Poverty Reduction Strategies
Feasibility for Ethiopia
University of California, Los Angeles
A comprehensive project submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Arts in Urban Planning.
By
Anya Baum
Kinshasa Curl
Toriana Henderson
With Contributions from Laura Benson and Sonja El-Wakil
Under the supervision of Stephen Commins
June 15, 2001
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
Disclaimer: Neither the University of California nor the School of Public
Policy and Social Research either support or disavow the findings in any
project, report, paper of research listed herein. University affiliations are
for identification only; the University is not involved in or responsible for
the project.
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Acknowledgments
First and foremost, we would like to thank Stephen Commins, Lecturer at
UCLA’s Department of Urban Planning and Social Policy Specialist, Human
Development Network at the World Bank, without whom this report would have not
been possible. Steve’s insightful feedback and tireless assistance in setting up
numerous meetings with the international aid community were invaluable and
inspiring.
We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to those who participated
in informal interviews, particularly Jalal-Abel Latif, Executive Director of the
InterAfrica Group, our classmates who provided the initial guidance for our research,
and our friends and family for helping with editing and formatting. Lastly, we would
like to acknowledge the numerous scholars footnoted throughout the thesis whose
work paved the way for our study. We would like to fully acknowledge that
Berhanua Abegaz, author of Aid and Reform in Ethiopia; Jeffery Clark, author of
Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia; Shantayanan Devarajan, David
Dollar and Torgny Holmgren, authors of Aid in Reform in Africa, and Ethan Prochnik,
author of Food and Famine in Ethiopia: a Historical and Political Study greatly
contributed to the initial foundation for our paper. In addition, the following
documents provided the basis for findings reported in this document: Implementing
the Ethiopian National Policy for Women, by the Women’s Affairs Office, Federal
Democratic Republic of Ethiopia; the Ethiopia Rationalization Study, by the World
Bank; and the Ethiopia Sector Report, by the World Bank.
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Table of Contents
Section
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
VII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
Page
PRSP Context ……………………………..…….……………………………………….
Ethiopia Country Overview …………………..…………………………………………
Poverty ………………………...………………………………………………………….
Women and Poverty …………………………………………………………...
Legal Framework ……………………………………………………….……...
Customary Laws ………………………………….……………………….…...
Households ……………………….…………………………………………….
Education ……………………….………………………………….…………...
Health and Nutrition ………………………………...………………………….
Agriculture……………….……………………………..…………………………
State ……………………………………………………………………………………….
History of the Ethiopian State ………………………………………….……..
Regional Conflicts ………………………………………………………..…….
Ethiopia’s Regional Perspective and its Constitution …………………..…..
Capacity Constraints …………………………………………………….…….
State Wrap-up …………………………………………………………..………
Civil Society ………………………………………………………………………………
Defining Civil Society …………………………………………..………………
Overview of Civil Society in Ethiopia ……………………….………………..
Contemporary Civil Society …………………………………….……………..
Involvement in PRSP Process …………………………………….………….
Effective Civil Society Consultation ………………………………..…………
New Paradigms …………………………………………………….…………..
Civil Society Section Conclusion ……………………………………………..
International Aid ………………………………………………………………………….
Country Background …………………………………………..……………….
Ethiopia’s Debt Picture ………………………………………..……………….
International Aid and Donors ………………………………….……………...
International Aid System Critiques …………………………….……………..
I-PRSP Critique………………………………………………………….………………..
HIPC Initiative and PRSP Process Critique ……………………..…………..
Poverty Description ……………………………………………….…………...
ADLI………………………………………………………………….…………..
Civil Service Reform ……………………………………………….…………..
Decentralization and Empowerment ……………………………..…………..
Agriculture………………………………………………………….……………
Gender……………………………………………………………….…………..
Health and Education ………………………………………..………………...
Sector Development Programs………………………………..……………...
Post Conflict Setting …………………………………………….……………..
Critique Wrap-up ……………………………………………….………………
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………...
References ……………………………………………………………………………….
Glossary of Terms………………………………………………………………………..
Appendix A ………...……………………………………………………………………..
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I.
I
PRSP CONTEXT
n September 1999, the World Bank Group and the IMF determined that
nationally-owned participatory poverty reduction strategies should provide the
basis for all their concessional lending and for debt relief under the enhanced
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. 1 In 1996, the World Bank
and IMF proposed the HIPC Initiative and gained consensus from governments
worldwide
The poverty reduction strategy papers were born out of a movement to
change the traditional way of implementing and developing national poverty
reduction strategies. The aim of the new process is to create sustainable policy on
poverty, break the cycle of past failures of traditional poverty reduction strategies
and establish national ownership of poverty policies. The PRSP process involves a
two-step participatory framework such that each country writes and submits their
own Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (I-PRSP) and then after review from
the World Bank they submit a final poverty reduction strategy paper (PRSP) for
review. The final PRSP is reviewed by the World Bank and the Inter-Monetary Fund
(IMF) in order to reach a decision under the modified Enhanced Heavily Indebted
Poor Countries (HIPC) for debt relief and concessional lending.
The PRSP has been controversial because it is viewed by some as another
structural adjustment program that will not aid countries in combating poverty.
Proponents state that the PRSP is a “living document and process” in which
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individual countries can take ownership. Common benefits and weakness that have
been identified from the process are as follows:
Benefits

The document is a living document that is developed by the home country

Promotes national ownership

Allows for individual country circumstances

National authorities are responsible for setting strategic priorities and
accountable for outcomes (not only to external players but to its people).

Promotes the participation of and partnership with local groups and people.

Provides debt relief to qualifying countries, which may help to reduces problems
of debt service and debt sustainability.
Weaknesses

Time frame for the PRSP process is limited and constrained

Countries must develop measurable and sustained outcomes, which is difficult
for countries suffering from a long history of poverty

Given the short time frame of the PRSP, it does not allow for restructuring of
government or social/cultural institutions.

Does not provide a budget for implementing poverty reduction strategies.

Civil society organization does not automatically equate to a full representation of
society; groups may still be excluded.

A participatory process may result in conflict, slowing down the overall process.
Ethiopia is currently participating in the PRSP process. In November 2000,
Ethiopia submitted an I-PRSP to the World Bank. The country is in the midst of
working on mapping out its final PRSP. This is important for Ethiopia because it is
an extremely poor country burdened with a large amount of debt, which is attempting
to deal with a complex state of poverty. Similar to other countries involved in this
process, Ethiopia is working under tremendous time constraints to develop a
workable PRSP. The question is whether the PRSP will be implementable and
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sustainable given the current conditions of the country and its multi-dimensional
state of poverty.
II. ETHIOPIA COUNTRY OVERVIEW
Ethiopia is a very diverse country in many aspects, including ethnically,
religiously, geographically and economically. The country has over 85 ethnic groups
and 250 distinct dialects. The Ethiopian population is split between Christians and
Muslims and includes a minority of that follows animist beliefs. Ethiopia’s federal
constitution allows for individual regions and linguistic groups. The predominant
languages are Amharic, Orominya, Tigrinya, Afar, and Somali.
Administrative Regions and Zones of Ethiopia
Source: http://www.angelfire.com/sys/popup_source.shtml?Category=
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The Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) is the ruling
party of the federal government in Ethiopia. The government has implemented a
process of decentralization, which gives regional governments more power. There
are nine autonomous regional state councils, promoting a government presence on
the local level and encouraging local approaches to regional conditions.
This political transition is significant because Ethiopia has been plagued with
a viscous cycle of poverty, with a long history of drought, famine, civil war and a
military coup. The country has suffered from a pattern of economic and political
instability. Regions throughout Ethiopia have suffered from poverty but not
uniformly. Continuously economic and physical resources have been diverted away
from social sectors to address internal and external conflicts. Today, the
government is attempting to direct resources back into the social sectors. Given that
each region’s poverty is complex and unique, regions may more effectively guide
resources but this continues to
be an issue of contention
between federal and local
governments.
Ethiopia is the second
most populated country in
Africa, with a total population
estimated at 61 million people2. The majority of the population lives in rural areas
and is highly dependent on agriculture. Although the majority of the population
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resides in rural areas, many of the economic resources have been diverted to urban
areas.
Population structure by age group, 1994
Age
0–19
20-59
60+
Male
Female
Total
%of total
17.3
16.2
33.5
60.8
9.3
9.7
19.0
34.5
1.3
1.3
2.6
4.7
27.9
27.2
55.1
100
Total
Source: Central Statistical Agency; UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
The Economist Intelligence Unit
According to the above table, the majority of the population is between the ages of 0
to 19 years old. Males outnumber females in this age category but the gender gap
closes in the higher age groups.
The country is divided into six major regions, including Oromo, Amhara,
Southern Nation and Nationalities People’s Region (SNNPS), Somali, Tigray and
Addis Ababa. Oromo is the most highly populated region at 35 percent. Tigray and
Somali are the most sparsely populated regions at 5 percent.
Population structure in Ethiopia’s principal regions, 1999
Region
Percentage of Population
Oromo
35.1
Amhara
23.6
SNNPS
18.1
Somali
5.4
Tigray
5.4
Addis Ababa
3.6
Source: Population census 1994, Central Statistical Authority
The Economist Intelligence Unit
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About 85 percent of the population depend on agriculture for its livelihood and
approximately 45 percent of the gross domestic product for Ethiopia is concentrated
in agriculture. 3 Coffee is the country’s primary export and is predominantly grown in
the southern regions. Other agricultural products include maize, teff, barley,
sorghum, quat (stimulant), pulses and oilseeds. Most of the grain products are
primarily used for domestic consumption and grown in the central and western
regions of the country. Agriculture is concentrated in the southern, central and
western regions of the country, while the northern highland suffers from inconsistent
rainfall and pastoralists dominate the southeast lowlands. (See Appendix A)
Infrastructure is relatively weak in Ethiopia, which inhibits trade interregionally. Road, telecommunication and energy networks are in need of
rehabilitation and investment. Most roads are concentrated in and around Addis
Ababa and many rural areas outside of this area do not have access to roads. The
government has allocated a fifth of its total capital budget towards road construction
and repairs, in an effort to strengthen infrastructure.4 A majority of energy resources
are directed towards urban areas, most rural areas are dependent on alternative fuel
sources such as firewood. Weak telecommunications adds to the weak country
infrastructure. The are approximately three main lines per 1,000 people, limiting
prospects for inter-regional communication. The lack of infrastructure will prove to
be a great barrier to any development strategies, especially poverty reduction
strategies, that the country plans to implement.
Ethiopia is located in the horn of Africa and is surrounded by Sudan to the
west, Eritrea to the north, Kenya to the South, Somalia to the east and Djibouti to the
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northeast. The country is landlocked and does not have direct seaport access.
Ethiopia must receive seaport access through Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia.
Relations are strained with Eritrea, Somalia and other neighboring countries, thus
the country is highly dependent on Djibouti. Djibouti’s ports allow Ethiopia to
conduct merchandise trading and receive petroleum imports.
The following sections of this paper will provide an overview of Ethiopia in
terms of poverty, the state, civil society and international aid. These sections will be
utilized to critique and raise questions about the recent Interim Poverty Reduction
Paper that Ethiopia submitted to the World Bank in November 2000. The purpose of
the critique will be to raise concerns about the poverty reduction strategy plan
(PRSP) that Ethiopia has mapped out. Hopefully, it will provide insight into areas
that may require more research for the final PRSP. The critique is not meant to
evaluate poverty in Ethiopia or to provide solutions to the complex and multidimensional condition of poverty that Ethiopia faces.
III. POVERTY
P
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overty in Ethiopia has many faces and it is very complex. It varies
by region, especially between the rural and urban environments. Most of the
population resides in rural areas, making poverty a predominantly rural
phenomenon. Historically, most resources to alleviate poverty have been focused
on urban areas. Recently, the government has begun to focus on rural regions.
Ethiopia has weathered several very devastating droughts, civil conflict and
previous government mismanagement. These factors have compounded poverty,
making Ethiopia one of the poorest countries in the world. A majority of households
are characterized by low income, poor health and low levels of education. For
many, the primary goal is achieving daily subsistence and much of the household
resources are allocated towards this end. Often this means allocating limited
resources to the most “productive” or most powerful members of the household. As
a result, women and children share a disproportionate burden of poverty and
restricted access to household resources. 5
Other conditions that influence the level of poverty born by households have to
do with factors that impact capability deprivations, meaning the ability to access
labor and resources. Some of these conditions include:

Adverse weather conditions, such as rainfall.

Lack of access to all weather roads

Number of oxen available to plough land

Access to labor

Amount of off-farm wage labor available

Illness in household – impacts labor supply

Number of men in the household
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
Land – land available to the household

Access to formal legal and social institutions
The inability to obtain or access the above factors will increase a household’s
vulnerability to poverty.
The forthcoming discussion on poverty will provide more detail on how
poverty is impacted by access or lack of access to political, social and economic
resources. An overview will be provided on women and poverty, households,
agriculture, education, health and nutrition in Ethiopia. This will give some insight on
how resources are allocated and what opportunities exist for different groups to
access various resources. Ultimately, the goal of this discussion will be to create a
current and multi-dimensional glimpse of Ethiopia and incorporate it into the PRSP
process by providing an initial critique of the I-PRSP submitted to the World Bank in
November 2000.
Women and Poverty
A majority of women in Ethiopia live in rural
areas, approximately 89 percent, and work in the
informal agricultural sector. 6 The work is very labor
intensive and there are very few opportunities to
participate in other sectors. Most opportunities beyond
agriculture are located in urban areas, and are in such
areas as the service and light industrial sectors. More
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and more women are resorting to petty trading, domestic services and prostitution.
Many times women are paid very low wages or no wages at all. Social and legal
institutions, especially at a local level do not support opportunities for formal
economic participation. An improvement in economic conditions would require
changes in the patriarchic legal, social and cultural institutions, such as the woreda,
household and marriage.
Women and children disproportionately bear the burden of poverty in
Ethiopia. Females generally have less education, landholding and employment
opportunities than men do. As household incomes decline and the country attempts
to implement strategies to alleviate poverty, women’s participation and ability earn
income becomes more crucial. Effective poverty reduction strategies will have to
address the economic and social discrimination against women, especially at the
local level. This will prove to be a difficult task as women’s conditions, access to
economic resources, and social and cultural participation vary from region to region.
These differences must be strategically incorporated into development strategies,
especially poverty reduction strategies.
In order to paint a picture of women’s conditions, as it pertains to poverty, it is
important to develop an idea of how women are incorporated into the overall legal
framework, particularly how customary laws are applied. In addition, this poverty
section includes a discussion of women’s participation in households and education.
It is clear that a system of gender-based division of labor and participation, which is
prescribed by tradition, culture and law, continues to limit women’s ability to play an
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POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
effective role in decreasing their vulnerability to poverty, as well as the household’s
and country’s vulnerability.7
Legal Framework
National legal policies have moved towards the incorporation of women on a
more equitable basis. The new 1994 Ethiopian Constitution allows for equal rights
guaranteed to women and men. Specifically, it provides for equality in employment,
acquisition of property and management of property. There is also a provision for
affirmative action to promote the participation of women in a non-discriminatory
fashion. In combination with the new constitution, the National Policy on Women
exhibits a commitment to the socioeconomic development of women.8
Established in 1993, the National Policy on Women’s (Women’s Policy) aim is to
institutionalize the political, economic and social rights of women through supportive
government and institutional structures, ultimately guiding public policies and
strategies to be gender sensitive and promote development.
9
In reality, implementing the Women’s Policy has been a slow process subject
to many barriers. Mostly, this is due to the fact that a policy of decentralization has
transferred power from the federal government to regional governments, dispersing
power within regions. The regional governments now hold primary responsibility for
implementing policies. Most regions are not equipped to manage these
responsibilities and do not view gender-sensitivity as a priority. (More will be
discussed on regionalization and the National Women’s Policy in the section on the
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POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
State.) The aforementioned, in combination with social, economic, political and
environmental factors, have created barriers to implementation of the Women’s
Policy in Ethiopia. In addition, the responsibilities and roles of Women’s Affairs
Offices, those offices that oversee the operation of the Women’s Policy, are unclear
and inadequate. In effect, the Women’s Affairs Offices are not effective nor are they
empowered to carry out their mandates dictated by the Women’s Policy. 10
Currently, most women are benefiting from their rights dictated by the
Constitution and/or the Women’s Policy. Some changes are more likely to have
occurred in urban regions, as circumstances and conditions greatly differ between
urban and rural populations. As stated earlier, most women reside in rural areas
and are subject to discrimination and poverty. Poor women have limited
opportunities to formally mobilize and actively seek out their rights. Often they have
no access to social security schemes or to other social protection measures. In
addition, they have limited access to regional government and groups that are part
of the local government structure.
Many women participate in informal groups, such as iqubs (traditional
rotating savings and credit associations) or idirs (funeral associations). These
groups are not registered and have little impact on regional economic, legal and
social policies. This lack of recognition as a legal group inhibits the potential role for
such groups as iqubs and idirs to play a roll in development activities for women.
In fact, there are few regional regulations that create procedures to form small,
legally recognized organizations that would facilitate women’s participation in formal
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development activities. As a result, women’s participation at a local, regional and
national level is still very limited.
In addition to women’s lack of participation in social and legal institutions, the
country’s legal framework does not facilitate the entry of poor women into the
agricultural and informal labor markets. For women in rural areas, this seriously
increases their vulnerability to poverty because these markets are often the only
source of income available outside the household. The International Labor
Organization 1958 Employment and Occupation Convention 111, proposes equal
access for both men and women to vocational guidance, placement services,
training, employment etc.11 Unfortunately, this convention does not apply to workers
in the informal sectors, only to those in the commercial and industrial sectors. In
addition, women who conduct petty trade are exempted. Women have limited
recourse or protection for their labor beyond traditional institutions and they are not
supported as formal agricultural producers or laborers. The next section will review
how customary laws are applied to women and how this practice limits opportunities
for women’s empowerment.
Customary Laws
In theory, the state can prohibit laws
and/or customary practices that negatively
impact women. In practice, customary laws
dictate women’s participation and access to
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economic, social and political resources. Often women are unaware of their rights
and have little recourse against the application of customary laws, which reinforce
male ownership and control over economic resources.12
In Ethiopia, customary laws and practices are applied to all personal matters.
Women have limited access to civil courts, which are usually more accountable to
constitutional mandates. The main reasons for their limited access to civil courts are
cost and proximity. Most civil courts are concentrated in urban areas and legal aid is
not readily available to most women. Therefore, most women turn to customary
laws to resolve personal matters, such as divorce.13
Because of biases in the family arbitration system, women are not guaranteed
equal treatment to their male counterparts. Disputes, related to personal
relationships, are resolved by older and respected male arbitrators within the
community. The male arbitrators are usually not trained in the law and are guided
by customarily accepted practices. Resolutions are therefore often not in the best
interest of women and are subject to the traditionally established rights of men. In
addition, federal laws are not applied in these circumstances and are often in direct
conflict with customary laws and practices. Customary laws vary from region to
region and are impacted by such conditions as religion and entitlements granted in
marriage, as well as other social institutions. Entitlements granted under marriage
provide a good basis for understanding women’s rights and conditions in Ethiopian
society and how they can impact their economic status.
Women’s access to economic resources in rural Ethiopia is complex,
especially since the majority of rural households continue to apply customary,
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religious and traditional practices. Women often inherit resources at birth, marriage
and at divorce which make those inherited resources significant vehicles for
empowerment and security against poverty. Although women do receive some
resources, men bring substantially more physical and economic resources to
marriage, providing them with more entitlements than women.
In rural regions, such as Gambella and Oromiya, the practice of requiring a
bride price is common and impacts economic rights and status of women. This
practice varies by region and within communities, but it allows for some bargaining
over resources on behalf of the wife and her family. A bride price is accepted by the
wife and her family as a receipt of the wife’s rightful share to the husband’s family
property. In addition, it is also perceived as a payment for the wife’s labor and/or
services and must be returned if those services are terminated by the wife. Often
when a wife seeks to terminate the marriage, she must relinquish her rights to
common resources and entitlements. During marriage, the wife only controls
property that she receives as a gift and she has no access to property belonging to
the husband or his household.
Divorced women lose their access to land and become dependent on parents
or brother-in-laws, depending on the traditional practices observed in their
community. A woman’s economic status prior to marriage, determines the options
available to her after a divorce. Poor women have fewer alternatives and are more
vulnerable to increased poverty. Single women do not have access to land unless
they are registered as the head of the household. Women registered as heads of
household are entitled to some land but it is often less than that allotted to men.
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As demonstrated by the former example, customary laws do not compliment
gender-sensitive policies, especially those dictated by the Constitution and the
Women’s Policy. Although national policy has attempted to ensure equal access
and participation for women, it has not been successfully implemented at a local
level. Top-down development policies, starting at the national level, may not be
sustainable long-term and applicable to women on a local level. Development
strategies, such as the PRSP, will remain ineffective in delivering benefits to women.
Effective strategies will incorporate women’s local conditions and the traditional
institutions in which they participate. In the next section, we will examine the
household structure put it into the context of poverty.
Households
A discussion of the dynamics, power structures and the division of labor at the
household level are required to create a picture of how poverty can impact
individuals. The definition of household varies region by region and it may include
individuals who live under one roof but are not related. In addition, there are
significant differences between urban and rural households; this discussion
concentrates on rural households. No matter how the household unit is composed,
women bear a majority of the labor responsibilities and disparities in resources.
The disproportionate responsibility that women carry in household chores and
supporting agriculture and livestock can
be demonstrated from the table below.
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Gender-based Activities during the Off-Farm Season (Rural Areas)
Gender
Women
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Total
Time
5 –7 am
7 – 11 am
11am – 12 pm
12 – 1 pm
1 – 2 pm
2 – 4 pm
4 – 6 pm
6 – 11 pm
14 working hours
Activity
Start fire and clean compound
Fetch water and pound grain
Milk cows and cook lunch
Serve lunch
Collect firewood
Fetch water and milk cows
Cook and serve supper
Finish work and go to bed
Men
Morning
6 –7 am
Collect cow dung
7 am – 12 pm
Rest
Afternoon
12 – 1 pm
Untie Cattle
1 – 5 pm
Rest
5 –6 pm
Tie Cattle
Evening
6 – 10 pm
Eat and rest
10 pm
Go to bed
Total
3 working hours
Source: Participatory Rural assessment in Gambella, 1997
The Women’s Affairs Office, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
In rural areas during the off-season, the differences in the division of labor between
men and women can vary by 11 hours (according to the above table). In general a
woman’s daily workload can total approximately 15 -- 18 hours per day.14
Depending on the income level of the woman, workloads can vary drastically.
Women often keep their children, especially female children, from school to help with
daily activities, which perpetuate the cycle of poverty. Due to their intensive work
schedules, women have little time to access training or skill building opportunities
outside of the home, which handicaps their overall ability to earn income outside of
the agricultural sector. This is a significant point for development strategies to
examine, especially since there is an increasing trend of female-headed households.
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Resource allocation within the household is heavily skewed in favor of the male.
As wealth increases women may have more bargaining power. Some factors that
impact the distribution of goods in the household include:

