Perceptions on Impacts of Decentralization on Local Governance in Ethiopia: Insights from DLDP Implementation in Guraghe Zone and its Districts

Abstract

The rationale for the District level decentralization in Ethiopia has been reducing central and regional government control, increasing community and civil society participation, making government bodies more accountable, responsive and transparent to the constituents at the ground. This article explores and discusses how district level decentralization affected its potential for effective local public governance in Guraghe Zone and its Districts from local government bodies’ view.  The study employed concurrent mixed methodes research design. The,data were collected through survey questionnaires,focus group discussions, and key informant interviews, simultaneosly. The Guraghe zone’s districts were taken purposively. The data were integrated with analysis and interpretation of the results. The researcher employs cross tabulations, percentages, and graphs to discuss and analyze the data. The results show that that the decentralization affects accountability, responsiveness and transparency of local governments to the public positively and negatively in the study area. While, the finding also revealed that effectiveness decentralization reform on local governance effectiveness has been constrained due to misuses of transferred public resources.  Furthermore, the prevailing ethnic based political patrons and kinship networks are installing and implementing government policies and projects for their own interest than the ordinary citizen. The findings also revealed that local administrators are appointed and removed from their position without constituents’ knowledge. Even though both FDRE Constitution and SNNPRS Constitution clearly publicized how lower level government units are accountable to the higher government tiers, both fail state on  how upper level tiers of government units are being accountable to the lower level government units. This might affect the down ward accountability of governance actors to their constituents. Obviously, this determines effectiveness of local governance.

Keywords:  decentralization, local public governance, accountability, responsiveness, transparency