DECENTRALIZATION IN ETHIOPIA The Case of Dendi District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia Concept And Process MULUGETA DEBEBE GEMECHU GERMANY June 2012 DECENTRALIZATION IN ETHIOPIA: Concept and Process The Case of Dendi District, West Shoa Zone of Oromia State Dissertation Submitted to the Technische Universität Dortmund, Faculty of Spatial Planning, For the Award of Dr. rer. pol. Degree ‪ Mulugeta Debebe Gemechu June 2012 Dortmund GERMANY Page | ii Dissertation Committee Professor Dr. rer. pol. Einhard Schmidt-Kallert, Head of the Department of “Raumplanung in Entwicklungsländern” (Spatial Planning in Developing Countries) of the Faculty of Spatial Planning and Head of the SPRING Program, Technische Universität Dortmund Professor Dr. rer. soc. Christoph Schuck, Geschäftsführender Direktor, Institut für Philosophie und Politikwissenschaft, Technische Universität Dortmund Dr. rer. pol. Karin Gaesing Dissertation Submitted to the Technische Universität Dortmund, Faculty of Spatial Planning, For the Award of Dr. rer. pol. Degree Date of Oral Examination, Disputation (Verteidigung): 20 June 2012 Front cover photo: Dendi Lake by Charles A. Wood All works taken from other authors are being duly acknowledged; those without captions or citation are my own construct (n.o.s.). Page | iii Abstract Ethiopia officially launched the District Level Decentralization Program (DLDP) by the year 2002. The program flagged core objectives such as institutionalizing viable development centers at local levels, deepening devolution of power, enhancing the democratization process through broad-based participatory strategy, promoting good governance and improving service delivery. Since the inception of this program two strategic planning terms (one strategic term is five years) have already elapsed and the third is in a process. However, various program implementation reports and results on the ground narrowly justified the success of this program. Perception, conscious and voluntary participation of all the various stakeholders in general and communities at grassroots level in particular were not as apparent as initially desired. Thus, a cross-sectional, embedded single case study, which is essentially qualitative, was conducted in Dendi district of Oromia State to find out how this program proceeds, focusing on: institutional strengths, transfer of authority and resource, implementation, perception and participation of the stakeholders and actual benefits gained at grassroots level. Data were collected through interviews, observation and focus group discussions. Conceptual analyses and explanations were presented to show how the program progressed and stumbling blocks encountered. While the theory of democratic decentralization was taken as a domain theory, theories such as neopatrimonialism, congruence, equilibrium view of institutions, sequential theory of decentralization and other theories relating to people’s participation were selectively reviewed in the literature and pervasively taken on when successive analyses, explanations and reflections were made. The findings indicate a need for more focused and planned approaches for the success of the program. Institutionalizing the district and the lowest tiers has not yet been achieved. While no inconsistency was observed in models used to transfer resources and authority, shortages and lack of dynamic capability of local implementers to properly utilize the power and resources transferred were evident at all levels. Perception and participation of stakeholders is an area that needs a paradigm shift. Achievements on the ground have not yet justified the efforts made or the program goals. Besides generating valuable ideas for scientific discourse, critical reflections and a set of proposals and recommendations - as possible solutions for some of the problems observed - have been provided in this work. Introduction of appropriate planning, enhancing the capability of local bodies to match the ever changing local and global conditions, rethinking on certain policy and program changes and meaningful participation of stakeholders, efficient use of available resources, etc. were among issues identified for consideration. Page | iv Page | v “A good person’s reputation never fadeth, neither in life nor after death...”, Plato To A Late Famous Architect Günter Beermann Bad Salzuflen Lippe District North Rhine-Westphalia Germany Page | vi Page | vii Preface The commencement of this PhD project had a set of objectives. The first one was to unravel a mental line of enquiry on issues such as (a) why development programs often fail, despite everyone being positive and enthusiastic about growth and development, (b) why we couldn’t be able to break out of the poverty cycle, and (c) what the stumbling blocks are that slide us backward when we attempt to go forward. As it would be difficult to deal with these and other related questions at a time, I had to pick one single program which affects the lives of all the people who live in an urban and rural setting and make a thorough study. Decentralization, ‘alwaalta’iinsa’ in Afaan Oromoo, was one of the programs that had been deemed to realize the autonomy of states and boost development. Hence, being convinced that what makes a nation’s wealth is the sum-total of the wealth at local levels, I decided to delve into how the program evolves at the grassroots level and what it offers the people there. The second set of objectives was to acquire knowledge in scientific research and contribute to scientific discourse. Moreover, the intention in this case was to strike on some important issues for further studies and enquiries. Albeit sometimes interpreted negatively, Isaac Newton’s famous proverb that goes, "If I have seen further... it is by standing on the shoulders of giants", gives me a profound sense here. I have learned a lot from formal academic discourses (seminars, workshops, colloquiums and peer group reviews) and from the informal discussions I have had with revered scholars at the Technical University of Dortmund. Particularly, knowledge obtained from the Arusha (Tanzania) “Cooperative PhD Summer School on Urban and Regional Planning Research in Sub-Saharan Africa (March 8-20), which was organized by the Technical University of Dortmund, had a turning effect on the layout and content of this work. Besides what had been gained from the workshop and interaction with PhD candidates from different African counties, having eight senior professors in one place was a passé-partout to get solutions for various problems in scientific research. In addition to formal lessons, during my stay in Germany, from indispensible visits through Europe, I have had an opportunity to observe life styles, the infrastructure and service delivery systems in the developed world. I hope this will inspire me, enhance my scope of thoughts and therefore enables me to contribute better to the development of my country. Above all, getting away from the hustle and bustle at home, and having time and opportunity to concentrate on academic work was a great privilege for me. Given the excellent and one stop library, internet facility and other services at the Technical University of Dortmund, it was a great opportunity to read, to listen and view and to get to know what is going on in the developed part of the world. It has also given me some perspectives on how people understand my own country from outside. The main challenges I encountered in the course of the research work were: accommodation of unanticipated changes in the topic of the study and in the contents, without derailing from the central theme; the enforcement of data to detach from preconceived ideas; and maintaining flexibility in the analysis and conclusions (pre-research/post- research syndromes). I have learned that adapting to change and maintaining flexibility are very important in social science researches. The idea one considers strongly at the beginning becomes very loose when facts come and relevant literature is intensively reviewed. It is at this point in research that conflict between scientific/ academic discourse and personal preconception of ideas and facts is revealed. The predicament in putting together this work was the problem of heterogeneity of my expected audiences, which extends from the research district, Dendi, to the academia in the Technical University of Dortmund. Choosing the kind of expression and language level with which I could explain my findings were difficult tasks. However, efforts have been made to balance and address the interests of a wide range of readers. Mulugeta Debebe Gemechu May 2012, Dortmund, Germany Page | viii Acknowledgements A great many people have contributed to this PhD thesis directly or indirectly. My First Supervisor (Doktorvater) Professor Doctor Einhard Schmidt-Kallert, “Department of Spatial Planning in Developing Countries”, has given incomparable input to the realization of this work. His consistent support, guidance and critics encouraged me to bring this project to an end. Members of the Doctoral Committee of the Technical University of Dortmund, Professor Dr. Sabine Baumgart, “Department of Urban and Spatial Planning”, and Professor Dr. Hans Heinrich Blotevogel, “Department of “Spatial Planning at the Federal and Regional Level”, who assessed and approved my application and who examined me for the final admission (Doctoral Candidacy) deserve many thanks. I am also very proud to have a young professor as my examiner - Professor Doctor Christoph Schuck, Geschäftsführender