Husband’s economic status

Wife’s economic status

Bride price

Divorce settlements

Divorce rules/customs

Size of Land-holdings

Age difference between husband and wife

Duration of marriage
Other factors such as education level, size of family and customary rules also
determine household allocation. In terms of allocation after a divorce, customary
practices and a woman’s economic status prior to the marriage matter significantly.
A higher value of joint goods received at the time of marriage may improve the
position of the wife. In addition, a woman’s position is drastically improved if
customary rules dictate that there must be an equal division of assets and joint gifts.
Similarly, a husband has more options and increased bargaining power as the
wealth of the husband’s family increases. In general as income increases, both men
and women have more options available to them. Poorer families, especially poor
women, depend on marriage and the household as a vehicle for economic
improvement.
In general, most households in rural areas are dependent on agriculture for
their daily subsistence.15 The main sources of livelihood for Ethiopian households
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are farming for men and domestic work for women. Many of the children in these
households engage in some form of domestic work or farming. Most rural
households are dependent on all members of the household for labor and physical
capital. Households in rural Ethiopia live in a volatile environment and suffer
fluctuations in incomes. Any adverse conditions, such as illness, can negatively
impact the household’s well-being and vulnerability to increased poverty.
Specifically, poor households are affected by household shocks in agriculture,
drought and famine. As shocks occur that increase poverty, household allocation of
resources is impacted accordingly and females bear a disproportionate burden of a
shortage in resources.
In 1989 the International Food
Policy Research Institute conducted a
survey in the regions of Amhara, Oromiya
and the Southern Ethiopians People’s
Association. The study collected
consumption, asset and income data on
approximately 1477 households in 15
villages. The main findings were as
follows:

Households with substantial human and physical capital and better access to
roads and towns have lower poverty levels.

Human capital and access to roads and towns also reduce variations in poverty
across the seasons.

Households with education were less vulnerable to poverty.
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
Households with younger heads, experienced less vulnerability to fluctuations in
poverty.

Households headed by females were more susceptible to poverty.

Ownership of oxen and land holdings contributed to the decline in poverty.
As evidenced above, households with more land and capital appear to be more
capable of insuring themselves against poverty. Nevertheless, no household is
unaffected by war and conflict, which has been prevalent in Ethiopian society.
Even though there are variations in household incomes and resources, most
households in rural Ethiopia spend a majority of their budget on food, leaving little
money for other expenditures such as education and health.
Allocation of Household Expenditures
Allocation of Rural Household Expenditures
2%
2%
1%
4%
Food
6%
Clothing
9%
Ceremonials
Other
76%
Medical
Transport
School
Source: Ethiopia Social Sector Report, World Bank (August 1998
The above table confirms that most resources are spent on food. This may
fluctuate in lieu of seasonal differences in prices, workloads and adverse weather
conditions. In times of shortages, households depend on informal networks, such as
friends and extended family member to protect their consumption levels. Only nine
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percent of the rural household budget is spent on clothing and less than one percent
is spent on education. In general, households are severely constrained in their
ability to pay for health and education of their children.
Education
A major challenge for the Ethiopian government has been the provision of
education, especially at a local level. An effort has been made to increase access to
social services through increased spending on health and education. Often
educational and health budgets are negatively impact by war conflicts, which has
been the case for Ethiopia. Ethiopia holds one of the lowest rankings, compared to
other countries, for the provision of educational facilities and enrollment rates. Only
about 28 percent of children are enrolled in primary school.16 Discrepancies widen
in secondary and tertiary education, especially between rural and urban areas
(heavily in favor of urban areas).
The education sector is generally characterized by low coverage, high
opportunity costs and poor
efficiency in rural Ethiopia. The
following findings regarding
education were developed out of the
World Bank’s Ethiopia: Social
Sector Report in 1998:
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
Only 2.1 million children out of 12.3 million children age 7-14 years are
enrolled in school.

There are significant rural and urban differences: primary education is almost
universal in Addis Ababa and other urban areas while gross primary
enrollment in rural areas is about 18 percent.

Adult illiteracy is very high, approximately 65 percent for adults.

The average entry for primary school is very late, the average is 11 years old
and in rural areas 12.

Only 38 percent of the 27,000 villages in the country have schools.

Villages are too far from each other for primary school children to travel
between villages to go to school.

Facilities and equipment are in poor condition.17
From the above findings, it is obvious that access to and opportunities for
participation in education are weak in Ethiopia. There is a need for increased
educational facilities in rural areas and policies that support access to education,
such as distance learning programs, subsidies, flexible school schedules and
opportunities for work opportunities. In addition, there are wide variations in
education for girls and boys.
Opportunities for education are skewed towards males. In 1995, girls made
up only 40 percent of all primary school students and generally started school later
than boys. In rural areas, females have even lower enrollment rates and
opportunities for education. The disparities increase in secondary and tertiary
education. Those women that are able to obtain higher education and have secured
professional employment are subjected to low paying jobs.
The table below indicates the variations in education between females and
males as educational levels increase.
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Enrollment by Gender (1995)
Education Level
Male
Female
Primary
1,923,775
1,174,647
Secondary
209,568
161,348
Tertiary
13,915
2,060
Technical
2,210
424
Total
2,149,468
1,338,479
Source: Ministry of Education; PHRD Study Number 1.A, 1996
World Bank
Total
3,098,422
370,916
15,975
2,634
3,487,947
It is apparent that Ethiopia has been most successful in enrolling women into its
primary schools. In secondary, tertiary and technical schools, female enrollment
levels begin to drastically decline. The above chart indicates that in 1995, less than
one percent of the total population enrolled in school participated in tertiary
education . Females only accounted for 16 percent of those enrolled in tertiary
school. Most females attending schools beyond primary schools are concentrated in
urban areas because there are limited educational opportunities outside of these
areas.
According to a Household Head’s Attitudes Toward Schooling Survey,
included in the World Bank’s Ethiopia: Social Sector Report, primary reasons for not
enrolling and sending children to school include:

Girls will get married

Educated girls are less obedient

Schooling does not teach girls how to be good wives and mothers

Need their labor – Girls required to work in household and boys on the
farm

School expensive

Education is worthwhile if secondary schooling is available and
employment is available. Most of the rural populations do not have this
accessibility.
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
Distance to school – often schools are too far away.

School expenditures that go beyond tuition and fees18
The main issues for low enrollment rates tend to be lack of access and high
opportunity costs. Rural and poor households especially find the cost of sending
children to school high because they are dependent on their labor for subsistence
farming and household labor. In addition, the benefits of education are not clear in
rural areas because there are limited prospects for continuing education and finding
formal sector employment.
As mentioned earlier opportunities for continued education and formal sector
employed are heavily weighed towards urban areas. This trend reinforces
differences between urban and rural areas, which are displayed in age differences in
primary education, enrollment rates and drop out rates. For example, Afar and
Somali regions have the lowest General Enrollment Rates (below 15 percent), while
Addis Ababa and Gambella have the highest (over 60 percent).19 Rural regions and
areas suffer from low enrollments, poor facilities and quality in education. These
regions are not only characterized by low access and quality in education, but also in
health.
Health and Nutrition
The Ethiopian government has recently attempted
to changes its policies on health to incorporate rural
populations and focus on preventative health care
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services. In the past, health care resources and policies were focused on urban
areas and allocated toward hospital-based curative services. The government has
recognized that people in rural areas have inadequate access to health care
treatment and facilities. This has negatively impacted the health of Ethiopians,
mostly suffering preventable infectious diseases and nutritional deficiencies. Other
factors that contribute to poor health include low income and education levels, high
rates of illiteracy, inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities. Only 10
percent of Ethiopians have access to proper sanitation facilities and 18 to 26 percent
to safe water, which is heavily biased to urban areas.20
Major causes of death in infancy and early childhood are acute respiratory
infection, diarrhea, nutritional deficiencies and measles. These causes of
death are mostly preventable, resulting from lack of access to preventative
health care, malnutrition and immunizations. Malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS
are the major adult diseases.21
Causes of death and prevalence of disease vary from region to region. HIV/AIDs is
mostly an urban phenomenon with high rates in cities like Addis Ababa.
The number of AIDS cases for 1995 is estimated at 1.45 million, with about 75,000
children born HIV-positive.22 This has serious implications for the future of Ethiopia,
especially its labor force and overall economy. Specifically, it will ultimately result in
the loss of labor and increased demand on health care and health resources. This
may possibly skew resources away from other preventative health care services, if
not properly planned for in poverty reduction strategies.
Currently, there is only one health station for every 23,000 people and one
health center for approximately 300,000 people, reflecting that there is poor
infrastructure and low capacity.23 A majority of medical facilities and doctors are
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located in Addis Ababa, meaning that rural populations have restricted access to
health care. As a result, health care and methods of treatment vary across regions
and income groups. For instance, the poor are more likely to turn to pharmacies and
drug vendors for treatment, whereas richer households are likely to use hospitals
and medical facilities. Often, due to lack of access, people go untreated and
increase their vulnerability to ill-health. Some common reasons for not seeking
treatment at health care facilities include 1) distance to health providers; 2) poor
quality; and 3) unavailability of drugs and trained providers.24
A mother’s education has a strong correlation with whether or not treatment is
sought, a child is immunized and good nutritional status is achieved. Only 19
percent of children in rural areas have received all three immunizations, compared to
46 percent in urban areas.25 As evidenced in the education section, education levels
are higher for women in urban areas. Although educational levels are lower in rural
areas and impact the likelihood of seeking treatment, access to and utilization of
child immunization services, as well as basic health services is low.
In addition to low levels of immunization, high levels of malnutrition exist in
Ethiopia. The major direct cause of malnutrition in Ethiopia is inadequacy of food
intake, which can be influenced by drought, famine, poverty and lack of entitlements.
For infants, malnutrition can result from inappropriate feeding practices, such as lack
of breast-feeding. 26 Malnutrition has serious negative repercussions because it
impacts child development (such as wasting and stunting) and the productivity of the
workforce.27
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Nutritional deficiencies account for over seven percent of all deaths. Such
deficiencies include protein-energy malnutrition and anemia28. The prevalence of
malnutrition in Ethiopia is fueled by the country’s low and fluctuating levels of food
production. Approximately 52 percent of the country are food insecure.29 The are a
variety of reasons for food insecurity, including political and economic instability,
household dynamics and distribution schemes, drought, famine, lack of resources,
fluctuations in agricultural production. Ethiopia’s high dependence on agriculture
increases its vulnerable to food insecurities and poverty, as well as other conditions
associated with poverty.
Agriculture
The Ethiopian economy and its
people are highly dependent on
agriculture. Agriculture accounts for
45 percent of GDP… an estimated 85
percent of the population gain their
livelihood directly or indirectly from agricultural production. 30 For this reason, a
majority of development strategies have focused on agriculture, including the IPRSP.
The Country’s primary export is coffee, accounting for more than 65 percent
of foreign-exchange earnings, while hides and skins are the second main foreign
exchange earner.31 Most internal food production is centered on cereals and maize,
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and teff, barley and sorghum are the main grain crops. Cereals and grain products
are primarily grown for domestic consumption. Pulses, oilseeds and fruit are also
grown and exported to neighboring countries, but are not used for domestic
consumption.
Most agricultural land is highly dependent on rain-fed irrigation. Only one-fifth of
the land is fit for cultivation and rainfall is inconsistent in various regions (the
northern highlands are far more vulnerable to variations in rainfall).32 In addition,
there are regional disparities in agricultural activity and productivity. Regional
activity is as follows:

Grain surplus is produced in the central and western regions

Coffee production is most common in the central and southern regions.

