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Decentralized Urban Governance and Water Supply Service Delivery in Ethiopia: The Case of Adama City

Received: 8 May 2021     Accepted: 5 July 2021     Published: 13 July 2021
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Abstract

Through devolving political powers, financial resources and administrative responsibilities to urban local government level, municipal decentralization in Ethiopia is largely intended to improve public service delivery. In this perspective, the aim of this study is to analyze whether the decentralization process has empowered the urban local governments to meet the demands for potable water supply services. The study relies on a case study design with particular reference to the city of Adama. It uses an extensive data collection, including key informant interviews, administrative and fiscal data. The analysis makes effective use of all these materials to investigate the effect of decentralization policy on water supply service delivery and local governance processes in Adama. The study found out that decentralized urban governance has been ineffective in the delivery of water supply service in Adama. This is because; firstly, the city lacks legal and institutional security. This makes it politically dependent upon the upper level regional state government. Secondly, contrary to the logic of ‘Enterprise model’ of water supply, the hierarchical political culture and the upward accountability of the Enterprise’s Manager have reinforced the political control from above. Thirdly, the power to determine the structure, technical and financial sources of the city’s water-supply project has been granted to regional water Bureau, while Adama water supply enterprise is practically required to provide water supply service to the residents. Fourthly, the decentralized urban water-service delivery is incompatible with the rapid and mostly informal pace of urbanization of Adama; and the city’s horizontal physical expansion and demographic changes have already gone beyond the pressure zones for the water supply distribution system. Finally, the coordination and partnership among the multilevel water institutions -at federal, state and local governments- were mainly observed at times of water crises to moderate political and electoral contingencies. The implication is that for the urban local government to deliver effective water-supply service, this study contends, decentralization process needs to ensure adequate local capacity and effective coordination and partnership between the multilevel water institutions and stakeholders.

Published in American Journal of Management Science and Engineering (Volume 6, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajmse.20210603.12
Page(s) 63-76
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Decentralization, Urban Governance, Urbanization, Federalism, Municipality, Adama, Oromia, Ethiopia

References
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[23] Article 39 (3) and 88 (1) of the FDRE Constitution
[24] Article 50 (4) of the FDRE Constitution.
[25] Article 51 (2), FDRE Constitution (1995).
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[34] Di Nunzio, M., What is the Alternative? Youth, Entrepreneurship and the Developmental State in Urban Ethiopi, Development and Change 46 (5): 1179–1200, 2015.
[35] Dorosh, P. & Schmidt, E., ‘The rural-urban transformation in Ethiopia’, IFPRI Ethiopia Strategy Support program 2 Working Paper No. 13 and World Bank, Ethiopia Poverty Assessment, Chapter VII, Draft, 2010.
[36] Article 10 of Proclamation No 65/2003 for establishment of Urban Local Governments of Oromia, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine, 22nd June.
[37] Article 7 of Proclamation No. 116/2006 for amending the of Proclamation No. 65/2003 for establishment of Urban Local Governments of Oromia, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine, 12th July.
[38] Birhanu, M., ‘the City of Addis Ababa: Policy Options for Governance and Management of a city with Multiple Identity’, Forum for Social Studies Paper No-2 Addis Ababa, 1998.
[39] National Civic League, Model City Charter, 8th edition, Denver, 2003.
[40] Interview: ex-Municipal Manager, August 2017.
[41] Articles 51 (5) and 52 (2) (c) of the FDRE Constitution.
[42] Kabiso, K., Urban Water Supply in Hossana Town of Hadiya Zone, SNNPR. MA Thesis, Haramaya University, Ethiopia, 2015.
[43] Water Resources Management Policy (WRMP), 1999.
[44] Arsano, Y., Mekonnen, E., Gudisa, M. & Achiso, D., Governance and Drivers of Change in Ethiopia’s Water Supply Sectorstudy conducted by the Organisation for Social Science Research in Eastern and Southern Africa (OSSREA) in collaboration with the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) at pp. 12, 2010.
[45] Article 8 (1) of the Proclamation No 78/2004.
[46] Article 8 (3a-f) and 14 (2) of the Proclamation No 78/2004.
[47] Article 2 (2b) Proclamation No 97/2005 to amend Proclamation No 78/2004 to provide for the Establishment of Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Service Enterprise of ONRS, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine
[48] Interview: Senior Engineer, August, 2018, Adama
[49] Article 8 (3f) and Article 11 (1) of Proclamation No 78/2004.
[50] Article 11 (2 (c, g and i) of Proclamation No 78/2004 to provide for the Establishment of Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Service Enterprise of ONRS, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine.
[51] Mebratu, A, ‘Spontaneous Development of Urban Centers, An Analysis of the Transformation Process of Adama and its Primary Commercial Centers’, PhD Thesis in Architecture and Urban Planning, Addis Ababa University, 2006.
[52] Emana, G, ‘the History of Adama’, MA Thesis, Department of History, Addis Ababa University, 1996.
[53] Adama City Water Supply Service Enterprise Work Plan 2016.
[54] Baryou, A, ‘Analyses of Affordability and Determinants of Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Service in Urban Areas, Strategy for Cost Recovery: Case Study of Nazareth Town’, Msc Thesis, Economic, Addis Ababa University, 2002.
[55] Report: Optimization/Upgrading on Adama Water Supply System, 2012, Oromia.
[56] Interview: Head of the Technical Unit, December 2018
[57] Interview: Senior Hydraulic engineer, August, 2018.
[58] Interview: Head of the Technical Unit of ACWSSE, December, 2018.
[59] Article 20 (a) of Proclamation No 78/2004. to provide for the Establishment of Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Service Enterprise of ONRS, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine.
[60] Article 20 (2a-e) of Proclamation No 78/2004 to provide for the Establishment of Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Service Enterprise of ONRS, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine.
[61] Article 20 of Proclamation No. 78/2004 to provide for the Establishment of Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Service Enterprise of ONRS, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine.
[62] Informal Interview: Anonymous, Ganda Dhaka Adi,, April 2017.
[63] Report on Adama Water Supply System Optimization/Upgrading, 2012, Oromia.
[64] Interview: Senior Hydrologist, ACWSSE, April 2017.
[65] Interview: Head, Technical unit of ACWSSE, December 2018.
[66] Report: Adama Water Supply Optimization system, 2015.
[67] Article 23/2 of the Proclamation No 78/2004 to provide for the Establishment of Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Service Enterprise of ONRS, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine.
[68] Article 14 (2) of the Proclamation No 78/2004 to provide for the Establishment of Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Service Enterprise of ONRS, Megeleta Oromia, Finfine.
[69] ORTO: Mr. Assefa, Head of the BoWERD, December 2016.
[70] Interview: Senior Engineer, Adama City, August, 2018
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    Ketema Wakjira Debela. (2021). Decentralized Urban Governance and Water Supply Service Delivery in Ethiopia: The Case of Adama City. American Journal of Management Science and Engineering, 6(3), 63-76. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20210603.12

