The Implementation of Recruitment and Selection in Civil Service Institutions of Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Abstract

Ethiopia is known as a country with thousands of years of government structure. In contrast, the modern civil service structure is only about one hundred years old.It was established in 1907 during the reign of Emperor Menelik. However, for almost fifty-five years, there was no legal system that uniformly governed the newly established civil service institutions. In 1962, the first civil service law was enacted with the aim of establishing meritocratic, efficient and effective civil service structure governed by specified rules and procedures. Despite the initiative to improve the civil service and the new laws, the civil service failed to achieve its objectives. After 1991, the current government took initiative to reform the civil service procedures including the human resource management system. The issue of recruitment and selection was one of the components of HRM reform that aimed to achieve a merit-based system. Studies revealed, however, that the implementation process was not going well. This article assesses the implementation of the recruitment and selection process in civil service institutions of Oromia National Regional State. Accordingly, the findings reveal that though the government showed commitment in developing a system that properly guides the process of recruitment and selection, the implementation process is not on track to achieve the desired merit-based system in the civil service sector of the region.