Pastoralism predominates in the southeast lowlands (i.e. Afar and Somali)33
Small landholders and subsistence farmers are responsible for most of the
country’s agricultural production. This has been problematic for a few reasons.
First, landholdings are decentralized and small, requiring large time investments and
labor. Second, most resources in the past have been concentrated towards state
farms and collectives. Third, small farmers have been reluctant to make upgrades
and sell their products on the formal market because they have not yielded benefits
and can get more money for their products on the black market.
In conjunction with low participation rates and low agricultural yields from
farmers, Ethiopia’s economy faces severe structural problems. These barriers
include on-going food insecurity, low fertilizer utilization, vulnerability to pest
damage, soil erosion and the removal of arable land for conservation projects.34
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These structural problems are exacerbated by geographical barriers to inter-regional
travel, such as the shortage of all-weather roads.
Various policy measures have been adopted to boost agricultural output and
address structural and infrastructure barriers, such as early famine warning systems
and more widespread use of fertilizers. The Agricultural-Development-Led
Industrialization strategy (ADLI) outlined in the PRSP attempts to address some of
these issues. ADLI uses agriculture and industry to encourage development and
aims to decrease the prevalence of poverty. It also gives more policy attention to
small farmers through credit schemes and extension program services. Any
development policy that is adopted needs to emphasize sustainable growth through
rural farmer/small landholder participation and increased infrastructure development.
Participation and infrastructure development are very important components of
addressing poverty issues. Poverty is very complex and varies according to social
and geographic environments. The poverty section of this paper only addresses a
few dimensions of poverty but hopefully it demonstrates that implementing poverty
reduction and development strategies is a daunting task. The next sections on the
state, civil society and international aid will provide a picture of the how
infrastructure, resources, participation and poverty impact Ethiopian society and the
feasibility for sustainable poverty reduction strategies. As demonstrated in the
previous poverty section, the roles of the state, civil society and international aid are
not uniform and have different implications for development.
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IV. STATE
T
here are three main issues and several smaller issues that stand in the way
of the Ethiopian State’s ability to implement the Interim Poverty Reduction
Strategy process that they put forth in their 2000 document submitted to the
World Bank. The first and most important issue is whether the State has the ability
to keep peace long enough to focus its attention and resources on the daunting task
it has before it. Second is whether the institutional structure of the State will allow
for central leadership. And third is whether the State has the human and fiscal
resources needed to successfully implement its proposals. In the following pages
we will examine the roots and current status of each of these three points and later
we will point out how these areas lead to problems in implementing specific areas of
the proposed I-PRSP.
History of the Ethiopian State
Ethiopia has a long history of empirical rulers conquering and subjugating the
land’s various peoples. The first powerful empire was Axum. A mixture of local
Cushites and Semitic settlers who had migrated from Arabia in the first half of the
first millennium B.C organized this kingdom.35 These forebears of the Amhara and
Tigreans were converted to Christianity in the fourth century A.D.36 This new religion
became one of the most powerful institutions in the nation. Although the Ethiopian
Orthodox Church was formally tied to the Crown it soon evolved into an indigenous
political and economic force that all future empires had to reckon with.
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In 1270 an Amhara took power. His reign marks a watershed in Ethiopian
history by his re-establishment of the alleged Solomonic dynasty from which
Ethiopian rulers were descended up until the demise of Haile Selassie in 1974.
Yekuno Amlack’s reign was also important because of his decision to establish his
capital in his native town of Tegulet in Shoa rather than at the Tigrayan capital
Axum.37 By shifting the center of the Ethiopian State from Tigray he began a
tradition of Shoa Amhara dominance that still existed up until the 1991 revolution.
The nineteenth century was a time of great expansion and increased
centralization in Ethiopia. It is noteworthy that Ethiopia is the only state south of the
Sahara that successfully utilized classic techniques of imperialism and expansion
through military conquest, and thus managed to determine its geographic
boundaries free of colonial influence. The Emperor Menelik II ruled from 1880 –
1928. He successfully managed to combat Italian expansionism in Tigray by
modernizing, enlarging, solidifying and centralizing his power. His defeat of the
Italians at Adowa marked black Africa’s first major success in resistance to
European colonialism.38 His conquests practically doubled the size of Ethiopia.
Menelik brought in many European advisors to help train his armies as well
as to assist him in building Ethiopia’s first relatively modern, centralized, ministerial
government (based in Addis Ababa, the current capital). Unfortunately, he was a
tyrannical ruler of those at the periphery whom he had recently conquered. Thus he
left a more modern country, and one not ruled by the Europeans, but he also left a
“turbulent legacy” due to his mistreatment of so many of his people.39
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Menelik’s policies of internationalism and centralized government were
continued and enlarged upon by Ethiopia’s next and last powerful emperor, Haile
Selassie who succeeded Menelik II in 1928. It must still be emphasized that both
Menelik and Haile Selassie used modern technology, central government and
international ties primarily to solidify the power of their own ruling elite rather then to
modernize the nation as a whole. It is true that Menelik and Haile Selassie did make
certain strides towards reducing (but not eliminating) the regional autonomy that had
plagued Ethiopia with internal disarray for centuries. By the early 1950’s the
provincial feudal lords could no longer raise their own armies or collect services or
taxes that were not approved by Haile Selassie. Haile Selassie, however, was not
able to reduce regional, cultural, religious or linguistic differences and antagonisms.
Equally importantly, he was only centralizing, but not trying to eliminate the feudal
land system that was keeping Ethiopia from becoming a truly modern state.40
In 1974 the successful anti-government agitation of the small sector of
Ethiopian society that Haile Selassie had managed to modernize and educate
resulted in the downfall of the imperial regime. Urban workers, students and junior
military officers had shown increasing support for the plight of the peasants since an
aborted coup in 1960. Military leaders, led by Mengistu Haile Mariam, who felt that
the ruling elite was responsible for Ethiopia’s lack of development led the 1974
revolution. The 1974 revolutionaries clearly called for agrarian reform from the
outset. Though the new government, known as the Derg, espoused a Marxist
philosophy it was a government that ruled very much from the top down. The Derg’s
land reform policies did abolish the semi-feudal land tenure systems that fragmented
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land and enabled a few wealthy landowners to dominate the poor peasant class.
However, the new government implemented land policies bound the people to a
supreme ruler (Mengistu).41
The Derg’s brutal military rule was under constant attack from various groups
including Eritrean rebels, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, the Oromo Liberation
Front, and the Somali Republic. Because of the regime’s Marxist philosophy it was
aided by Cuba and the USSR in these conflicts and thereafter “remained firmly in the
communist camp for the rest of the Cold War.”42 Fighting was especially fierce in the
1980s. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed and many communities were
devastated. Several thousand Ethiopians with money or education fled to Northern
countries leaving the country with a shortage of skilled labor, a loss from which the
country still has not recovered.
After years of civil war a coalition of Tigrayans, Ertireans, and unhappy
Amhara from other regions formed and called themselves the Ethiopian People’s
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Their goal was to overthrow the Derg
regime and turn Ethiopia into a federation in which any region was allowed to leave
at any time. The EPRDF took power in 1991 and with the participation of many
other parties adopted a temporary constitution guaranteeing human rights and
democracy. Although violent skirmishes continued between various political parties
for some years, a new constitution was finally adopted in 1994 and a national
election was held. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was born with a
bicameral legislature and President Meles Zenawi at the helm. But the Country’s
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violent history of domination and ethnic conflict still cast its shadow over the promise
of this new age of democracy and equality.
Regional Conflicts
Whether the new government successfully implements any of its development
plans, or succeeds at all, depends on its ability to avoid the constant possibility of an
outbreak of violence between the state and the many ethnic groups that live within
and around the country of Ethiopia. Many of these latent (or overt) conflicts have
been brewing for centuries and though the 1994 constitution attempts to address the
problem, the depth of the antagonisms may be such that only constant attention to
peacemaking could avert the inevitable outbreaks of violence.
During the latest violent conflict with Eritrea (1999 – 2000) the Government
dropped its focus on its development agenda, reforms either slowed or were
delayed, “the fiscal deficit rose to nearly 11.6 percent while international reserves fell
to 2 months of import cover, . . . investor confidence fell, and the private sector faced
significant shortages of foreign exchange.”43 In effect, this violent conflict destroyed
the Country’s development agenda and if another outbreak of violence occurs the
development will halt or even regress again.
Below are descriptions and brief histories of some of Ethiopia’s most incendiary
situations.
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Friction with the Somalis and Somalia
The majority of the people who live in the Ethiopian State of Somali are ethnic
Somalis who look more to Somalia as their government than Ethiopia. They have
little sense of loyalty to Ethiopia and a movement towards independence or
allegiance with Somalia would not be unlikely.44
Somalia has a “Greater Somalia” policy of expanding its territories to include
areas in Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti, which are largely populated by ethnic Somali.
This policy has erupted in armed hostilities against Ethiopia in the early 1960s and
the Somali invasion of 1977-1978 that brought massive Soviet military aid and
Cuban troops in response to Ethiopian requests for aid. Somalia’s regional threat
led to the conclusion of a mutual defense treaty between Ethiopia and independent
Kenya in late 1963. Ethiopia has also vowed to protect the small state of Djibouti
from Somali intentions to annex it. Ethiopia has a special interest in maintaining
good relations with Djibouti since this nation’s port supplies many goods (and
occasionally relief aid) to Ethiopia through a direct railroad line from Port Djibouti to
Addis Ababa.45 Ethiopia has repeatedly sent its troops into Somalia without
permission since 1996 to oppress Ethiopian-Somali and Oromo groups hostile to the
EPRDF. Thus, tensions could easily escalate between the Ethiopian State and
Ethiopian Somalis or Somalia.
Relations With Sudan
Ethiopia’s relations with Sudan, with which it shares its longest border, are perhaps
the most complicated. Ethiopia’s refugees from drought and the secessionist war in
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Eritrea often flee to Sudan where they have become a tremendous economic strain
to the Sudanese. Also, Israel had used Ethiopia to push aid through to the rebels in
southern Sudan. This led to each country accusing the other of harboring elements
intent on hostilities against the other. Sudan charged that Ethiopian forces have
shelled Sudanese villages in pursuit of Eritrean guerrillas.46 After an assassination
attempt on Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak, in Addis Ababa, relations with
Sudan have been weak. This was worsened when Ethiopia promoted a UN sanction
against Sudan. The bad blood between these two nations could easily erupt into war
if sufficiently provoked.
Ethiopia and Eritrea
The Eritreans, though sharing the same ethnic background as the Ethiopian
Tigrayans and Amhara, do not consider themselves to be Ethiopians and have a
very strong sense of Eritrean national identity. This sense of a separate history and
destiny probably comes from the period in Eritrean history when the Italians ruled
the region. In 1952, Ethiopia was federated with Eritrea under British mandate and
in 1962 Haile Selassie incorporated the Eritrean State, putting it fully under Ethiopian
control. From that point on the Eritreans developed a strong separatist movement.
The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front was among the strongest opponents of
the Derg regime, unhappy with Mengistu’s particular form of oppression, but also
struggling against Ethiopian control of any kind. Although they were a major part of
the efforts to overthrow Mengistu’s government, they continued to fight for
independence even after the 1991 revolution. In 1993 Eritrea declared
independence from Ethiopia and formed an independent nation.
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There is still a great deal of contention between the Eritreans and the
Ethiopians over specific territory demarcation. In 1998 growing economic tensions
and clashes at the border grew into another war causing mass mobilization of
military forces on both sides. Along with thousands of casualties and injuries and
huge military expenditures that could have been used for development, during the
Ethiopian/Eritrean war the EPRDF expelled approximately 63,000 of its own citizens
to Eritrea on the grounds that they presented a security threat because of family ties
with Eritrea. This has caused tens of thousands of other Ethiopians of Eritrean
origin to flee to OECD countries.47 Though a peace treaty was signed in May, 2000
establishing a UN buffer force and border limits, tensions are still extremely high and
it will take a great deal of effort to create a sustained peace between these two
countries.
The Discontents of the Oromo
There is an ongoing dispute between the Amhara and the Oromo, Ethiopia’s
largest ethnic group. The Oromo have always been marginalized by the various
rulers of Ethiopia and have stored up a great deal of resentment. Their efforts
played a major role in the overthrow of the Derg and they had great hopes of finally
playing a leadership role in the new government. But during the first years of the
new government the Tigrayans, who had managed to take charge of the
revolutionary forces, excluded the Oromo from a top decision making role. In 1995
the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization withdrew from the government in
protest. Issues between the Tigrayans and the Oromo are still unresolved and
could lead to problems in the future. A civil war between the Oromo and the
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Tigrayans would likely lead to large losses of life and injuries and because of the
Oromo’s lack of resources, they might be devastated.
Conflict Overview
Ethiopia’s answer to its internal conflict problem is its constitution, providing for a
loose federation of ethnically divided regions. The hope is that by allowing each
ethnic group a great deal of autonomy and empowerment some of the friction
between these groups and the central government will be resolved. But the problem
with having a loose federation of ethnically divided regions with little emphasis
placed on a national identity or national leadership is that not everyone belongs to
the dominant group within a locality or region. What happens to those Ethiopians of
mixed ethnicity, or who are far from their birthplace, or who are established
minorities living among the dominant group of the region? Can conflict be avoided
when there is a greater emphasis placed on the differences and independence of
groups than on the common road ahead as Ethiopians? Of course these are
questions that all diverse nations must face and in the case of Ethiopia only time will
give us an answer. The issue is likely to become more focused since the peace
treaty has been signed with Eritrea. The Economist Intelligence Unit reports that
since the war with Eritrea has ended and attention can be focused inward, “recent
criticism of the government has expanded to include the fact that social indicators in
Ethiopia are lower than the sub-Saharan average. The government may also face
further scrutiny of its counter-insurgency campaign against Oromo rebels.”48
The threat of external conflicts for Ethiopia is also huge and must be focused
upon. With hostile neighbors on almost every side, can the Government afford to
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cut down on its military spending? The country learned from past history with
Western countries that they can only be depended upon as allies if the conflict is of
strategic concern to them. Though diverting development funds to military
expenditures would seem to be a tragedy, significant attention and resources must
be given to developing peaceful relations between Ethiopia and its neighbors. In
some instances Ethiopia may have more success keeping those peaceful relations
when the neighbors know that Ethiopia is negotiating from a position of military
strength. Again, these are not questions unique to Ethiopia; the debate over how
much to spend on military preparation is extremely contentious even in the United
States.
Ethiopia’s Regional Perspective and Its Constitution
Beyond the issues of outright conflict, the federal government of Ethiopia
must try to implement its Poverty Reduction Strategy in an environment that is very
hostile towards centralized decision making. Added to the country’s historically
based distaste for a strong central government (see the above section describing the
history of the State), the very geography of Ethiopia does not lend itself to a united
state. The steep mountains of the central highlands, the lack of navigable rivers
leading into Ethiopia and the foreboding desert of the coastal area has served as an
insurmountable obstacle to the various leaders who sought to unify the country.
Therefore a regional insularity exists that has allowed Ethiopians to develop or
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preserve a multitude of languages, religions and ethnic groups, some of which are
discussed above.
Born of this regional perspective and the past wrongs of heavy handed rulers
who disregarded the rights of the many different peoples that live within the borders
of Ethiopia, the 1994 Constitution created a very loose federation of states and a
weak central state. The key emphasis of the new Constitution is equitable
development of all regions of the country and devolution of power to the regions and
below. This emphasis is absolutely imperative to the development of peaceful
relations between the dissident groups and regions of Ethiopia, but it also leads to
structural inefficiencies which could get in the way of a successful implementation of
the State’s proposed I-PRSP.
The Constitutional Framework
The 1994 Constitution provides for four tiers of government, the Federal
Government, regional governments, zone governments, and finally woredas and
special woredas. “The woredas, which on average cover 100,000 people, are
considered to be the key local units of government.”49 Below the woreda level are
small electoral units known as kebeles.
There are nine states (Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromiya, Somali, Beneshangul,
SNNP, Gambella, and Harari) and, holding the same status as a state, two special
city administrations representing the country’s two largest cities, Addis Ababa and
Dire Dawa. Below the states there are sixty-six zones and below the zones, 556
woredas and special woredas.50 Municipalities fall outside of this structure and are
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structured from rules derived in the 1940s. (There will be further discussion of the
governance of municipalities below.)
Each level of government is composed of a legislative body, a court system,
and a number of sector-specific administrative institutions that constitute the
executive branch. The executive branch of the federal government is made up of a
President and a Prime Minister who heads up the Council of Ministers. The Council
of Ministers is in charge of monetary policy, foreign relations, defense, etc. The
Councils also undertake research, collect data and provide technical assistance and
advice to their regional counterparts. The Federal Supreme Court has the highest
judicial power over federal matters and is the court of final appeal for regional
cases.51
Though there is a Federal Constitution and a Supreme Court, the regions are
given substantial autonomy to develop their own state constitution and laws. States
have a great deal of responsibility, including: collecting certain taxes (though the
majority of taxes are collected by the Federal Government); designing standards for
state civil service conditions and pay; keeping state level security forces; and most
importantly working with the zones and woredas underneath them to develop the
statewide budget, and through that instrument, allocating federal block grants. Each
state has a number of sectoral bureaus including Finance, Planning, Agriculture,
Education, Health, Roads, and Women’s Bureaus. The zonal level has a parallel
structure.
Below the zones are the woredas.
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Constitutionally, woredas, the lowest level of elected, full-time
government (covering roughly 100,000 people) are the most important
unit of sub national government. They consist of an elected council, a
president chosen from among the council, and a set of sectoral offices.
In most cases, these sectoral offices serve as implementing agencies
and contact points with the communities rather than development
policy planners. Within woredas, communities organize themselves
into kebeles, peasant associations, and other community groups.
Kebeles usually have an elected leader and a small council, but these
officers are not part of the paid, full-time government structure and
usually have shorter terms than higher-level officials.52
Budget planning begins at the woreda level where priorities and goals are identified
and then passed on to the regional governments. The regional governments then fit
that information into the budget limits that the federal government gives them.
As mentioned above, the Federal Government has the greatest power of
taxation in the country. For example, “in 1997-98 the federal government collected
82 percent of the aggregate tax revenue and 83 percent of the aggregate non-tax
revenue.”53 But this revenue is largely distributed to the regions in the form of
unrestricted block grants, and the states then distribute the funds based on the
budgets they developed with the zones and woredas.
Government transfers in Ethiopia are in the form of unconditional block grants
from the federal government to the regions. The size of the grants are determined
by: “(i) the region’s population share; (ii) its index of a set of development indicators
relative to the national index; and (iii) the region’s projected share of revenue in its
budget relative to the planned performance of all other regions.”54 The relative
weights of the three factors are 60, 25 and 15 percent, respectively. The
development index is based on: education level, health sector indicators, road
density, electricity consumption, water supply and telephone coverage. The block
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grants are offset by any international aid that goes to a region so that “the overall
resources – domestic and foreign – available to the country are shared in
accordance with the national priorities, rather than being decided by the donor
community.”55 The state’s budgets must include most of the country’s spending on
social and economic development programs, thus the bulk of the programs
suggested in the I-PRSP are planned at the woreda level, and funded at the state
level through federal tax revenues distributed in block grants.
This block grant system was devised to create the most equitable system to
distribute resources as possible, so that the poorest regions can benefit from any
extra wealth generated in some of the more prosperous regions, and so that the
more prosperous regions will not have too much of an unfair advantage. Though
certainly equitable, the downside is that there are significant inefficiencies built into
the system. (The issue of offsetting block grants by the amount of international aid
donations will be addressed in the international aid section below.)
One of the inefficiency problems inherent in this system is caused by the
extreme vertical fiscal imbalance created by the disparity between revenue means
and expenditure needs at various levels of government. (The federal government
raises the largest amount of taxes while the regional governments spend the most
government revenues.) “Because the costs of public expenditure are not fully
internalized by the regions and are supported by transfers from other parts of the
country, there is a reduced incentive to provide public services in an efficient
manner.”56 For example, a region is incentives to wait for Federal dollars to build a
school even when they have internal capabilities to finance the construction. There
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would be much less local tax burden if the regional government waited to build, but
building now might be the most efficient and effective choice in terms of
development needs and priorities for the region. Another component of this issue of
vertical fiscal imbalance is that the system does not create an incentive for regional
governments to raise their own tax revenues, leading to further reliance on federal
tax dollars and subsequently lower efficiency.
One of the biggest obstacles to implementation of the I-PRSP inherent in
Ethiopia’s regionalized system of government is that local priorities can differ
significantly from state priorities and from federal priorities. Obviously this is the
benefit of the system as well, because local needs are more likely to be voiced and
met, and local discontents are more likely to be resolved. But when development
goals written at the federal level are to be implemented at the local level and
differences in priorities become apparent, the process can be stalled. “For example,
recently one zone wanted to allocate its entire budget to roads – at the cost of
neglecting schools, health institutions, and agriculture programs. Yet another zone
wished to build a sports stadium. However, through persuasion, regional officials
were able to change their plans.”57 It could be argued that these local governments
really know what is best for them to develop. Perhaps without roads, the locality in
the example above would find all the other services useless. And perhaps a sports
stadium really was the best development choice for the other locality in the example.
With this in mind, how does a country submit a coherent poverty reduction strategy
for the world to review if each locality has different goals and strategies? Or is the
problem not in the regionalized nature of Ethiopia’s constitution, but in the
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expectation that a country would have one set of development goals and one
strategy for achieving them?
Another example of a problem discrepancy between local goals and methods
and federal goals is the failure of the National Policy for Women. As previously
discussed in the poverty section, the 1993 National Policy for Women seeks to
ensure equal access for men and women to the country’s resources, that all laws,
regulations and policies guarantee equality of women and men, and that women are
actively involved in development interventions. While this seems like a worthy
initiative and implies a highly progressive development agenda, the fact is that at the
local level those in power do not see this policy as a priority, or even desirable. And,
because of the nature of the Constitution, the Federal Government cannot truly
impose its policy priorities onto the local level. As a result, regional Women’s Affairs
Bureaus are effectively useless, regional development plans neither include
initiatives focused on increasing the welfare of women nor include women in the
development of the plan, and for the most part, women are still abiding by
Customary Law which recognizes few rights for women.
So how can Ethiopia’s decentralized government hope to change ingrained
practices that work against poverty reduction (such as discrimination of women) if
there is not a desire at the local level to make that change? Or, on a broader level,
what happens when local and federal spending priorities are different? Right now
there appears to be a strong consensus (except on the issue of the National Policy
