Strengthening Good Governance in Urban Land Management in Ethiopia: A Case-study of Hawassa

Abstract

Efficient and effective land management is essential for urban development and growth. This requires the land delivery process to be participatory, equitable, and transparent. In land management, globally, these constituents of good governance have gained significant attention in recent times. However, in Ethiopia urban land delivery practices and processes have been prone to corruption due to the absence of good governance. As far back as 1997, the UNDP pronounced a classic view of good governance as that process which is participatory, transparent, accountable, effective, and equitable and, above all, promotes the rule of law. Good governance ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the poorest and the most vulnerable are heard in decision-making over the allocation of development resources. The methodology of this paper rests, basically, on findings from an ongoing doctoral study on land management practices in Hawassa city. Additional data was also obtained from literature, policy documents, and special regional government evaluation report. The study’s result from the Mann Whitney U Test revealed that respondents from both formal and informal settlement areas have the same view regarding most tenets of good governance in land management in Hawassa. Again, the study’s chi-square test proved that there is a strong evidence of relation between governance principles and land delivery processes. The paper suggests strengthening good governance in land management to facilitate efficient and responsive urban land delivery system.

Keywords: Good Governance, Land Management, Land Delivery, Formal and Informal Settlements.