The Practice of Local Government Creation (Splitting)

Yilkal Ayalew Workneh, Centre for Federalism and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University

Relevance of the Practice

The creation of local government through splitting the pre-existing ones is a practice expected from countries with insufficient infrastructural facilities. People who live in rural areas travel long distances to receive services from their respective governments which is time and money consuming. Local government institutions and subsequent service provisions are mostly found in urban centers and which seems one of the urban rural divides in Ethiopia. Hence, the practice is relevant to bring the government and services closer to the rural people at least physically. The government is also pursuing the practice in the same intention. The criteria, reasons and level of public participation as well as their impact on quality service provisions do not only determine the access of the government to the relatively remote rural areas but they also minimize the burden of urban centers by containing a significant number of surrounding rural people not to go there.

Description of the Practice

According to Zemelak, the only articles in the Constitution that make passing reference to local governments are Article 39 and Article 50(4).[1] The ethnic local government is established for ethnic groups which are territorially concentrated.[2] The local government established along ethnic line can be either nationality zones or special woredas.[3] It is safe to say that Article 39(3) entitles ethnic groups to establish local government in order to accommodate ethnic diversity. Hence, the primary reason for local government creation and the subsequent splitting practices are motivated by the politics of ethnicity. The other article that deals with local government is Article 50(4) which mandates regional governments to grant adequate power to the lowest units of government in order to achieve public participation. Here, the splitting of local government practice is related to the motive to ensure local development, delivery of service and public participation.

In the Ethiopian case, both the federal and state constitutions do not lay down the manner in which the split of local government should be organized. Despite this silence, the legal-constitutional mechanisms and related practices show that there are at least four criteria formulated by regional state legislations: ethnicity, population size, administrative convenience and area size. These criteria are largely applicable in establishing new woredas in which rural areas administered. There are no objectively quantified and single commonly articulated criteria justifying the local government creation. Consequently, there is uneven distribution of territory, population and number of local governments across the nine regional states. The practice shows that there is a wide range of flexibility to create a new local government or not. In addition, regional state legislations do not provide clearly established criteria with which one could judge the appropriateness of application in the splitting practices. This scenario challenges not only the service delivery responsibilities of local governments but also the attempt to bring the government closer to the people. On the other hand, the criteria employed to establish new urban local governments is relatively clear and objectively quantified. Among the four criteria three (population size, capacity of revenue generation and occupation of city resident) have their own quantified threshold.

The federal government and regional executives are the key actors in the initiation, direction and execution of splitting and creation of new local governments.[4] The regional administration took the lion-share in such practices. It is not to say that public input has not existed in this local government practice. Rather it is to say that the regional executive and its deconcentrated bodies facilitate public participation with some pre-determined outcome. Public gatherings are neither inclusive nor taken for real. Therefore, it is possible to argue that there is an imposition of local government boundaries with less local public participation.

Assessment of the Practice

The practice discussed above shows that there are multiple bases in the splitting and creation of new local governments in Ethiopia. In theory, the institutional security of existence of local government ensured through setting clear criteria and procedure to change its size and boundaries.[5] A closer look at the legal-constitutional mechanisms of both federal and regional states revealed that there are no clearly defined criteria that must be strictly followed without picking up one or two in the pretext of circumstances. It follows that the creation of local government has been subject to a pragmatic and informal way which involves informal negotiations along various networks of interest. Hence, the security of existence of local government as a sphere of level of government is compromised and the interests of the local people is down-graded.

Splitting (creation) of local government patterns and objectives vary according to the relative differences in heterogeneity of regional states. In relatively homogenous regional states like Amhara and Oromia, splitting practices are justified by administrative convenience and provision of socio-economic services. On the other hand, in heterogeneous ones like SNNP regional state the objective and criteria of local government creation is to accommodate territorially concentrated ethno-linguistic groups.

The creation of new districts continues to meet the objectives of service delivery, to bring the government closer to the people and enhance public participation. However, it does not regulate the population number which is growing faster than the splitting practice. As a result, there is a challenge to achieve those objectives. Small and medium-sized towns, which constitute 80 per cent of the total number of urban centers of the country, are situated under the jurisdiction of woreda governments. The level of urbanization is greater in these towns than other larger urban centers.[6] Consequently, both urban and woreda local governments are in difficulties to deliver the necessary services in such dramatically changing demography. The creation of local government for territorially concentrated ethno-linguistic groups seems overstated. The lack of clear legal framework and a centralized political culture made it uncertain. Currently, there are more requests for ethnic local government status than ever before in various regional states like Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Benishangul/Gumuz and more largely in SNNP.

As mentioned above, local governments are established for the purpose of enhancing democratic participation and ensuring efficient service delivery. Local government administrations are also supposed to be autonomous administrative units. However, there is no clear functions and mechanism of popular participation. All local governments are controlled by the ruling party decisions and over-shadowed the roles of their own legislatures. Hence, it is difficult to accomplish their responsibility of ensuring service delivery and grassroots democracy.

References to Scientific and Non-Scientific Publications

Ayele Z, ‘The Existence of Local Government and its Institutional Security within Ethiopia’s Federal System’ in Asnake Kefale and Assefa Fiseha (eds), Federalism and Local Government in Ethiopia (UNDP and Center for Federal Studies 2015)

—— ‘Decentralisation, Development and Accommodation of Ethnic Minorities: The Case of Ethiopia’ (doctoral dissertation, University of Western Cape 2012)

Birhanu A, ‘The Politics of Local Government Creation and Boundary Demarcation within Ethiopian Federation’ (PhD thesis, Center for Federalism and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University 2017)


[1] Zemelak A Ayele, ‘Decentralization, Development and Accommodation of Ethnic Minorities: The Case of Ethiopia’ (doctoral dissertation, University of Western Cape 2012) 196.

[2] ibid.

[3] ibid 96.

[4] Ayenew Birhanu, ‘The Politics of Local Government Creation and Boundary Demarcation within Ethiopian Federation’ (PhD thesis, Center for Federalism and Governance Studies, Addis Ababa University 2017) 168.

[5] Zemelak A Ayele, ‘The Existence of Local Government and its Institutional Security within Ethiopia’s Federal System’ in Asnake Kefale and Assefa Fiseha (eds), Federalism and Local Government in Ethiopia (UNDP and Center for Federal Studies 2015) 201.

[6] Birhanu, ‘The Politics of Local Government Creation and Boundary Demarcation within Ethiopian Federation’, above, 148.

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