for Women) among stakeholders about what spending priorities should be: roads,
health, education, water supply and agricultural development. With this consensus it
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works fairly well to allocate unrestricted block grants. But historically, most systems
like this breakdown such that the regions become competitive and have priorities
that differ from the federal priorities. In these cases it may be better to institute
incentive based conditional grants. It may also be effective to create an independent
board in charge of monitoring the fairness of block grant distribution.58 But the
question of whose priority is the correct one is still not answered. (In fact, in a
complex world there seems to be no one correct priority, bringing us to planning’s
postmodern dilemma – how to allocate resources when there is no one most
effective, efficient answer.) Does one prefer tyranny from above (when the federal
government’s priorities are at the expense of the majority of the poor, as it was
during the rule of Mengistu or Haile Selassie), or tyranny from below (when the
majority of the poor hold beliefs that undermine the development of the country as a
whole, as in the case of their resistance to the National Policy for Women)? We are
not certain.
And finally we are back to the bottom line issue of equity versus efficiency.
The reason why the Constitution has devolved power to the degree that it has is so
that a greater degree of equity will be achieved than has been in the past. And even
on the most local levels, there seems to be a general priority for equity over
efficiency. (Though it is equity for those in power at the local level. While this is
better than in the past when local leadership was largely ignored, there are still
marginalized groups at the local level, the largest of which is women.) Many of the
budget priorities initiated at the woreda level attempt to address the most urgent
needs without thought to efficient development time frames (for example building an
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expensive clinic before roads accessing it have been built so that the clinic cannot
be used to full capacity). Nor have localities tended to focus on obtaining the
highest marginal return in terms of the overall development plan. “Several regions
have begun to use their own five-year development plans, but progressively each
individual year’s budget appears to be influenced more by the project wish-list
emerging from the bottom-up budgeting process than by realistic assessments of the
relative costs and feasibility of expanding coverage to a particular area.”59 So
development is not moving forward at the speed that it could nor are development
plans being as effectively implemented as they could.
But in the case of Ethiopia, is there a better choice to be made? Due to
egregious past wrongs committed by the federal government such as the practical
enslavement of some ethnic groups during the feudal system before the Derg, if a
priority is not placed on equity nothing but further conflict can. On the other hand,
letting development move forward any slower than it must, and as a result letting
millions of people suffer the horrors of poverty longer than absolutely necessary is
wrong. Ultimately, we believe that Ethiopia’s regional experiment was the only
possible way to go considering the country’s history. But it will take many years
before the issues outline above are resolved, and that time may be at the expense of
efficient and speedy development.
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Capacity Constraints
The overarching issue of resources, or in the case of Ethiopia, the lack thereof, is
another serious impediment to the State’s successful implementation of its poverty
reduction strategy. How can a country hope to move itself out of the position of
second poorest nation in the world, when it is precisely that position and the utter
lack of resources which that position implies that will keep it from moving forward? It
is incorrect to say that Ethiopia lacks every kind of resource; it is in fact well
endowed in natural resources and cultural richness, and perhaps the country’s ability
to tap those resources will be its way out of deepening poverty. But the country, and
the government as a reflection of the country, is severely deficient in capital
resources and skilled workers. In this section we will especially focus on Ethiopia’s
shortage of skilled administrators, but we will also touch on resource constraints at
the municipal level, resource constraints retarding the growth of the private sector,
and on credit shortages and their impacts. We will also discuss Ethiopia’s system of
land tenure , because while Ethiopia remains a rural country it will be its ability to
become more productive in the agriculture sector that will increase the country’s
resources, and land tenure is a key aspect of that growth in productivity.
Administrative Capacity
There is a shortage of skilled administrators, and the administrative capacity
of local governments varies significantly by region. Developing greater
administrative capacity is a major government priority. There is an ambitious
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ongoing civil service reform program, but it will take many years to complete. At the
regional level the greatest need is for improvement in low-level skills but most of the
training efforts are focused at professional level training. There are two main
training facilities, the Civil Service College and the Ethiopian Management Institute.
There is not enough capacity in these institutions to fill the need for their graduates.
For the poorest states, Afar, Somali, Gambella, and Beneshangul/Gamuz,
there is an insufficient amount of federal support for administrative capacity building.
These states receive more money per person in block grants than the wealthier
states, but because their administrative capacity is so weak, they are effectively
unable to use these resources to the same advantage as the wealthier states. Thus,
because of regional differences in administrative capacity resources are effectively
unequally distributed, despite the government’s intentions.
To improve the civil servants’ administrative capacity the government needs
to focus on changing and improving the culture of the civil service as well as
improving workers’ skills. “During the Derg era, the civil service became increasingly
unresponsive to citizens’ needs. Accordingly, it lost the habit of even recognizing
people’s problems, let alone formulating an adequate response.”60 Also, as regional
governments’ are given control over substantial resources, the risk of corruption
increases. Though it is suggested that thus far Ethiopia’s culture does not accept
corrupt behavior and there are systems in place to encourage discipline and
transparency.61 There are changes that could be made to further discourage
corruption, for instance civil service pay could be raised and duties, rights and
obligations and disciplinary procedures could be made clearer.62
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There has been significant work done to improve the state of the civil service
and some progress has been made.
In 1994/95, the government established a task force (consisting of 23
senior officials) to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the civil
service, based on the premise that pay and employment reforms alone
would not lead to the desired improvement in civil service performance.
The task force’s final report identified weaknesses and proposed
solutions in the following areas: (1) expenditure management and
control; (2) human resources management, (3) services delivery; (4)
top management systems; and (5) ethics. A theme unifying all these
areas was the need for capacity building at the federal, regional, and
sub regional levels. Based on the recommendations of the report as
well as a major contribution from the World Bank, particularly in the
area of expenditure management and control, the government
approved the Civil Service Reform Program (CSRP) in March 1996.63
Most of the progress made has been in improving expenditure management and
control through the development of a legal framework for management of financial
resources and improved accounting procedures. Human resource management
strategies to increase productivity were developed in 1999, but have not yet been
implemented.
In addition to the shortage of skilled administrators, there are other capacity
problems that limit the ability of localities, regions and the federal government to
communicate effectively. These problems are largely caused by poorly functioning
infrastructure, such as telephones, roads, computers, and fax machines. There are
plans to improve these facilities, but it will take considerable time, and resources to
do so.
Resource Constraints of Municipalities
Municipalities, the body that governs urban areas and small towns (other than
Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa), are not directly provided for in the 1994 constitution.
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Regional governments have some responsibility to provide for municipalities, but the
rules are very unclear as to what the relationship between the two entities is. The
main sources of revenues for municipalities are internal rather than grants from the
regional government’s block grant. Municipalities’ raise revenues from land rents
and building taxes, licenses on trades and professions, market fees, and fees for
municipal services.64 But these sources rarely cover their needs. They often do not
have the capacity to provide essential services, e.g. provision of roads and bridges,
markets and transport terminals, public hygiene, water supply, sewerage and solid
waste management, fire and ambulance services and street lighting. Like all of the
other government sectors, municipalities also suffer from shortages of human
resources.
Though Ethiopia is among the least urbanized countries in Africa, this lack of
funding causes significant problems for the country’s development plans. Weak
municipalities cripple agricultural development, private sector development, and
distort growth in the biggest cities. In the I-PRSP there is a focus on agricultural
development, but the success of agricultural programs depends in some part on the
functioning urban centers which act as centers of communication and transport for
their region. “Nurturing rural-urban linkages is thus a key component of a successful
local economic development strategy.” 65
The development of these urban centers is also important to stimulate private
sector development for obvious reasons. One of the most important parts of a
strong municipality’s role, in private sector development and development in general,
is as a center for civil society. If functioning properly, urban centers are the meeting
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points for various groups of people (e.g. trade organizations, community
organizations and NGOs). It is important that there be a strong and well-functioning
municipal government not only to provide the necessary services to create this
important space, but to act as a liaison between these civil society groups and
government. And it is important to develop smaller municipalities so that the larger
cities do not experience excessive population growth and economic pressure.
There are institutional changes that could be made to strengthen the role of
municipal governments and to funnel more regional block grant money towards
these institutions, but without these changes, the poor state of municipalities could
act as a barrier to private sector growth and agricultural development.
Credit Shortage
Another resource constraint that threatens to cause considerable problems
for regional governments and their development initiatives is the countrywide
scarcity of credit and bank coverage. To deal with the credit shortage a new
scheme was developed in 1997 such that “the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE)
and the Development Bank of Ethiopia (DBE) provide credit to small farmers with
guaranteed payback by the regional governments.”66 While this program has made
significant progress in making credit available to small farmers, there are several
major problems with the program.
The first problem is that most of the lending has been in the Amhara, Oromiya
and SNNP regions, leaving the poorest regions with the least access to credit.67
This regional disparity runs counter to the Constitution’s aim to create an equal
playing field for the various regions of Ethiopia.
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The second problem is that this credit scheme places a huge contingent
liability on the backs of the regional governments. “The fact that regions use their
annual budgets as collateral for the loans exposes government programs to the risk
of crop failure, natural disaster, or other widespread default by the farmers.
Moreover, regional governments are not adequately compensated for this risk; they
collect 1.5 percent interest rate on the collateral posted, and this is often delayed
due to poor accounting systems.”68 Though it is difficult to measure the risk this
system poses, there could be major problems for the regional governments in the
future if these liabilities are realized.
Local Private Sector Development
Developing the nascent private sector has been a major priority for Ethiopia’s
Federal Government but the process is moving extremely slowly. “The government’s
announced strategy towards private sector development comprises (i) capacity
building at the government level, (ii) reform of the institutional/regulatory
environment and (iii) development of entrepreneurs’ skills.” 69 A number of initiatives
have been developed as part of this strategy, for instance, in 1998 the government
adopted an Export Development Strategy and consultations have begun with the
WTO to prepare for Ethiopia’s accession. Also the government set up The Export
Promotion Council as a forum for consultation between the administration and
exporters. So far private operators say “meetings were helpful to solve firm-specific
problems and issues could be freely discussed.”70
In general, private sector capacity is very limited. Privatization strategies are
difficult to implement because in the poorest regions the private sector does not
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have the capacity to provide most services such as public health, education, clean
water, housing, food, social security, and physical infrastructure, even if government
contracts were awarded to it. According to the World Bank’s Ethiopian
Regionalization Study, “the main obstacles to private sector development appear to
be (a) a lack of access to credit (or other means) to finance the large initial
investments, and (b) an inadequate scale of operations ”71
Along with capacity constraints, government’s ability to promote private sector
development is hindered by lingering elements of the civil service culture from the
Derg era. Many civil servants are still distrustful and hostile towards the private
sector and “the general business environment is still unfriendly to the private sector,
and even more biased against non-traditional exports.”72 For example, infrastructure
is often too inadequate to support many business needs, and regulators and
regulations are often unclear and contradictory. This brings us back to the issue of
the government’s administrative capacity and the great need for retraining. As with
many issues in Ethiopia, here there seems to be a system of circular and cumulative
causation working in a negative direction. Though there is a great deal more to be
said about private sector development and privatization, due to our own time
constraints we are not going to focus further on this issue.
Foreign Direct Investment and Privatization (Written by Laura Benson)
Since the local business community has limited capital, experience, and
capacity to develop the market economy quickly, the Ethiopian government has
sought to attract foreign firms to buttress development. Privatization has been an
ideal mechanism to attract foreign investment through the sale of government owned
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enterprises. For the highly indebted government of Ethiopia, the sale of public
assets has provided cash to finance debt and allocate for infrastructure projects and
social service programs. Foreign firms offer access to capital and international
business networks, broad managerial experience, operational and technical
expertise, and economies of scale that more efficiently allocate and augment the
limited resources of the local economy. Ethiopia’s I-PRSP articulates a strong
commitment to attracting foreign assets, stating that it will “remove any hindrances of
access to foreign collaboration and financing….(and) remove and amend regulatory
impediments which hinder private sector development.”73
The government has begun to allow foreign investors to participate in several
previously closed sectors, such as telecommunications, hydroelectric projects, and
the defense industry, through privatization in the form of public-private
partnerships.74 Absent from Ethiopia’s I-PRSP was mention of the government’s
changing role from owner-manager to regulator of utilities. As the government
relinquishes operational and managerial control of public enterprises used to
produce or distribute public goods, such as water, electricity, or telecommunications,
there will be a demand for government regulation and oversight to ensure that firms
meet the parameters of the contract. Constructing an adequate policy environment,
training regulators, and getting the commitment of all political parties for this task are
essential, but were not mentioned as a part of the I-PRSP. Trust between the
government and the investors, backed by a strong legal system with intrinsic anticorruption measures, is key to ensure the long-term sustainability and success of
privatization. The need to create a forum for workers and the public to express their
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concerns about utility privatization also needs to be addressed since enterprise
restructuring will impact the current workforce.
The government must remember that “privatization is not a substitute for
responsible, redistributive welfare policies” and that its “promotion of competition as
a part of the privatization process is the most likely determinant of whether the poor
benefit from reforms.”75 The inclusion of a third party, identified as Price
Waterhouse Coopers in the I-PRSP, in developing competitive bidding documents
for the telecommunications sector reform is a good first step. However, the failure of
the Ethiopian Privatization Agency, the government’s privatization unit, to attract
substantial foreign investment in the privatization of over 200 small to medium size
firms to date brings us to question the extent to which the process has included
competitive bidding or has been adequately marketed outside of the country.
To attract capital, managerial talent, and technical expertise from abroad, the
government must pay careful attention to the investment needs of foreign firms and
consider these when writing the PRSP. The Center for International Private
Enterprise has identified 12 investment criteria considered by foreign firms when
choosing to locate operations or to invest in a region. The country should be
characterized by favorable conditions in the following areas: (1) local market
characteristics, (2) market access, (3) labor force, (4) currency risk, (5) capital
repatriation, (6) protection of intellectual property rights, (7) trade policies, (8)
government regulation, (9) tax rates and incentives, (10) political stability, (11)
macroeconomic policy framework, and (12) infrastructure/support services. The lack
of intellectual property rights, a state controlled banking system, weak infrastructure,
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low skilled workers and political instability will continue to deter foreign investment
and for good reason. For example, following the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict “the
Ethiopian government deported tens of thousands of people identified as Eritrean
nationals and in many cases confiscated their property to pay for outstanding loans.”
Furthermore, the government forced many of these individuals to sell their homes,
but did not allow them to repatriate proceeds from the sales.76 While the Ethiopian
government claims to want to attract foreign resources to more rapidly grow the
economy and alleviate poverty, as stated in its I-PRSP, a more careful discussion is
needed around the attraction of foreign firms and the privatization process for private
sector development.
Land Tenure
As Ethiopia is largely a rural country and its two most important assets are
land and livestock the most immediate way for the country to produce more revenue
to help address some of the capacity problems listed above is to make it’s
agriculture sector become more productive. This is what the Federal Government
hopes to do. As described below in the I-PRSP section, one of the major initiatives
of the I-PRSP is the Agricultural Development Led Industrialization Strategy (ADLI).
The success or failure of this endeavor is closely related to the land tenure system.
Ethiopia’s system of land tenure has a long history of being very exploitative
of the poor. Before Colonel Mengistu came into power it was essentially a feudal
system in which the farmers who worked the land were practically slaves to the
landholders, usually the Church or the Aristocracy. There was very little incentive for
laborers to care for their land or develop more productive farming practices. Under
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Mengistu’s Marxist-Leninist regime the government enacted various land reforms
that basically dismantled the old feudal system. Under the Derg’s system, land was
nationalized and a hierarchical network of peasant and urban dweller associations
were established, known as kebeles. Mengistu’s regime also nationalized
commercial farms and created peasant collectives.
Though the 1994 Constitution is no longer Marxist, it still provides for state
ownership of both rural and urban land. Ownership of rural and urban land is vested
exclusively in the state and in the people of Ethiopia, and is not subject to sale or
other means of exchange. Customary tenure not only persists but is still by far the
majority form of tenure. The persistence of untitled occupancy has come to
represent the single most important problem facing the current tenure reform in the
region. One of the problems with the current situation is that large portions of State
owned lands have been turned into reserves when that land had been an important
resource base for poor farmers. Another problem, described in the gender
subsection of the poverty section, is that Customary tenure often excludes women’s
rights to land. Nevertheless, a real shift in the balance of interests and powers in
property matters from center to the periphery and from state to people is underway.
There are still difficult problems to be resolved, especially the issue of the
inequitable distribution of land on a gender basis. The Constitution provides equal
rights to women for the use, transfer, administration and control of land. Though in
practice women’s rights to land are very limited. The federal government has the
power to enact laws for the use and protection of land and other natural resources,
but the responsibility for administering land rests with the regional states. As we
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discussed above in the section describing the Constitution, localities often follow
Customary Law, which, in the case of land tenure, usually results in women not
having their own rights to land. The table below illustrates that women are only a
small percentage of landholders in Ethiopia.
Patterns of Landholding in Ethiopia, by Region and Gender, 1995
Male
Female
Total
Number
Percent
Number
Percent
Number of
holders
Amhara
2,538,810
2,139,600 83
444,200
17
Afar
28,260
26,050
92
2,210
8
Oromiya
3,312,930
2,751,100 83
561,830
17
Gambella 23,870
18,700
78
5,170
22
Southern 1,960,410
1,615,800 82
344,610
18
Source: Central Statistical Authority, 1996
Women’s Affairs Office, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Region
Difference male and
female (percentage
66
84
66
56
64
If the Country expects to maximize the productivity of its land and reduce
poverty, it will need to allow women the right to control the land they farm. The
Country is seeing increasing numbers of women headed households, but most
either have no control of land or have smaller plots than men. If these women
headed households had access to more land, they would likely be less vulnerable to
poverty. Also, as illustrated in the gender subsection of the poverty section, women
tend to work longer hours than men within the household. More land rights they
would likely give them greater incentive to increase the productivity of their
agriculture related labors so that they and their children could reap the rewards.
Another impediment to greater productivity in the agricultural sector is the
large number of very small discontinuous plots of land that the poorest farmers work.
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This is a difficult problem to solve as privatizing land could lead to a system of
consolidated land-holdings controlled by large-landholders and farmed by landless
workers, much like the feudal system in place before the Derg. Perhaps giving more
incentives for farmers to form cooperatives or making it easier for these very poor
farmers to get access to the resources offered in the agricultural extension programs
could make a difference.
Again, due to time constraints we have not been able to explore the issue of
land tenure to the degree that we would wish. Clearly, though, this issue is of
paramount importance to poverty reduction and the creation of wealth and resources
for Ethiopia. For the State to succeed in its development goals significant attention
should be given to formulating a more thoughtful policy on land distribution and
rights.
State Wrap-up
The State of Ethiopia has proposed a massive and admirable poverty
reduction strategy. Considering the horrible poverty under which so many of the
Country’s people live, it is of the utmost importance that the State succeeds in
achieving its development goals. But because of the State’s history of conflict,
oppression and shortages its challenges are huge. If it hopes to achieve success,
the State and the NGOs and international organizations with which the state works
must focus attention and resources on peace making. In a state of war there is no
way the State can focus its limited resources on poverty alleviation.
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There also needs to be a thoughtful analysis of the resources required to
achieve the State’s goals so that initiatives that are impossible to implement are
either recognized as impossible or resources are directed to the appropriate places
so that they can be implemented.
And finally, the issue of participatory planning is of the utmost importance
because of Ethiopia’s decentralized constitutional structure. The Federal
Government cannot plan from the top down because it is so decentralized, so any
plans that are made must include a huge amount of buy-in from the masses, which
means that they should probably be formulated from the bottom up. For this
process to succeed a strong civil society must be in place to act as a means for the
will of the people to be directed and communicated to the State. In the following
pages we outline the current state of civil society in Ethiopia and its ability to play
this important role in the Country’s development.
V. CIVIL SOCIETY
W
e are motivated by a refusal to accept unacceptable concrete realities of our region, in which so many
people are today unable to achieve their basic aspirations and fulfill their most elementary needs”.77
The InterAfrica Group
The input of civil society actors on areas that effect their
livelihood is increasingly become the norm. However, in countries that were formally
socialist, such as Ethiopia, the transition to a fully participatory state has been slow.
Our findings indicate that change is emerging, civil society is gaining space for public
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dialog, but much more remains to be accomplished if the PRSP is going to be
successful.
78This
section provides a critical analysis of civil society in Ethiopia and
highlights challenges that may inhibit the PRSP. The analysis begins with a
definition and brief overview of civil society in Ethiopia. This will lead into a specific
examination of contemporary civil society actors including 1) self-help organizations,
2) NGOs, 3) development associations, 4) umbrella organizations and 5) emerging
organizations. Thereafter we will provide information on the involvement of two
NGOs in the PRSP process, effective civil society consultation, new paradigms and
concerns. The purpose is for this document to serve as a practical tool in the dialog
and practice of debt and poverty reduction, in solidarity with civil society in Ethiopia
Defining Civil Society
For the purpose of this paper we define “civil society” as non-state actors who
act as counterparts to the state and the market with the goal of influencing policy.
Ideally civil society is the vehicle to facilitate the goals of invisible and visible
stakeholders. In practice, within the PRSP process civil society is an intersection of
an arena between the state and the market for group input towards poverty
reduction.79 However, given the large array of civil society stakeholders, their
interest may conflict. Thus making it imperative that international aid donors and the
states listen to voices that may have been traditionally disregarded. This will assist
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in mitigating the internal ethnic and religious tensions within Ethiopian civil
society.80 Civil society is composed of the following organizations listed below.
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs):

