Democratic developmental state from local governance perspective: The Case of Hawzen Woreda, Tigray Region, Ethiopia

Abstract

In this research under taking, an attempt is made to analyze the democratic developmental state from local governance perspective taking a particular woreda/district as a case study. To come up with the required data pertinent to the research undertaking, qualitative research methodology in which purposively selected key informants from different local public institutions, nongovernmental organization, and community based development associations, ordinary local people residents from purposely selected kebels are approached for interviews and focus group discussions with significant consideration of their access to public institutions and extent of potential relevance to the topic under discussion. Moreover, documents of local public institutions, news papers, magazines and journal articles that have critical relevance to this research are also reviewed in the theoretical and practical discourse analysis. Both empirical and theoretical research findings in the democratic developmental state experiment in Ethiopia from a particular case study reveals that the local government falls short of local autonomy thereby undermining local bureaucratic autonomy, lack of democratic accountability from below, inability of attracting and retaining qualified man power due to civil servant unfriendly local political and administrative conditions. Most of these local government problems are emanated from excessive fusion of party politics and government service and the repetitive counterproductive interference of local political elites for their mere vested interest. According to this research findings, the local government under its current status resembles neither the authoritarian developmental character nor to the democratic developmental one. Therefore, local governments need to enjoy significant local autonomy so that autonomy of local bureaucracy along with neutral civil service that stands for national and local demand priority come to reality. At the top of all however, political-administrative dichotomy should get significant attention as this spoils