2) sup(n 14)

[25] Art 72(1) Ibid

[26] Art 72(29) Ibid

[27] Art 76(2) Ibid

[28] Art 78 Ibid

[29] Art 80 Ibid

[30] States that have established Social Courts include Amhara, Tigray, Oromia, and SNNPR.

[31] Proclamation 311/2003.

[32] Art 34 sup(n 31)

[33] H. Tewfik, Transition to Federalism: The Ethiopian Experience,

[34] http://webapps01.un.org/nvp/indpolicy.action?id=124 Accessed on 11/9/2014

[35] The SDPRP was in effect from 2002/2003 to 2004/2005, its successor plan, and known as Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP) has covered the period from 2005/06 to 2009/10.

[36] Ethiopia: Progress Towards Achieving the Millennium Development Goals: Successes, Challenges and Prospects, Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, September 2008, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, p. 4

[37] http://unpan1.un.org/intradoc/groups/public/documents/un-dpadm/unpan040825.pdf Accessed on 11/9/2014

[38] M. Garcia, Achieving Better Service Delivery Through Decentralization in Ethiopia, World Bank Working pp. 4,pg 37. (2008) A.H.R.D.D Press.