Community Based Organizations (CBOs)

Self-help Organizations

Social Movements

Non-Governmental Organizations

Charitable Organizations

Religious Groups

Corporate Foundations

Academic Institutions

Labor Unions

Grassroots Associations

Development Associations
Overview of Civil Society in Ethiopia
Ethiopia is composed of a vast array of people. The population of Ethiopia is
approximately 61 million people. Sixty percent of the population is Christian, while
nearly one-third is Muslim. The ethnic makeup is also broad with over eighty ethnic
groups, of which two-thirds are Oromo and Amhara.81
Since the collapse of the Derg82 in 1991, the emergence of civil society in
Ethiopia has proven fruitful, given that prior to this time formation of such groups
were virtually prohibited. During the Derg’s tenure, from 1974-1991, the people of
Ethiopia suffered immense poverty, as thousands were barely surviving. An
estimated 200,00083 more people perished in the 1973-1974 famines. Furthermore,
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large numbers of people were displaced by conflict, which compounded the dismal
economic state of the country Without the assistance of the Christian Relief and
Development Association (CRDA) during the 1973-1974 famine, more people would
have undoubtedly perished. The CRDA was the first umbrella Non-Governmental
Organization (NGO) in Ethiopia, which began with merely thirteen-member NGOs.
Today their membership exceeds over 140 organizations, of which half are
indigenous groups84.
The development of the CRDA led to the emergence of a partnership with the
government in the form of the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission,
in 1974. Today this commission is know as the Relief and Rehabilitation
Commission (RRC). This partnership demonstrates that the state and civil society
can work together. Given their expanded member base, the CRDA has transitioned
into new roles, which we will examine, in the Contemporary Civil Society section.
Unfortunately, another key period for the development of NGOs in Ethiopia
was the 1984-1985 famine, which corresponded with conflicts.85 The relief efforts
taking place in “Derg” controlled areas were composed primarily of International Non
Governmental Organizations (INGOs)86. These INGOs had plenty of funding, and
used locals primarily in subordinate roles. In the “Derg” territory, the INGOs
instituted the traditional north-south NGO power paradigm, where the national and or
local NGO is only a handmaiden to the larger international organization. This
paradigm was precipitated by the international donors channeling funds only through
NGOs since they viewed the Mengistu regime as corrupt. Moreover, the INGOs
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reflected western ideology, but also a desperately needed lifeline because without
their presence more lives would have been lost to famine.
In non-Derg controlled areas locals played a startlingly different role. This
role can undoubtedly be characterized as more instrumental, because locals were
serving the most terrible, famine-ridden areas. Local organizations such as the
Relief Society of Tigray (REST), Eritrean Relief Association (ERA) and the Oromo
Relief Association (ORA) ensured that food and emergency goods reached the
hardest hit areas. The relief work conducted by these three organizations was at a
grass-roots level, without the assistance of the big INGOs.
These local relief efforts formed bonds that cannot be learned or achieved via
capacity building workshops and technical assistance programs alone. First hand
contact with the people who were suffering coupled with the independence from
outsiders led to these national NGOs being highly regarded, specifically for REST.87
Proceeding the downfall of the Derg in 1991, civil society overall in Ethiopia
was weak. Except for those previously mentioned, most local NGOs were not strong
since they had functioned primarily in the shadow of INGOs. This meant that directly
after the fall of the Derg, it was difficult for the new local NGO community to
establish themselves since they had a limited sphere of power, and thus influence.
Jeffery Clark, with the NGO Civil Society Unit, Social Development Department at
the World Bank characterized this new community as a group “with few resources,
untrained staff, and limited exposure to the nonprofit world, many demonstrated
minimal comprehension of their proper role. Despite sometimes marginal
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effectiveness, however, the new NGOs were led by honest men and women sincere
in their efforts to address the vast social needs of the country.”88
Due to the lack of professional expertise on the part of the local NGOs, the
donors continued to reinforce the traditional north-south NGO division of labor. This
meant that the power and capacity was not transferred to local (southern) NGOs
from (northern) INGOs. Those local NGOs that developed and thrived were
successful under the guise of political, social and ethnic tension. These power
dynamics serve to further bifurcate the local NGOs and are compounded by the
INGOs lack of commitment to forging partnerships with the local NGOs. The local
NGOs were weak in the area of accounting, thus transcends into weak
accountability. These dynamics between the INGOs, local NGOs and donors are in
direct contrast to the solidarity paradigms, which we will discuss later as a means to
reduce tension.89 .
As the INGOs became increasingly imperative to maintain the livelihood of
Ethiopians, the government began to question their strategy of operation. That is,
were the INGOs simply propagating western ideology and welfare handouts to
mitigate famines or did they have long-term visions for the people of Ethiopia? This
crossroad led to a 1994 government survey of NGOs.90 Shortly thereafter the
government instituted the Guidelines for NGO Operations in 1995, which requires
NGOs to register and uphold government guidelines for development. The areas
that the Ethiopian government sought fit for NGO operations include agriculture,
education, health, gender, and famine relief when necessary, to name a few.
Although, in 1995, the NGO communities working in Ethiopia were opposed to such
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rules, this move by the government is now seen as innovative. The ERPDF
government sought to move the development agenda and international aid donors
along a directed course, instead of allowing it to weave its own irrational path.
The downfall of the Guidelines for NGO Operations is the registration process
is arduous. NGOs in Ethiopia now fall under the Ministry of Justice, but the day-today conduct is overseen by the Disaster Prevention Preparedness Commission
(DPPC) and the Bureaus for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness (BDPP). There
is much unnecessary bureaucracy within each of the three departments. In addition,
each NGO must continue to seek approval of every project with the ministry in the
respective regional government.91 Thus, what started out as an innovative concept
has turned into a huge hindrance. The few resources that the state and NGOs have
are now being used to push paper through a bureaucracy. This time and energy
could be better spent doing hands-on work. However, without the government
processes there is little or no way of assuring that the NGOs would adhere to the
government’s development agenda.
This is an example, of the contradictions and tensions that exist as
developing countries such as Ethiopia seek to implement their own visions as a
sovereign state, which may inhibit the PRSP. Local NGOs, INGOs and
international aid donors must attempt to work in solidarity with the state to form an
agenda, which include programs that work for the overall good of civil society.
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Contemporary Civil Society
Now that we have provided a general overview of civil society in Ethiopia we
will begin to focus specifically on the contemporary makeup of civil society. Jeffery
Clark characterized “civil society is increasingly vibrant and relevant to the nation’s
political and economic revitalization. The private business sector is growing,
academic freedom is returning to the institutions of higher learning, the media are
slowly gaining creditability, and professional associations are again forming.” 92
Although there are several civil society actors in Ethiopia, we will briefly
examine and highlight a few which fall within the following categories: (1) self-help
organizations (2) NGOs: Local, National, and International (3) development
associations (4) umbrella organizations (5) emerging organizations.
93
These are
just a few examples of the key actors in Ethiopia’s civil society. The purpose of this
examination is to better understand how Ethiopian civil society currently functions,
thereby gaining insight into how these groups may impact the PRSP.
Self-help Organizations
The self-help organizations in Ethiopia tend to be ethnically based; a few of
the most common are Debs, Ekub, Ezen and Idir. The Debs usually serve farmers;
the Ekub is for “banking” purposes, but are also available to women; the Ezen
assist during times of death, while the Idir tends to be multifaceted serving in the
capacity as a community-based organization with total membership in the thousands
throughout Ethiopia. These groups play critical roles in Ethiopian society, but their
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role in the PRSP is not clearly definable since they tend to function in a vacuum.
Self-help organizations are specific in their activities so their interests tend to be
narrow, not broad with a poverty focus. Thus their role within the PRSP is not yet
clear.
NGOs: Local, National and International
The number of NGOs is on the rise in Ethiopia. This is critical in the context of
the PRSP process, because NGOs often represent and are composed of
stakeholders in civil society. Since NGOs are often a vehicle for the voice of
stakeholders in civil society, obtaining their input in the PRSP is a crucial element to
its success. However, NGOs input must also be viewed within the confines of their
role between the state and donors.
The growth in the number of NGOs in Ethiopia is broad, containing not only
the traditional International Non Governmental Organizations (INGOs), but also
indigenous and national NGOs.94 INGOs have been involved in Ethiopia dating back
to the 1973 famine in Welo and Trigray provinces.95 In 1998, two hundred forty
NGOs located throughout the country were registered with the government. By
1999, this number had increased to nearly 310, of which approximately half are
reported to be indigenous based.96 A significant number of other organizations are
currently attempting to gain official government status as a recognized NGO. This
growth is in tandem with the government’s acceptance of NGOs as a means to
make positive systemic changes to Ethiopia’s development, not just provide famine
relief.
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The information available on NGOs indicates that currently most NGOs are
working in rural areas, where 85 percent97 of the population reside, while the
national NGOs tend to be located in urban areas. However, no real comprehensive
data exists on NGOs since the government is decentralized thus at this point the
exact physical location of NGOs and projects cannot be pinpointed. In the context of
the PRSP process this is of great concern, because without comprehensive
knowledge of the geographic location of specific programs being conducted by the
registered NGOs in Ethiopia how can the government obtain accurate, thorough
information on successes or failures? Nor can the government pinpoint specifically
were there are weaknesses and seek to target future NGO activities to those areas.
It is generally known that local NGOs provide various services and programs
ranging from addressing social issues such as street children to providing micro
enterprise credit. The growth of micro enterprise credit as a poverty reduction tool
is highlighted in the I-PRSP as means for farmers to obtain monies, but whether this
translates into a real poverty reduction tool has yet to be determined. Yes, output in
some agricultural products is up, but to what degree is this correlated to the micro
enterprise credit schemes is difficult to measure?
Furthermore, other factors such
as the low price of coffee and the nationalization of land continue to inhibit the longterm viability of micro enterprise credit schemes that are tied to agriculture and
export crops.98
There are also NGOs working on issues related to gender, but again the
outcome of this work is difficult to quantify, especially when the federal, regional and
local governments tend to drastically differ in their acknowledgment of women’s
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rights. Additional analysis of gender and development is available in the Poverty
section of this paper.
The guidance of the Ethiopian government with the Guidelines for NGO
Operation, has resulted in some INGOs aligning themselves with the national NGOs.
Thus there is an emerging environment that is fostering the transfer of knowledge to
locals. The key INGOs operating in Ethiopia includes CARE, Catholic Relief
Services, World Vision, and Save the Children from the United States. Other INGOs
also exist from Canada and various European countries. Increasingly, these INGO
are working with grassroots organizations. This knowledge transfer builds the
capacity of grassroots organizations, but a lot more remains to be accomplished for
systemic change to take place.
According to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, INGOs “have to understand that
they are here to work themselves out of a job someday. They must have an exist
strategy.”99 By the government propagating this ideology, Ethiopia is setting a
course to generate country owned strategies, which also is in line with the goals of
the PRSR. In addition, the NGO community in Ethiopia came up with their own
Code of Conduct for NGOs. This was to send a message to the government that the
NGO community was responsible and could in fact regulate themselves as well as
prove that umbrella NGOs are a necessity.
The Code of Conduct for NGOs developed after extensive consultation with
members of the NGO community. The Inter-Africa Group held a series of workshops
on the role of NGOs. The CRDA also held workshops, but focused on principles and
laws regulating NGOs.100 After several forms, workshops and discussions, at times
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with over 200 NGO representatives present, the NGO Code of Conduct was
eventually adopted in March 1999.101 This was a giant step on the part of the
Ethiopia’s NGO community. It was the first time universal standards were agreed
upon, coinciding with the overall shift in ideology from relief to long-term
development. Moreover, the process itself of generating the NGO Code of Conduct
was extremely beneficial since NGOs often have different completing interest. The
NGO Code of Conduct proved that this segment of civil society can clearly and
collectively articulate their own “best practices.” Thus, there is no reason why
these same NGOs could not greatly participate in the PSRP process.
Development Associations
Another instrumental component of civil society in Ethiopia is development
associations. The largest development associations are Amhara Development
Association (ADA), Tigrayan Development Association (TDA) and the Oromo
Development Association (ODA).102 These groups are usually ethically based and
function to fill a role between the state and NGOs. Development associations
obtain funding from their members as well as the government to conduct various
development projects. The development associations have first hand contact with
the people and thus can greatly influence a project’s success or failure. Having the
development associations’ input in the PRSP process is crucial since they operate at
the local and regional level, touching many lives daily.
Umbrella Organizations
Umbrella organizations in Ethiopia such as CRDA and Relief Society of
Tigray (REST) appear to hold a significant concentration of power within Ethiopian
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civil society. Since CDRA was the first umbrella NGO in Ethiopia, with membership
of over 140 NGOs, it has the capacity to mobilize large amounts of people and
capital. However, since the CDRA is a faith-based organization, originally organized
by Catholic charities, it primarily serves its constituents who believe in Christian
ideology.
In addition, the dominance of INGOs in the CRDA creates a situation
wherein, the original relief focus tends to cloud the “long-term development priorities
and a more balanced relationship between local counterparts and the international
NGOs…and frame some of the tensions found within the sector, and between the
sector and the government.”103 The point being that INGOs can inhibit development.
With the collapse of the Derg in 1991, the role of the CRDA was forced to
change. Current efforts to build the capacity of local members are being
implemented in their strategic plan. Increasingly the CRDA is becoming more of a
locally run organization as is evident by their contribution to the NGO Code of
Conduct and the PRSP process.104 The evolution of the CRDA demonstrates that
they are setting themselves up to be a key player in the PRSP.
REST, the humanitarian component of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front
(TPLF), which developed out of the conflict with the Derg, was instrumental in crossboarder humanitarian relief. The unique role of REST during the famine, as an
autonomous entity continuous as a part of their legacy as an independent
organization today. REST is greatly respected because of their long-term
commitment to the communities it serves. Today REST employees at least 1,000
people serving another 500,000 in the areas of the environment, agriculture, water
management, emergency aid and micro enterprise credit.105 This is an example of
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how grass-roots organizations can evolve and if desired, can have an impact on the
PRSP.
Emerging Organizations
The emergence of organizations such as the Horn of African NGO Network
for Development (HANND), Ethiopia Muslim Development Agency, InterAfrica Group
illustrate that civil society is alive and growing in Ethiopia. In the context of the
PRSP process this good news because without the emergence of new civil society
organizations the PRSP process will be daunting.
HANND began in December 1997, with 12 NGOs and is now a formal
network of over 40 NGOs and other civil society actors. HANND, recently began to
publish a bi-monthly newsletter, HANND Written, which focuses on “food security,
peace and conflict, amplified civil society voices, capacity enhancement of the Horn
of Africa NGOs and information and communication among civil society leaders in
and beyond the region.”106
The HANND Written, January/February 2001, Volume
1, Issue 1, highlights important issues facing the region as well the emergence of
other civil society organizations. HANND reviewed a report titled “Food Supply
Situation and Crop Prospects for Sub-Saharan Africa,” which indicates that large
amounts of food relief will be needed [this year] in Ethiopia due to drought and civil
strife. This is of particular concern since the I-PRSP relies heavily on the ADLI,
which focuses on agricultural export crops when domestically famine continues and
is a constant threat.
One positive highlight in HANND Written is the formation of the Ethiopian
Muslim Development Agency (EMDA). The EMDA was founded in February 2001
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with more than 100 representatives from various sectors including the private sector,
Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Council and NGOs. EMDA “was established with the
mission of assisting the marginalized and poor people of Ethiopia in general and
Muslim communities in particular through participatory projects and programs.” 107
The EMDA Five Year Strategic Plan focuses on poverty, HIV/AIDS, health services,
and education. There are also regional plans to ensure food security and HIV/AIDS
prevention. The growth of the Islamic based civil society organizations in the context
of the PRSP should undoubtedly lead to more advocacy for those individuals not
represented by organizations such as the CRDA. However, both the CRDA and
EMDA are members of HANND, illustrating that civil society is beginning to work
together collectively. Thus the overall emergence of faith based civil society in
Ethiopia appears to be moving in a non-unitary direction, which is positive. This will
ultimately allow all stakeholders in civil society, regardless of their religious
orientation a voice in the development agenda and the PRSP.
The InterAfrica Group (IAG), a member to HANND, and the International
Forum on Capacity Building (IFCB) were founded in 1989, as an independent, nonprofit, non-partisan international organizations. IAGs’ mission “focuses on
advancing peace, justice and respect for humanitarian law in the greater horn of
Africa.”108 IAGs programs are centered on advocacy, civil education, networking
and research. Currently, the IAG is engaging. The “IFCB is a Southern NGO-led
movement to examine and advocate for the greater independence and effectiveness
of Southern NGOs.”109 The process and findings that will result from this research
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indicate that the IAG and IFCB, are amongst the leading civil society actors and
advocates in Ethiopia. Thus they are on tract to greatly influence the PRSP.
Civil Society Involvement in the PRSP Process
CRDA
Earlier, we demonstrated that the CRDA holds a unique position in Ethiopia.
As a representative of civil society they are in a powerful position to impact the
PRSP. Fortunately, they have taken advantage of their position to organize and
provide information to interested civil society actors regarding the PRSP process. In
February 2001, the CRDA held a briefing session on the I-PRSP with the World
Bank and government officials. Seventy members of the Ethiopian NGO and civil
society community confirmed, but more than 140 participated. In April, 2001 another
similar meeting was held. Again 140 representatives were present with the goal of
developing a united NGO stance Ethiopia’s PRSP. As a result of these meetings a
NGO task force was formed to provide input and disseminate information on the
PRSP in Ethiopia. This task force is preparing the NGO community to contribute to
the PRSP process and implementation.
IAG
According the I-PRSP, the IAG organized “public debates with opposition
parties and independent candidates on a wide spectrum of issues including socioeconomic development.”110 Thus, not only is has CRDA been involved with the IPRSP and upcoming PRSP, but other organizations such as the IAG have also
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contributed to the I-PRSP. This is a positive trend for civil society in Ethiopia. We
will now provide information on effective civil society consultation.
Effective civil society consultation
I have just highlighted the role that the CRDA and IAG have played in the IPRSP as well as the PRSP. It is clear that these groups insight has greatly
benefited the process to date. Below are brief points that may be useful for civil
society actors and the EPRDF during the next phase of the PRSP process.
The
key to effective civil society consultations lies in:

