Decentralization And Local Governments

1.1. General Introduction
Decentralization and local governments are not new issues in developing countries in general, nor in Africa in particular. Local governance is one of man 's oldest institutions that exist in the form of clan and village meetings. In fact, democracy itself originated and developed along the lines of local governance initiatives in the ancient Greek city states. Local self-rule is also the oldest form of public role in the history of humankind. Rural settlements, villages, even nomadic people found forms to organize their community life as forms of local self-rule. Most Local governments may have multi-purpose municipalities, while others have a specific task. But, both have a common responsibility for the most direct

The promulgation of the transitional charter was on the idea of federal arrangement that empowers the contemporary regional administrations having the power of self-rule on their jurisdiction by recognizing the right of the nation, nationalities and people’s of self-determination that is, the charter recognized that every nation, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia has a freedom to administer themselves. This decentralization and self-rule of nation, nationalities and people’s on their regions have recognized by the 1995 FDRE constitution. This constitution also established nine regional states based on the geographical settlement pattern, identity and language and two city administrations, Dri Dawa and

Therefore, they are the sole owners of their country and their constitution, based on equality and respect each other. They are empowered to establish their self-rule at sub-national and local level. Moreover, under the political objectives of the 1995 FDRE constitution, the government is obliged to promote and support the self-rule of the people all levels. Thus, government has an obligation to support the nation, nationalities and people’s in administrating themselves at the local level and adequately empower the local people. For the enhancement of public participations and insuring efficient and effective provision of services by giving discretional power to regional state to decide on the organizational structure of their local governments. Accordingly, there are different organizational structures of local government in regional states. Some regional states have zones, Wereda and Kebele and some others have only Wereda and Kebele level of local