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The Challenges of “Democratic Developmental State” in Amhara Regional State: The Case of Dessie City Administration

Received: 8 August 2019     Accepted: 20 September 2019     Published: 28 May 2020
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Abstract

Since 1991 the current Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has been following a “democratic developmental” state model both at the federal, regional and local level administrations. The main objective of this study was to the main features and extent of independence of urban local governments from the influences of the private sector and identifies the critical challenges faced in the sample Urban Local Governments in Amhara National Regional State. In this study, sequential exploratory design was employed and both quantitative and qualitative (mixed) approaches were used. Data was gathered from primary and secondary sources. In the five sample town administrations, a total of 50 respondents were selected randomly and participated to solicit data through questionnaire and key informants who were purposively selected from various local government institutions. The major findings of the study showed that the local governments are not autonomous and independent from the influence of the private sector. Local government bureaucracy is not independent from the interferences of the local authorities. The capacity, commitment, and effectiveness of local authorities are not adequate. The local government employees are not ethical and lack the capacity to implement policies. The principal values and principles of democracy such as free and fair election, representation of the society in the local councils and respects of human rights are not satisfactory. A number of challenges such as lack of good governance and rule of law are identified by respondents. Based on the findings, the study recommended that local governments should build the capacity of local authorities, institutions and public employees, respect human and democratic rights, fight corruption and forge strong public private partnership.

Published in Journal of Public Policy and Administration (Volume 4, Issue 2)
DOI 10.11648/j.jppa.20200402.11
Page(s) 16-23
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), 2020. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Democracy, Development, Capacity, Governance, Rent-seeking

References
[1] Gumede, W. (2009). Delivering the democratic developmental state in South Africa. Development Planning Division. Working Paper Series No. 9, Development Bank of SouthernAfrica Limited: Midrand.
[2] Ghani, A., C. Lockhart and M. Callaghan (2005). Closing the Sovereignty Gap: How to Turn Failed States into Capable Ones, ODI Opinion 44, London: ODI.
[3] Ocloo, W. A. K. (2013). Prospects and Challenges of Constructing a Democratic Developmental State in Ghana. Culture and Works, Accra, Ghana.
[4] Edigheji, O. (2005). A Democratic Developmental State in Africa? A concept paper. Research Report 105. Center for Policy Studies, Johannesburg.
[5] United Nations Development Programme.(2010). The Challenges of 21st century Development: Building Capability-Enhancing States. Global Event Working Paper. New York, USA.
[6] Creswell J. W. (2007). Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches. New Delhi: SAGE Publications Inc.
[7] Quinn, P. Michael. (2002) (Third Edition). Qualitative Research and Evaluation Methods. SAGE Publications, Inc. New Delhi.
[8] Pierce, R. (2008). Research Methods in Politics: A Practical Guide. SAGE Publications Ltd; New Delhi.
[9] Fritz, V. and Rocha M. (2006). (Re) building Developmental State: From Theory to Practice. Working Paper 274. Overseas Development Institute; London; UK.
[10] Maphunye, K. (2009). Public Administration for A Democratic Developmental State in Africa: Prospects and Possibilities. Research Report 114. Ford Foundation; Johannesburg.
[11] FDRE. (2014). Challenges of Democratic Developmental State in Ethiopia. Unpublished material.
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  • APA Style

    Ayalew Yimer, Aliyou Wudu. (2020). The Challenges of “Democratic Developmental State” in Amhara Regional State: The Case of Dessie City Administration. Journal of Public Policy and Administration, 4(2), 16-23. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20200402.11

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    ACS Style

    Ayalew Yimer; Aliyou Wudu. The Challenges of “Democratic Developmental State” in Amhara Regional State: The Case of Dessie City Administration. J. Public Policy Adm. 2020, 4(2), 16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20200402.11

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    AMA Style

    Ayalew Yimer, Aliyou Wudu. The Challenges of “Democratic Developmental State” in Amhara Regional State: The Case of Dessie City Administration. J Public Policy Adm. 2020;4(2):16-23. doi: 10.11648/j.jppa.20200402.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.jppa.20200402.11,
      author = {Ayalew Yimer and Aliyou Wudu},
      title = {The Challenges of “Democratic Developmental State” in Amhara Regional State: The Case of Dessie City Administration},
      journal = {Journal of Public Policy and Administration},
      volume = {4},
      number = {2},
      pages = {16-23},
      doi = {10.11648/j.jppa.20200402.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jppa.20200402.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jppa.20200402.11},
      abstract = {Since 1991 the current Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has been following a “democratic developmental” state model both at the federal, regional and local level administrations. The main objective of this study was to the main features and extent of independence of urban local governments from the influences of the private sector and identifies the critical challenges faced in the sample Urban Local Governments in Amhara National Regional State. In this study, sequential exploratory design was employed and both quantitative and qualitative (mixed) approaches were used. Data was gathered from primary and secondary sources. In the five sample town administrations, a total of 50 respondents were selected randomly and participated to solicit data through questionnaire and key informants who were purposively selected from various local government institutions. The major findings of the study showed that the local governments are not autonomous and independent from the influence of the private sector. Local government bureaucracy is not independent from the interferences of the local authorities. The capacity, commitment, and effectiveness of local authorities are not adequate. The local government employees are not ethical and lack the capacity to implement policies. The principal values and principles of democracy such as free and fair election, representation of the society in the local councils and respects of human rights are not satisfactory. A number of challenges such as lack of good governance and rule of law are identified by respondents. Based on the findings, the study recommended that local governments should build the capacity of local authorities, institutions and public employees, respect human and democratic rights, fight corruption and forge strong public private partnership.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

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    AU  - Ayalew Yimer
    AU  - Aliyou Wudu
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    AB  - Since 1991 the current Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia has been following a “democratic developmental” state model both at the federal, regional and local level administrations. The main objective of this study was to the main features and extent of independence of urban local governments from the influences of the private sector and identifies the critical challenges faced in the sample Urban Local Governments in Amhara National Regional State. In this study, sequential exploratory design was employed and both quantitative and qualitative (mixed) approaches were used. Data was gathered from primary and secondary sources. In the five sample town administrations, a total of 50 respondents were selected randomly and participated to solicit data through questionnaire and key informants who were purposively selected from various local government institutions. The major findings of the study showed that the local governments are not autonomous and independent from the influence of the private sector. Local government bureaucracy is not independent from the interferences of the local authorities. The capacity, commitment, and effectiveness of local authorities are not adequate. The local government employees are not ethical and lack the capacity to implement policies. The principal values and principles of democracy such as free and fair election, representation of the society in the local councils and respects of human rights are not satisfactory. A number of challenges such as lack of good governance and rule of law are identified by respondents. Based on the findings, the study recommended that local governments should build the capacity of local authorities, institutions and public employees, respect human and democratic rights, fight corruption and forge strong public private partnership.
    VL  - 4
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Author Information
  • Civics and Ethical Studies, College of Social Science and Humanities, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia

  • Civics and Ethical Studies, College of Social Science and Humanities, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia

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