Giving CSOs ownership by involving representatives in the design of the
consultation process

Being clear from the outset what is and is not under consideration, to avoid
unrealistic expectations

Demonstrating respect for those consulted through careful follow-up and
feedback

Using appropriate selection procedures to ensure that all the relevant interests
are represented

Tailoring types of interactions to the knowledge and capability of different groups
New Paradigms
In light of the increasing role that civil society is playing not only in the PRSP
process, but also within general World Bank strategy and policy framework, 111
traditional partnership rhetoric must be replaced by new innovative development
paradigms. Alan Fowler in NGO Futures: Beyond Aid – Introduction to the Special
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Issue NGDO Value and the Forth Position offers a solidarity paradigm to
reconceptualize development and reduce tension between the various actors. This
concept of development means that civil society should work in solidarity instead of
partnership within the international aid systems.112 This will require that underlying
power dynamics that effect civil society locally, nationally, internationally be
examined, as civil society is increasingly an agent of poverty reduction. Specifically,
northern NGOs’ motives, invest, and impact must continuously be questioned as
their role as advocates and service delivers creates a tenuous dynamic for civil
society. The following questions must be raised and addressed in the transition
towards the solidarity paradigm.

What does politics mean for individual civil society participants?

How are roles of each group defined by political power?

What are the goals and agendas of the stakeholders in civil society?

