The Implementation of Civil Service Reforms in Ethiopia: The Woreda-Net as a Sole Promoter to Implement Civil Service Reform of Tigray National Regional State

Abstract

The initiative to reform the Ethiopian civil service accounts more than a century old which dates back to the Menelik II Era 1907. However, it was consolidated after the end of the Socialist Era since the early 1990s. The current Ethiopian government has conducted a continuous reform to restructure the civil service system objectively to introduce the multi-party democracy and market-driven economy. In contemporary CSR, like the other African governments, the Ethiopian government is trying to link the dynamics of ICT as a sole promoter to implement the CSRs and to provide quality service. However, it is evidenced that the implementation of CSR in Ethiopia in general and that of Tigray’s in particular has poorly supported by ICT. Therefore, the objective of this article was to ascertain the implementation of CSR in Tigray national regional state with particular reference to the Woreda-Net as a sole promoter to implement CSR. To ascertain how the Woreda-Net was used as a sole promoter to implement the CSR and the provision of quality service in Tigray, pertinent data was gathered both from primary and secondary sources. Finally, the problems that inhibit the Woreda-Net to function as a sole promoter of CSR implementation were recognized and the discussion was concluded with, though, the regional government tried to narrow the gap between the urban and the remote rural areas by using ICT expansion, the ICT centers /Woreda-Nets were not centers of civil servants training to scale-up the civil servants skill to utilize computer technology which helps them to implement the CSR.