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    Ketema Wakjira Debela. Decentralized Urban Governance and Water Supply Service Delivery in Ethiopia: The Case of Adama City. Am. J. Manag. Sci. Eng. 2021, 6(3), 63-76. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20210603.12

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    Ketema Wakjira Debela. Decentralized Urban Governance and Water Supply Service Delivery in Ethiopia: The Case of Adama City. Am J Manag Sci Eng. 2021;6(3):63-76. doi: 10.11648/j.ajmse.20210603.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajmse.20210603.12,
      author = {Ketema Wakjira Debela},
      title = {Decentralized Urban Governance and Water Supply Service Delivery in Ethiopia: The Case of Adama City},
      journal = {American Journal of Management Science and Engineering},
      volume = {6},
      number = {3},
      pages = {63-76},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajmse.20210603.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajmse.20210603.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajmse.20210603.12},
      abstract = {Through devolving political powers, financial resources and administrative responsibilities to urban local government level, municipal decentralization in Ethiopia is largely intended to improve public service delivery. In this perspective, the aim of this study is to analyze whether the decentralization process has empowered the urban local governments to meet the demands for potable water supply services. The study relies on a case study design with particular reference to the city of Adama. It uses an extensive data collection, including key informant interviews, administrative and fiscal data. The analysis makes effective use of all these materials to investigate the effect of decentralization policy on water supply service delivery and local governance processes in Adama. The study found out that decentralized urban governance has been ineffective in the delivery of water supply service in Adama. This is because; firstly, the city lacks legal and institutional security. This makes it politically dependent upon the upper level regional state government. Secondly, contrary to the logic of ‘Enterprise model’ of water supply, the hierarchical political culture and the upward accountability of the Enterprise’s Manager have reinforced the political control from above. Thirdly, the power to determine the structure, technical and financial sources of the city’s water-supply project has been granted to regional water Bureau, while Adama water supply enterprise is practically required to provide water supply service to the residents. Fourthly, the decentralized urban water-service delivery is incompatible with the rapid and mostly informal pace of urbanization of Adama; and the city’s horizontal physical expansion and demographic changes have already gone beyond the pressure zones for the water supply distribution system. Finally, the coordination and partnership among the multilevel water institutions -at federal, state and local governments- were mainly observed at times of water crises to moderate political and electoral contingencies. The implication is that for the urban local government to deliver effective water-supply service, this study contends, decentralization process needs to ensure adequate local capacity and effective coordination and partnership between the multilevel water institutions and stakeholders.},
     year = {2021}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Decentralized Urban Governance and Water Supply Service Delivery in Ethiopia: The Case of Adama City
    AU  - Ketema Wakjira Debela
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    AB  - Through devolving political powers, financial resources and administrative responsibilities to urban local government level, municipal decentralization in Ethiopia is largely intended to improve public service delivery. In this perspective, the aim of this study is to analyze whether the decentralization process has empowered the urban local governments to meet the demands for potable water supply services. The study relies on a case study design with particular reference to the city of Adama. It uses an extensive data collection, including key informant interviews, administrative and fiscal data. The analysis makes effective use of all these materials to investigate the effect of decentralization policy on water supply service delivery and local governance processes in Adama. The study found out that decentralized urban governance has been ineffective in the delivery of water supply service in Adama. This is because; firstly, the city lacks legal and institutional security. This makes it politically dependent upon the upper level regional state government. Secondly, contrary to the logic of ‘Enterprise model’ of water supply, the hierarchical political culture and the upward accountability of the Enterprise’s Manager have reinforced the political control from above. Thirdly, the power to determine the structure, technical and financial sources of the city’s water-supply project has been granted to regional water Bureau, while Adama water supply enterprise is practically required to provide water supply service to the residents. Fourthly, the decentralized urban water-service delivery is incompatible with the rapid and mostly informal pace of urbanization of Adama; and the city’s horizontal physical expansion and demographic changes have already gone beyond the pressure zones for the water supply distribution system. Finally, the coordination and partnership among the multilevel water institutions -at federal, state and local governments- were mainly observed at times of water crises to moderate political and electoral contingencies. The implication is that for the urban local government to deliver effective water-supply service, this study contends, decentralization process needs to ensure adequate local capacity and effective coordination and partnership between the multilevel water institutions and stakeholders.
    VL  - 6
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    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Center for Federalism and Governance, College of Law and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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