Are there mechanisms in place to mitigate the tension between advocacy and
service delivery?
Civil Society Section Conclusion
In our conclusion of the civil society section we will provide a look at the areas
of concern for the completion and implementation of Ethiopia’s PRSP. The
concerns we will highlight include institutionalizing space for public debate, the
solidarity paradigm and the multiple roles of NGOs.
Institutionalizing Space
Although the CRDA and IAG were successful in holding forms regarding the IPRSP and PRSP these are not institutionalized practices. According to Aid and
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Reform in Ethiopia, important stakeholders are often marginalized in Ethiopia. In
Ethiopia, there is an “absence of an institutionalized mechanism for discussing or
debating economic policy proposals between the Government and the various
business and civil organizations.”113 Therefore, although the I-PRSP claims that
women’s groups, NGOs and professional organizations will be consulted the
question remains as to how this will be done other than identifying district, regional
and national levels of consultation?114
Solidarity Paradigm
To promote the solidarity paradigm the World Bank and other members of the
international aid system must make a commitment towards capacity building of civil
society. This is a challenging effort due to the service delivery, project driven nature
of the international aid system, which historically prefers tangible, quantifiable
results. In Ethiopia there have been efforts to move in this direction. However,
since for decades the Derg inhibited civil society, an investment in capacity building
is crucial to for the development of poverty reduction strategies.
Multiple Roles for NGOs
Today as Ethiopia makes a transition to a market economy, the role of civil
society and NGOs has shifted from one that was primarily composed of relief efforts
to reduce and mitigate famine towards sector specific programs. This shift in roles
has caused NGOs to take on new character dynamics. As well, NGOs are also
viewed as “advisors” to internal and external governments.
It is in the arena of multiple roles that the capacity, accountability and
transparency of NGOs are challenged and become convoluted. How can NGOs
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serve as both a representative of civil society stakeholders, deliver services, provide
funding for projects and programs, and answer to their donors; while simultaneously
representing the best interests of the poor? This dynamic is further compounded by
northern and southern NGO tensions wherein the north usually perceives itself as
the guardian angel of their marginalized southern counterpart. Tension between the
north and south develops as a result of power and funding parameters put in place
by the north.115 Thus when developing the PRSP the existence of these competing
interests must remain at the heart of any comprehensive assessment of the
programs or policies recommended.
Conclusion
The purpose of this section on civil society is to provide a background and
offer an update on Ethiopian civil society in the context of the PRSP. To date,
modest trends indicate that civil society is informed and attempting to influence the
PRSP. The IAG and CRDA are attempting to pave the way to empower civil society.
However, several inhibitors to civil society still exist. It is the job of the state, civil
society and the international aid systems collectively to continue to move towards
the solidarity paradigm in n attempt to address Ethiopia’s challenges. If not, the
PRSP in Ethiopia will probably fail to reduce poverty.
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VI. INTERNATIONAL AID
T
he international aid system has grown and contracted over the last century
yet poverty remains rampant across less developed countries (LCDs),
particularity in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although the number of players now
involved in the international aid system continues to increase, we find the level of
poverty still present in the 21st century unconscionable. It is our hope that the
findings presented here will place in context the international aid system as it
functions in Ethiopia. Our goal is add to the current international aid dialog so that
poverty reduction in Ethiopia becomes a reality in our lifetime. In addition, we would
like parties who function within the realm of the international aid system in Ethiopia
including donors, the EPRDF and civil society to remain aware and constantly
question if they are contributing to or inhibiting poverty reduction?
In our examination of international aid in Ethiopia we will first, briefly define
aid and provide an overview of Ethiopia’s background. Second, we present a
concise glimpse at Ethiopia’s debt picture. Thereafter, we will provide
comprehensive information regarding international aid and donors, both multilateral
and bilateral. This will include the following: 1) amounts of aid received; 2)
examining the relationship of aid and performance or reform;116 3) the role of aid,
including questions pertaining to good economic policy and donors as well as the
role of technical assistance. The remainder of this section will then focus on the
critiques of the international aid system, HIPC and the PRSP as well highlights for
areas of concern in Ethiopia’s I-PRSP, which should be addressed in the PRSP.
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Defining Aid
For the purpose of this paper we will use a broad definition of aid, which uses
two types of measurements, which are provided in Aid and Reform in Ethiopia.117
The first, Official Development Assistance (ODA), is the sum of official
grants (including technical assistance and food aid) and concessional
loans with a grant element of at least 25 percent. It is calculated net of
amortized payments. The second, Effective Development Assistance
(EDA) is the sum of discounted official grants and the grant equivalent
of concessional loans (i.e., the dollar value of the grant element).118
Country Background
A primary concern of the donors is whether the Ethiopian government
(EPRDF) may be digressing from reform programs, which were developed in 1992.
These donors’ concerns are particularly attributable to the Ethiopia-Eritrea war.119
These reforms are commonly referred to as “second generation” institutional and
policy measures. The areas that continue to be of concern to donors are the
governments need to continue working on further privatization, anti-corruption, and
transparency.120 More specifically, land continues to be state owned; tax collection
is still done in a slow, ineffective manner and civil service personnel are underpaid,
which may contribute to corruption. In addition, Ethiopia operates an intergovernment transfer system, which collects and distributes monies via block grants
to the regional level.
This entails a ‘Budget Offset’ provision by which reductions in the budget
subsidy to the regions are made for an amount that is equal to external
assistance. The rationale behind this offset mechanism is to ensure that
overall resources –domestic and foreign- are available to the country are
shared in accordance with the national priorities, rather than being decided by
the donor community.121
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Although this system may prevent donors from drastically influencing policy, it
inhibits regional government efforts to acquire funding for specific projects or sectors
since they will have those funds deducted from their federally received block grants.
Despite these concerns the EPDRF government still appears committed to
ownership of reform efforts, thereby sending a positive message to
donors.122 Next we will provide a concise glimpse of Ethiopia’s debt picture.
Ethiopia’s Debt Picture
According to the Aid and Reform Project of the World Bank, in 1997 Ethiopia
received $17 billion in official assistance from multilaterals including: International
Development Association of the World Bank (IDA), African Development Fund of the
African Development Bank (AfDB), United Nations (UN) and European Union (EU)
and bilaterals: Scandinavia, Italy, Germany, and United States, while onerous
external debt was US$10 billion, equally between Russia (defense loans) and the
Development Assistance Committee (DAC) lenders.123
Ethiopia is classified as a post-socialist reformer that mainly received bilateral
aid. Bilateral aid is generally perceived as more stable in the current shrinking aid
environment because in the 1990s alone aid shrunk by one-third.124 Countries, such
as Ethiopia, that have historically received more bilateral aid are also more likely, to
have less performance tied to aid.125 There has also been a shift in Ethiopian aid
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from lending in the 1980s to grant-based aid in the 1990s; this shift occurred virtually
simultaneously to the shift in multilateral loans to bilateral grants.126
In Ethiopia’s case, during the socialist reign bilaterals originally provided
loans. This is perhaps due to the fact that Ethiopia is a non-colony and “did not until
recently attract the level of aid it needed and could effectively absorb.” 127 Ethiopia,
relative to its geographic size and population of 61 million128 receives little aid, but
the aid is currently coming from multilaterals and bilaterals.
According to Jubilee 2000 report, Through the Eye of a Needle, The Africa
Debt Report, “Ethiopia’s total debt in 1998 was $10.4 billion, the sixth highest among
the HIPC countries. More than two-third of the long-term debt is owed by to bilateral
creditors, with the largest proportion of $5.5 billion owed to Russia.”129 The
remaining long-term debt is to multilaterals, primarily to the World Bank (IDA loans)
and the African Development Bank. The private sector debt remains small.
What are the payments on this debt? In 1998, $119 million in debt service
was paid alone, far from the $612 million scheduled in payments.130 HIPC1 is
scheduled to bring approximately $1.3 billion in debt reduction, but due to the war
with Eritrea this now off schedule.
International Aid and Donors
As we previously stated Ethiopia receives most of their ODA from the
following multilaterals: IDA, EU, AfDB and the U.N., while the bilateral donors
include Scandinavia, Italy, Germany, and U.S. We will now examine the
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international aid donors to Ethiopia using the lens of the World Bank, in Aid and
Reform in Ethiopia. This examination will consist of reviewing the amount of
international aid directed to Ethiopia specifically loans, grants, technical assistance
and food aid. Thereafter, we will touch on issues related to international aid such as
relief suspensions and the focus of donor assistance. A detailed analysis is then
provided to try to determine if there is a correlation between aid and performance or
reform? Lastly, we look at the role of aid and “good economic policies,” specifically
in regard to technical assistance.
Ethiopian International Aid: Loans, Grants, Technical Assistance and Food Aid
From 1980-97 Ethiopia received US$17 billion nominal terms (US$23 billion
real terms) in ODA receipts, which is equivalent to approximately US$1 billion
annually.131 In the 1990s ODA3 (Net ODA Loans + Grants + Technical Assistance +
Food Aid) to GNP increased to 23 percent from 12 percent in the 1980s, with an
average of 16 percent from 1980-97 (See Table 2.1).132 Furthermore, the Grant
Equivalent of an ODA loan (GEQ) was 46 percent in the 1990s, up from 21 percent
in the 1980s, averaging 30 percent from 1980-96 (See Table 2.2).133
From 1976-94, Ethiopia received grants from the Commission of the
European Communities under Lome in the realm of US$2.5 billion (1990 dollars);
while most other external assistance was received primarily from multilaterals, IDA
and the AfDB and bilaterals, Italy and Sweden. From 1990-93, US$6 billion in food
aid was also received from UN agencies.134 Overall, from 1980-97 60 percent of
the grants came from Europe, and 20 percent from the UN, with a decline in grants
from the EU and Italy since the mid-1990s. During the 1980s the grants received
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per year were as follows: “EU-EC ($US70 million), Italy (US$68 million),
Scandinavian countries (US$135 million), Germany (US$25million), and the U.S.
(US$41 million, mostly in food aid)”.135
Fortunately, this decline occurred simultaneously to the increase from IDA,
Germany, United States, Japan, Netherlands, and Canada during the 1990s (See
Table 2.3).136 An illustration of aid by sector is provided in Table 2.4, an indication of
donors priorities for Ethiopia have not been in the production of industry and
agriculture, production received US$26 million in 1997, out of US$295 million total
committed.137
A thorough analysis of Ethiopia’s debt indicates that public debt was US$10
billion in 1997, with 62 percent owed to bilateral, primarily Russia for military goods,
while one-third of the total was owed to bilaterals of which, half US$1.5 billion, to IDA
(See Table 2.5). 138 This debt has increasingly become a huge burden for Ethiopia.
“In terms of current value terms, debt service payments averaged 27 percent of GNP
in the 1980s before falling to 23 percent in 1990s” (See Table 2.6).139
Debt Relief
Ethiopia is expected to receive a 70 percent reduction in debt service
payments as a result of HIPC, thereby freeing approximately US$50-$100 million for
social spending.140
Relief Suspended
Due to the war with Eritrea aid was temporarily revoked by a number of
donors out of fear that their monies would serve to fuel and fund the conflict. It is
estimated that approximately 20 percent of Ethiopia’s budget in 1999 was allocated
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to the Ethiopian-Eritrean war.141 This conflict also caused a delay in scheduled
HIPC1 debt relief.
Donor Focus
Donor assistance in Ethiopia is well coordinated overall,142 sector focus
programs include roads, health and education.143 The donor assistance strategies
are derived from sector investment programs (SIP) which focus on four clusters.144
The SIP are designed to be sectoral wide and stakeholder driven, while the donors’
role is to sign on to the policy or program framework. Funding for these policies and
programs are received from multilaterals: AfDB, EU, and UN agencies as well as an
array of bilaterals.
The first cluster focuses on a) policy dialog, b) economic and sector work
towards macroeconomic stability, c) private sector development of capacity for the
implementation of projects and policies.145 The second cluster is concerned with a)
infrastructure, particularly roads and improving the availability of electricity. The third
cluster is centered around a) agriculture, b) export diversification, c) small enterprise.
Lastly, the fourth cluster is geared towards poverty alleviation in the areas of a)
education, b) health, c) gender equality, d) food and water security and e)
population. 146
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)
Currently there are nearly 310 NGOs registered with the Ethiopian government. It is
estimated that the total annual budgets for the NGOs is approximately US$150
million. These NGOs range in activities from relief to sector programs, including
health, education, micro enterprise, water supply and agriculture.147
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Is there a Correlation between Aid and Performance or Reform?
In the case of Ethiopia, determining if there is a correlation between aid and
performance or reform is a difficult and complex question. We will briefly highlight
why in Ethiopia’s case the answer is not yet clear.
When it became obvious socialism was an unsuccessful endeavor and that
the Soviets were going to stop providing aid to Ethiopia, the Derg in 1988 quickly
began approaching western donors, but shifts toward a market economy proved
slow. With the downfall of the Derg in 1991, the EPRDF government quickly
received loans for emergency recovery efforts led by the World Bank at US$680
million, with another US$250 million for Structural Adjustment Credit. 148 The EPRDF
then began to implement some donor reforms, but many reforms such as the reprivatization of land was postponed allegedly until after the 1995 election. However,
land privatization has yet to become a reality in Ethiopia.
In 1996 aid accounted for 23 percent of Ethiopia’s Gross National Product
(GNP) and as of recently half of the capital budget, indicating that aid is an important
component of Ethiopia’s total budget. Thus donors can apply pressure to institute
economic reform because without aid it would be difficult for the government to
function. However, it is important to note that in a few cases donor pressure has
proven ineffective, particularity during the announcement of socialism by the Derg
and the conflict with Somalia. In sum, it appears that aid was not the primary reason
why there have been reforms in Ethiopia because in many cases aid came after
reforms were being instituted. The continued lag in the institution of “second
generation” reforms. That is, an entirely market driven economy, makes it clear that
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aid doesn’t buy reform when conditions could undermine the EPRDF government.
This indicates that perhaps one of the problems with aid and performance is what
constitutes “good economic policy” by donors may in fact be contrary to
governments’ ideology as well as their best interest politically.
“Good economic policies” are generally thought of as stable macroeconomic
and structural policies, good private sector management and civil society
involvement. Conceptually these policies seem logical, but when governments
attempt to implement them they are putting their political power and tenure at risk of
being challenged by opponents to reform. Change is usually a difficult, long,
arduous process that unfortunately does not fit into a matrix. With this in mind we
will now provide a glimpse at the measures and tools that donors can use to try to
stimulate and encourage reform.
According to Aid and Reform in Africa, donors can use three primary
mechanisms to encourage the adoption and implementation of “good economic
policies”, including 1) money, 2) conditionally, 3) technical assistance and policy
dialogue.149 The major mishap among donors is that they have used these three
mechanisms without a coherent, well-coordinated, thought out strategy. That is,
they used them without much rime-or-reason overwhelmingly providing the “same
types of aid in all cases, when in fact the instruments have different payoffs at
different points in the reform process. Using the wrong instrument at the wrong time
is at best wasteful, and in some cases may have actually retarded reform.”150
The ten case studies in Aid in Reform in Africa indicate that 1) money without
good policy leads to more of the status-quo not poverty reduction per-say; 2)
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conditions are not successful when it is top-down, donor driven, economic reform
because it convolutes policy ownership; 3) technical assistance has positive effects
when it is driven by recipient countries and tends to be more effective if donors work
with civil society groups, not just governments. Technical assistance is credited with
generating a number of economic policy reforms in Africa. In the case of the
Ethiopia,
policy makers expressed mixed feelings about technical assistance in
general. They are supportive of technical assistance where knowledge
transfer is programmed, the advice is grounded in Ethiopian conditions and
the country is given some freedom to buy expertise in the free market as
needed. They tend to look askance at an army of short term consultants
whose end products are impressionistic reports and ‘job-creation’ for donor
citizens.151
The concerns of Ethiopian policy makers regarding technical assistance may
also be grounded in the difficulty that educated persons and professionals are
having locating employment. The Ethiopian government, once the largest
employers of educated persons and professionals is under pressure to reduce the
size of the government and the private sector has been unable to absorb them, thus
there
is a mismatch between supply and demand, [which are a result of] inadequate
allocation of resources to science and technology for development, failure to
expand and restructure the export sector, the lack of diverse and
sophisticated skills to cope with the challenges emerging from recent
technological advancements, and the weak linkages which exist between
R&D institutions and the productive sectors.152
One of the challenges for Ethiopia is to bridge the gap between technical assistance
and technical capacity so that they work together towards poverty reduction. This
may be accomplished through partnerships with the private sector to build an
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alliance and reduce the mismatch between supply and demand153. The forthcoming
discuss on the international aid system provides specific critiques which are meant
to highlight specific areas of concern in the international aid systems.
International Aid System Critiques
The critiques presented here are meant to stimulate reforms because for far
too long the international aid orthodoxy has been a run away train. As such, we will
provide critiques on “report cards,” NGOs and international advocacy. These
policies and practices rank high amongst those, which desperately need reexamination and perhaps change.
World Bank “ Report Cards”
One among many of the concerns regarding World Bank policies is their “report
card” grading of low-income borrowing countries known as the Country Policy and
Institutional Assessment (CPIA). Ethiopia loan performance was given a
“satisfactory rating”, by the World Bank in 1999, with areas of concern including: 1)
poor tax collection, 2) corrupt government, 3) underpaid civil service personnel and
4) an inadequate judiciary.154 The grading which derived the Ethiopia rating is as
follows:
1. Overall (B)
2. Economic Management (C)
3. Structural Policies (D)
4. Social Inclusion (A)
5. Public Sector (A)
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The World Bank then defines governments as “winners” or “losers” depending
upon their degree of compliance with the creditor community’s definition of “good
economic policies.”155 Based on the rating, which is derived by World Bank’s
evaluation of the governments’ political, social, and economic performance. IDA then
determines how much credit to extend to the country. However, one of the problems
with this systems is that IDA is under pressure to lend, thereby creating a situation
where bad loans are given to countries that are already riddled in debt. For
example, IDA is committed to lending “about US$16 billion to poor countries in fiscal
years 2001 and 2002.”156
With this volume of loans scheduled it becomes apparent that reforms must
be bottom-up and county driven because unless there is alarming conflict some
amount of lending will continue. The power of aid to encourage “good economic
policies” decreases when large volumes are committed without strict accountability
to the international aid system. However, may opponents contend that the real
problem is not just the “report cards”, but who defines what “good economic policies”
are, especially for developing countries that lack much of the means to implement
these contested policies?
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and International Non-Governmental
Organizations (INGOs)-More Harm than Good?
Although the Ethiopian government led the international aid community in
changing the way NGOs do business in developing countries with the institution of
Guidelines for NGO Operations in 1995 there are still concerns with outcomes of the
“Traditional NGO Model.” This model began to proliferate during the 1980s as NGOs
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gained acceptance by both liberals and conservatives in donor countries. NGOs
increasingly became viewed as a means to deliver services in an allegedly more
efficient and effective manner. The end result is that northern, International NonGovernmental Organizations (INGOs) became the recipient of funds from country
donors, especially the United States. The autonomy of these INGOs began to be
questioned by the governments. Furthermore, INGOs ability to deliver services and
resources in a more efficient manner is being questioned as well as their legitimacy.
That is, do these INGOs actually represent the stakeholders of civil society? Are the
goals of the INGOs to reduce poverty? And what are the long-term implications of
having INGOs work in developing countries? Is food aid destroying local markets?
Are INGOs really building local capacity or fulfilling their own self-interested agenda,
causing more harms than good? In the end, these INGOs should be working
themselves out of existence, but quite the opposite appears to being taking place as
their numbers continue to increase annually in Ethiopia. Therefore, it is important to
remain critical of all actors in international aid community, particularly INGOs who for
too long have escaped criticism. In the context of the PRSP remaining aware of the
various dimensions of INGOs can assist in the fair evaluation of proposals, for both
programs and policies. Often time the roles of advocate and service provider
intersect to form a cloudily haze.
International Advocacy
Within the international aid system various actors use different “frameworks”
to determine and or rationalize aid. “For example, the World Bank is championing a
Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF), while the United Nations System is
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relying on Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF).”157 The preferred
channels of aid are overwhelming project driven which fail to look at the root causes
of poverty and the structure of poverty, which may be correlated to underdevelopment. According to Michael Edwards and David Hulme,
Many of the causes of under-development lie in political and economic
structures of an unequal world: in unfair terms of trade, low commodity
prices, and oppressive burdens of debt; in uneven distribution of land
and other resources among different social groups; and in the
restrictions and regulations which prevent poor people from making
better use of the opportunities they have. It is impossible to address
these issues fully though development projects.158
Is under-development one of the causes of poverty or does poverty lead to underdevelopment? Is the international aid system working to change this cycle that is
intrinsically tied together? If aid is not linked to performance, how can the
international aid system reduce poverty? Is HIPC and the PRSP the solution when it
only attempts to address debt, not unfair terms of trade or defense spending? What
is a reasonable proportion of a country’s budget to be spent on defense.159
We have illustrated the tensions that exist in the international aid system.
Among the most disconcerting, the realization that aid does not lead to performance
or reform. NGOs may cause more harm than good in some cases, which is further
compounded because they are still desperately needed. The current trends of
international advocacy fail to address the causes of poverty. Furthermore, previous
prescriptions to address debt have failed and the HIPC Initiative is not a rainmaker
for the international aid system or debt ridden countries. Without true country
ownership of the PRSP and bottom-up participation in the process it looks as the
though the status quo will remain in place, with rampant poverty continuing across
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Ethiopia. However, the HIPC Initiative and the PRSP process may in fact increase
space for dialog, which in and of itself makes this process worthwhile. For poverty
reduction to become a reality the more dialog, and critiques of donors, governments
and civil society actors the more likely we are to reduce the unconscionable faith of
those who suffer in poverty across the world.
VII. I-PRSP CRITIQUE
T
he Ethiopia I-PRSP is centered around four building blocks, which include
agricultural development, judiciary and civil service reform, decentralization
and empowerment, and capacity building in public and private sectors.
Each of these categories provides a good foundation for a poverty reduction
strategy. A focus on agriculture is important since a majority of the population is
dependent on this sector for their livelihood. Equally, it is important to institutionalize
a workable, legitimate, and stable legal system so that individuals’ rights are
protected. And, if the private sector is to develop, a functioning, non-corrupt legal
system to protect contract law and property rights must be in place. But because of
the embryonic stage of the private sector, capacity building will also be necessary to
develop this sector further. And, since the government has moved toward a system
of decentralization, it is important to coordinate development strategies so that they
are workable on both a regional and local level. As discussed above in the section
on the State, capacity building in the public sector and civil service reform are key
the State’s success.
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Although we mostly use this section to critique the I-PRSP, there are some
important strengths of the document that we would like to highlight. For instance,
the I-PRSP recognizes that poverty in Ethiopia is multifaceted and widespread,
although it continues to use mostly consumption measurements to describe poverty.
At least it struggles to address a number of dimensions that it had not recognized
before. For example, in the past, resources were directed towards urban areas and
urban poverty. In contrast, the I-PRSP makes an effort to distinguish between rural
and urban poverty, as well as poverty between regions. The government has
recently begun to focus on rural regions, since poverty is most prevalent in these
areas. As part of this new policy, the government has made small land holding
farming families an economic priority by creating extension and credit scheme
mechanisms. The government also states that there is a need to focus on food
security at the household level and at the national level, recognizing that one does
not necessarily alleviate the other.
There has also been a shift towards allocating more resources toward social
programs, such as health care and education, with more of an emphasis on primary
education. In addition, the I-PRSP states that the country’s infrastructure is weak
and improvements are needed. In particular it draws attention to the need for the
construction of rural roads, irrigation and access to sanitary water.160 The allocation
of resources towards infrastructure improvements and social programs focuses on
addressing poverty at its root, capability deprivation, but does not state nor outline
how development strategies will address the strengthening of capability at a
household or individual level.
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The I-PRSP does not address how it will implement strategies and if they will
be accessible to all people, such as women and children. In order for poverty
reduction strategies to be sustainable long-term, they must be representative of
society and realistic. Specific areas in the I-PRSP that require a deeper analysis on
their feasibility are the Agricultural-Development-Led Industrialization policy (ADLI),
the agriculture, health and education sector development programs and
infrastructure.
In the following section we raise specific questions and concerns based on
strategies identified in the I-PRSP document. We hope that these points will be
considered and clarified by those developing the final PRSP. All of the forthcoming
critiques, recognize that Ethiopia, as well as other countries involved in the PRSP
process must work under restrictive time constraints. As a result, the quality and
feasibility of the strategies outlined in the I-PRSP may be in question. Specifically,
since the document is meant to be a living document, it is questionable whether
policies can be implemented effectively in a decentralized setting under such time
constraints.
HIPC Initiative and PRSP Process Critique
The following points are general critiques of the HIPC Initiative and the PRSP
process itself. If the process has inherent flaws it will be very difficult for individual
countries to achieve sustainable poverty reduction.
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
The PRSP has not evolved to contain both poverty reduction and amenable
macroeconomic objectives in consistent language.161

Linking debt forgiveness with the PRSP may undermine the PRSP process.162

All stakeholders should have access to information that relates to the PRSP (i.e.
CAS, policy matrix and triggers.163

The PRSP does not deal with issues related to income distribution. How can a
poverty reduction strategy not attempt to address income equality? In the past,
adjustment policies are thought to have increased income inequality. 164

Do countries really have ownership over the “PRSP process, in which donors
and creditors play a significant role.”165

What is the role of civil society in the PRSP process in terms of microeconomic
policies?

In the I-PRSP there is an over reliance on the ADLI as a poverty reduction
strategy. How can agricultural production increase without land ownership and
other sound macroeconomic strategies?

The Poverty Reduction Strategy contains section c: Decentralization and
Empowerment. It is here that gender equity is raised, and allegedly reinforced by
sectoral and regional policies166. However, no mention is given to the
engendering of macroeconomic policies. That is, using a gender lens when
devising macroeconomic policy for Ethiopia. Having funding available for
women groups to obtain technical assistance, training and grants are great, but
they are not long-term solutions and cannot be used by themselves to reduce
poverty. Instead, they must be coupled with engendered macroeconomic
policies.
We have provided critiques on the international aid system, including
questions to stimulate continued dialog. In the extension of our attempt to
demonstrate that the international aid system is in desperate need of continued
reform our next critiques focus on the HIPC Initiative and the PRSP process.
Overall, using an international aid systems lens to examine the I-PRSP the
document lacks new innovative concepts to reduce poverty with donor partners.
The I-PRSP relies too heavily on old and existing documents, which fail to address
income distribution and have not made substantial improvements in poverty
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reduction to date. The EPRDF government may want to address in the PRSP ways
to reduce the bureaucracy in registering NGOs because this may improve donor aid
levels and assist in reducing poverty. The forthcoming critiques of the I-PRSP
address the areas of land privatization, block grants and the Ethiopian Social
Rehabilitation and Development Fund (ESRDF).
Before we outline critiques of the HIPC initiative and the PRSP process it is
imperative to remember that the World Bank is a bank. Thus when examining the
HIPC Initiative and the PRSP process it is important to keep that fact in mind.

HIPC is designed to link debt relief and poverty reduction in a manner that is
results driven with targets and country owned. Poverty reduction targets in the
areas of healthcare and education may be inhibited by the amount of debt
already owed.167 In addition, private sector development and investment, which
is a fundamental component of poverty reduction is also unlikely when country
government’s are riddled in debt and therefore cannot provide infrastructure for
development.

The waiting period for debt relief is also coming under fire. According to Michela
Telatin with Jubilee 2000, “Ethiopia will have, under HIPC to wait years to reach
the so-called "Decision Point” to start receiving some debt relief.”168 In Ethiopia’s
case the waiting period for debt relief is partially attributed to the conflict with
Eritrea. Groups such as the Ethiopian United Action Team (EAUT) contend that
the World Banks’ lending practices to short-term governments with questionable
legitimacy and that lack transparency are unconscionable because even IDA
loans must be paid back.169 How can the World Bank and the international aid
system prevent a mismanagement of aid? Does the HIPC Initiative address this
issue? If so, will “country ownership” of a rushed process with alleged civil
society input lead to poverty reduction? Or are there fundamental tensions
between debt relief, poverty reduction, and the desired outcomes of PRSP
process? Perhaps they should not be linked together especially when the World
Bank as an institution and as a bureaucracy seems ill equipped to turn the HIPC
Initiative and the PRSP into more than just rhetoric.
Poverty Reduction Policy Matrix
Policy Measures:
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
A. GDP Growth Rate – “Streamline land lease policy and legislation of agriculture
and under the possession of both government and smallholders.”
Implementation: 00/01-01/02.170 According to the I-PRSP there is no
landlessness in Ethiopia, but since land is not privately held, the viability and
profitability of smallholders farmers and the reliance of the I-PRSP on export
agriculture is questionable. The frequency of drought in Ethiopia as well as the
ability of small farmers to generate economies of scale in export farming is not
addressed in the I-PRSP.
K. Decentralization -“Implement district level fiscal decentralization.” Implementation:
00/01-02/03 onwards.171 The I-PRSP fails to address how the international aid
system, and specifically aid donors both multilaterals and bilaterals will assist in
poverty reduction. Will regional governments still have federal block grants reduced
if they receive aid from other sources?
POVERTY DESCRIPTION
The I-PRSP begins with a description of Poverty in Ethiopia, describing the
country as “among the bottom of the least-developed countries.”172 It goes on to say
“Poverty in Ethiopia is widespread and multi-faceted. Measured mainly in terms of
food consumption, set at a minimum nutrition requirement of 2,200 calories per adult
per day, and also including non-food consumption requirements, an estimate of
1995/96 shows that 45.5 percent of the population were below the poverty line.” 173
The rest of the section gives statistics on the following items: per capita income,
regional distribution of population under the poverty line, life expectancy, infant
mortality, child mortality, maternal mortality, illiteracy rates, enrolment ratios in
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primary school, percentage of children with stunted growth, and percentage of
children experiencing malnutrition and acute malnutrition.

Other than the health and education statistics and the mention that poverty is
multi-faceted, the I-PRSP seems to focus in primarily on income measures of
poverty, ignoring some of the non-income measures of ill-being such as
powerlessness, vulnerability, and powerlessness, among others. By ignoring
these other important aspects of ill-being there is little possibility that these
problems will be reduced. The document does not discuss how it chose its
measures of poverty and ill-being. Were participatory processes used so that
people could highlight the concerns that were most important to them? Again, if
certain concerns are not measured or counted, they will have a much smaller
chance of resolution.
Other than for school enrolment statistics, the I-PRSP does not break down data by
gender. The document also uses data based on households, which ignores the
difference in experience of different members of a household based on gender, age
and other status. Without this disaggregated information it is difficult to fully
understand the how poverty affects different groups, and therefore the best way to
reduce poverty for these groups.
ADLI
ADLI encourages growth through agriculture. It also emphasizes industrialization
in the final stages of the plan. The combination of both agriculture and industry are
used as vehicles to increase development and economic growth in Ethiopia. The
following are areas of concern:

The ADLI discusses three types of measurements taken to encourage private
investment: (1) remove regulatory impediments and improve implementation
capacities on the side of government; (2) encourage public-private sector
partnership and (3) improve the business environment’s attractiveness to the
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manufacturing industry in particular.174 This is a positive goal because Ethiopia
is highly dependent on agriculture and it may be helpful to research ways to
diversify the economy and provide prospects for jobs beyond subsistence
farming. Will these efforts be focused in urban or rural areas? Depending on
where the manufacturing is concentrated, it will determine what regions and
populations will benefit. Will populations benefit outside of Addis Ababa? Is this
a measure that will ultimately help alleviate rural poverty? If these efforts are not
only directed at Addis Ababa or Dire Dawa, will other municipalities have the
capacity to contain new private sector development considering their
institutionalized lack of resources (see the resources subsection of the section on
the State above)?

ADLI has an export-orientation component built into it.175 Although increased
export may help boost the national economy will gains be realized at a household
level? Will extension program resources only be directed to farms that
participate mainly in export production, as they were once directed to state
farms? An export orientation could take an emphasis away from agricultural
production for domestic consumption and may actually increase poverty at an
individual level. Export agricultural products are highly vulnerable to external
market prices and often fluctuate. Coffee prices recently dropped and the
Ethiopian economy suffered. In addition, agricultural production is highly
susceptible to adverse weather condition, especially when there is a lack of
irrigation and a high dependence on rainfall.

A majority of agriculture production occurs through small farmers with small and
discontinuous land holdings. Most farmers engage in subsistence farming and
have limited opportunities to participate in the formal agriculture make. With a
weak infrastructure (roads and access to transportation), it is difficult for many
farmers to get products to the market place. Does ADLI account for these
barriers? In the past credit schemes and resource programs, such as fertilizer
and seed distribution, has been biased towards state farms or collectives. The
government is attempting to re-shift resources but often the poorest farmers and
women are not eligible for credit and resource programs. How does the
government plan to reduce barriers of entry for these groups?

The ADLI strategy does not address women’s participation in the agricultural
sector. Women play a significant role in the informal agricultural sector but have
limited access to resources outside of the household, such as credit, trading
licenses, participation in collectives and jobs. How will women gain access to
these resources at a local level and how does the government plan to facilitate
this? Can the government facilitate this considering its decentralized structure
and the lack of support for women’s issues by local leaders?

A recent decrease in poverty has been attributed to economic reform and
implementation of ADLI strategy. How much of this is due to political stability vs.
the aforementioned?
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Civil Service Reform
The second part of the ADLI is policy to stimulate industrialization. Part of
this policy includes civil service reform. The five components of civil service reform
are: expenditure management and control; human resource management; service
delivery; top management systems; and ethics.176 In addition, there will be an
emphasis on capacity building, especially “tertiary education to increase the stock of
trained manpower in general well as to upgrade the manpower within the civil
service.”177

As discussed in the State section, Ethiopia is experiencing a grave shortage of
trained civil servants, so civil service reform is very important. The components
of civil service reform mentioned in the I-PRSP are very important, but some key
points are missing. There is no mention of increased training and capacity
building at education levels below tertiary education. In many of the lower levels
of government there is a need for civil servants with even basic skills. Also, there
is no mention of the extreme lack of female civil servants at all levels of
government. Will efforts be made to recruit more female civil servants? As
female enrolment is so much less than male, how does the strategy plan to
address the even greater shortage of qualified female job applicants?
Decentralization and Empowerment
The I-PRSP includes a section describing the benefits of the decentralized
structure of the government. It praises the central collection of tax revenues and the
distribution of those revenues to local governments through block grants. It
highlights the benefits of devolving decision making for the development of a more
representational democracy. And it extols the “institutionalized incorporation of
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women in the development process.”178 But, as detailed in the State section above,
there are many downsides to this loose federation that are not mentioned in the IPRSP

There are significant inefficiencies inherent in a system of vertical fiscal
imbalances. There are also problems implementing federal priorities if regional
and local governments do not share them.

And as discussed in the State section and the Poverty section, the National
Policy for Women has been relatively ineffective in practice. While it is true that
Women’s Affairs Offices have been established, they have hardly any power to
enact policy changes and women’s priorities are rarely incorporated into
development plans. And, as mentioned above, there are very few women in
positions of power in the government at any level.
Agriculture
As stated earlier, the Ethiopian economy is highly dependent on agriculture. In
addition, a majority of Ethiopian people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. It
will be difficult for the government to diversify the economy in the near future and
realize economic gains. Meanwhile, the government must find innovative ways to
improve the agriculture sector. Given that many farmers have limited resources,
agricultural strategies must be realistic and flexible, especially since agriculture
products and conditions vary by regions. The following are specific areas that
require more extensive examination:

The I-PRSP mentions the enhancement of research and extension, including the
introduction of new products, service cooperatives and equipment.179
Historically, similar programs have been directed towards state farms and
cooperatives, which have proven to be ineffective. Today, there has been a shift
of resources to focus on poor farmers. Will these research and extension
programs address the needs of subsistence farms? Will the identified techniques
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be long-term and sustainable for a majority of farmers, who have limited access
to roads and energy sources?

Drought has been a long-time problem for Ethiopia; it is compounded by lack of
irrigation. This has proven to have drastic negative impacts at a household level.
The government has attempted to address this issue through the Ethiopian
Social Rehabilitation and Development Fund (ESRDF).180 How successful has
the program been? Are there plans beyond the ESRDF to improve irrigation and
which areas/regions are being targeted for improvements? Who will benefit
short-term and long-term from these efforts?

The I-PRSP identifies that there has been a shift of development attention to the
smallholder family but does not specifically define a smallholder family. In
addition, it does not filter out how a focus on the smallholder family will address
women’s roles in agriculture or how it will reduce the disproportionate amount of
poverty born by women.

A country-wide extension program focusing on areas with stable rainfall is part of
the agricultural strategy for Ethiopia. The program diffuses fertilizers and seed to
these areas.181 Although this program may produce immediate results, it is
questionable how much of an impact it will have on reducing poverty. Not many
regions have stable rainfall, so the amount of people that may benefit from such
a program may be limited.

The emphasis on extension programs, in their present form, may not be helpful
to a majority of farmers. This is particularly the case since resources have been
targeted to specific groups in the past. A majority of farmers, especially poor
farmers or female-headed households, do not have access to these programs.
As a result, small farmers have not been given proper incentives to produce
beyond subsistence farming. Also, most farmers can get more money for their
goods by selling them on the black market. The lack of participation of farmers in
the formal marketplace could be economically detrimental to the future of
Ethiopia, since small farmers yield most production. How does the government,
local and federal, plan to provide incentives for participation?

The I-PRSP dedicates a substantial amount of effort on utilizing the agriculture
sector as a strategy for reducing poverty. This is expected since the economy
has a high dependence on agriculture. The ADLI strategy speaks to diversifying
the economy, particularly industrializing the economy but spends little time
expanding on this idea.182 There is very limited discussion on pursuing
alternative forms of income to strengthen the economy and diversify the job
market, such as tourism, value-added production of coffee and other products
and the diversification of agricultural products/natural resources (i.e. flowers,
mining for minerals and precious metals).
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Gender
There is a brief recognition in the I-PRSP that gender equality will continue to be
emphasized in the process of decentralization and empowerment.183 However,
there is no mention of how this is going to be implemented on a regional level. Nor
does the I-PRSP address how women will be included in the poverty reduction
strategy in terms of agriculture, education, health, macroeconomics, privatization
etc. Specifically, it does not address how women’s labor will be incorporated into the
strategy for economic growth. There is no mention of women’s current participation
level in society and how federal and local social institutions promote or restrict their
participation. This is a critical component of the PRSP, especially since a majority of
women live in rural areas and bear a disproportionate amount of poverty. The
following are gender-related issues that may require further research and analysis:

How will gender equality continue to be emphasized in the process of
decentralization? Many of the federal policies regarding women are in direct
conflict with regional and local customary laws.

The Women’s National Policy addresses the role of women in Ethiopia but has
begun at a slow rate.184 As a result, many are subject to regional laws and social
norms. At the local levels, kebeles and wereda, representation for women is
low. Most representation and participation for women occurs at an informal level,
giving women limited vehicles for mobilization. How will the final PRSP propose
to mobilize women and support their formal participation in social and economic
institutions? Will procedural requirements for registering groups be less stringent
in order to stimulate the growth of grassroots organizations?

The I-PRSP states that the focus areas for women’s organizations, created under
the Women’s National Policy, are to mainstream gender in all spheres of the
development agenda, carrying out advocacy, capacity building and setting up
Women’s Organizations and Networking.185 This has been more effective at a
national level and impacted national policy but is not actualized on a regional
level. Since government is highly decentralized, it is important for any policies
regarding women to be implemented and accepted at a regional and local level.
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Currently, the women’s affairs bureaus and departments at the regional level do
not have legitimate power to ensure and/or coordinate gender-sensitive
development. What actions will be taken to change these conditions?

Women have limited access to land holdings. Regional and customary laws do
not support women’s access to land or the formal participation in agriculture. An
effective PRSP must address this issue because land and participation in the
formal market provide tools for combating poverty. What measure will be taken
to ensure that women have greater access to land? Will region-specific
strategies be adopted? Are regional governments going to be given incentives to
guide kebeles to interpret land regulations and administer them in a gendersensitive ways?

What steps will be taken to facilitate the entry of poor women into labor markets?
Specifically, will measures be taken to ensure women’s access to credit and
licensing? Currently, groups can have access to credit from banking institutions,
with recommendations and collateral. Women often have limited collateral and
restricted interaction with formal institutions, which inhibits their ability to gain
credit.

Women have less access to education, especially secondary and tertiary
education. Their participation in labor markets beyond the informal agriculture
sector is limited, especially in rural areas? What measure will be taken to
promote women’s access to education at all levels?
Health and Education
The I-PRSP recognizes that education and health must be given top priority.
There has been a recent shift toward preventative health care services in rural
areas. This is an effort to combat high incidences of malnutrition, preventable
diseases and high illiteracy rates. The government has launched sector wide
programs with a bottom-up approach in education and health called the Ethiopian
Social Rehabilitation and Development Fund (ESRDF). It aims to improve the well
being of the poor by supporting community-based projects, which build and
strengthen social and economic assets. The program focuses on basic education,
health, water supply and sanitation, small-scale irrigation and capacity building and
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training. This program has the potential to be an effective poverty reduction
strategy. Given the diversity of the country, it is important that strategies for
improving health and education require region specific strategies. As these
strategies develop, it may be helpful to keep in mind the following issues and
questions that were generated from the I-PRSP:

The Ethiopian Government adopted a new Education and Training Policy and
Strategy (ETPS) in 1994.186 Its primary focus is directed towards expanding
access to educational opportunities that are directly relevant to the present and
future economy. Under this strategy primary school enrollment is projected to
increase, along with girls’ participation. It does not specify which regions will be
most impacted by the strategy. Currently, there is a large discrepancy between
urban and rural school enrollment, with the former being much higher. Rural
localities often do not have proper access to schools, find the cost of attendance
high, and do not find the education relevant and work opportunities readily
available. What measures will be taken at a local and federal level to change
these conditions? Are the strategies going to have a region and gender-specific
focus?

Ethiopia has been most successful in offering primary education but secondary
and tertiary enrollment has been historically low and concentrated in urban
areas. More attention should be given to making secondary and tertiary
education available to rural populations, both male and female. In addition, there
will need to be opportunities for job attainment after education is completed.
How does the PRSP process plan to address promoting increased enrollments
for secondary and tertiary education? Are distance learning programs a feasible
solution? What kind of opportunities will be available? Will opportunities be
made available in rural regions?

The I-PRSP requires the construction of several schools.187 There is no
specification on where schools will be built or how decisions will be made on
where to build them. Boarding schools will be built for students coming from
nomadic regions. How will children from the nomadic regions be identified and
how will their displacement impact the family unit and economic stability?

A primary vehicle for implementing a health strategy is the Health Sector
Development Program (HSDP).188 The goal of the program is to improve the
health of Ethiopian people. It will provide comprehensive and integrated primary
health care services at the community level health facilities, referrals and other
hospital services. A majority of rural populations have limited access to health
facilities. How does the PRSP plan to overcome this barrier? Will facilities be
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located in reasonable distances from local villages? What regions are most
impacted by HSDP and how successful has it been?

Health Sector Development Program (HSDP) does not address access for the
rural urban poor. Most people do not have access to health care facilities or they
are extremely expensive. The program mentions a preventative health focus on
communicable diseases, common nutritional disorders, environmental health and
hygiene. It does not specify strategies to address differences in rural and urban
health care access. In addition, it does not discuss how resources will be
allocated, and issue which is important because certain diseases are more
region specific. For instance HIV/AIDS tends to be more of an urban
phenomenon and is extremely expensive to treat.

The I-PRSP mentions that the prevalence of HIV/AIDs is high.189 The
government adopted an HIV/AIDS Policy to confront this crisis. The I-PRSP
does not give much detail regarding the policy and does not outline specific
strategies. How will resources be allocated and will it divert money away from
other preventative health programs? Are there specific areas where efforts will
be concentrated?
Sector Development Programs
The I-PRSP discusses the implementation of multi-year sector development
programs, concentrating on roads, education, health, energy, agricultural and rural
development. These development programs are of critical importance because
infrastructure is weak in Ethiopia, particularly in the areas of road,
telecommunication, electric and sanitation systems. Lack of institutional capacity at
a regional level has exacerbated the weak state of infrastructure and its impact on
poverty. The responsibility for implementing such development policies has shifted
to regional governments, which are not fully prepared to assume the new tasks.
Therefore, the following areas of concern should stimulate further analysis and
research:
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
A new extension system is referred to in the I-PRSP. The system adopts
technology and credit expansion to spread resources to farming families. The
program grew from 32,000 farming families in 1994/1995 to 2.8 million farming
families in 1999/2000.190 Which farming families and what regions are benefiting
most from this system?

There is also mention of strengthening the competitive marketing system at the
level of distribution to the farmer. This may prove to be difficult since a majority
of farmers are rural subsistence farmers and do not have incentives to compete.
What incentives will be given for farmers to participate? Given that infrastructure
is relatively weak in most areas, how will distribution occur?

The sector development program also attempts to address the welfare of
pastoral people through infrastructure development but it does not layout plans in
any detail.191 Will relocation programs be implemented to bring these people
closer to infrastructure? These types of relocation/villagization projects were
unpopular in the past. If this is the plan of action, will past resistance be a
barrier? Pastoral people have been negatively impacted by the fact that common
areas have been turned into state parks. This transition has limited their
entitlement rights. How is the welfare of pastoral people impacted and will
actions to promote infrastructure development help improve their overall
conditions?

Food insecure households are addressed by the I-PRSP. There are plans to
raise the ability of households to obtain food through agricultural and off-farm
activities, and wage employment by 10 percent.192 In what regional areas will
these efforts be primarily focused? Will they address the needs of the poorest
regions? No details are given. A major challenge to this strategy is the
availability of wage labor in rural regions. In addition, off-farm activities, such as
trading require registration and approval at the local level. This is a strong barrier
for women and very poor families. What actions will be taken to overcome these
challenges?

The five year sector development program aims to upgrade main roads in
Ethiopia, linking Addis Ababa to nearby towns and seaports.193 Most roads are
focused on Addis Ababa but road infrastructure is weak elsewhere around the
country. This limits prospects for regional trade and ensures benefits for the
urban population of Addis Ababa. Most of the population is rural and they are not
realizing benefits from the program. Nor are other smaller municipalities. If
attention is only focused on Addis Ababa smaller municipalities will suffer and
Addis Ababa will likely experience growth beyond its infrastructure capacity. If a
major goal of the I-PRSP is equity and empowerment, are the politics of road
placement being properly addressed? Are there plans in the near future to work
on rural road development? How much progress has already been achieved in
this area?
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
As part of an effort to improve infrastructure, developments in water supply and
telecommunications have been concentrated in urban areas. The rural
populations are at a deficit. A 24 percent increase in clean water supply has
been realized in 1998/99194. There is no specification on where the increase was
gained.

Ethiopian Social Rehabilitation and Development Fund (ESRDF) is a multi-sector
poverty reduction plan that is driven from a bottom-up approach.195 It aims to
improve the well being of the poor by supporting community-based projects,
which build and strengthen social and economic assets. The program focuses
on basic education, health, water supply and sanitation, small-scale irrigation and
capacity building and training. Does this program have a gender focus? Does it
have a regional focus? ESRDF could be a good vehicle for poverty reduction.
How successful has the program been?

The I-PRSP does not articulate how to involve the international aid system with
the ESRDF nor are the results of this program illustrated. It would be helpful to
further examine the details of the ESRDF in the PRSP.
Post Conflict Setting
In describing the macroeconomic setting under which the I-PRSP was written,
the authors write that “Ethiopia finds itself in a post-conflict situation. There are
emergency needs of rehabilitation, demobilization, and reconstruction.”196 Other than
this comment there is little mention in the entire document of the country’s history of
violent conflict or of any special efforts to develop systems to avoid future violence.

As emphasized in the State section, development progress in Ethiopia stands still
or slides backwards in times of violent conflict, and due to its history, the country
faces numerous latent conflict situations. There should at least be mention of
how the country plans to avoid future conflict, and in order to have a successful
poverty reduction strategy there should be significant attention and resources
directed towards this end.
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Critique Wrap-up
The preceding critiques are meant merely to provoke further thought and
discussion and are in no way exhaustive. But, we believe that a good way to review
Ethiopia’s PRSP is from the perspective of understanding the multi-dimensions of illbeing experienced by the poor, the structural and historical constraints faced by the
State, the strength and roll of civil society within Ethiopia, and the priorities and
access of international aid organizations involved in Ethiopia. By thoroughly
understanding these four elements we may begin to have insight into how Ethiopia
could develop a sustainable PRSP.
VIII. Conclusion
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s October 2000 speech to the Joint Conference
of African Ministers of Finance, Economic Development and Planning illustrated his
disdain for HIPC as follows:
What I find most objectionable about this initiative and most of the other debt
reduction initiatives, is that they are being used as the whip to enforce
unquestioning acceptance of the economic orthodoxy, that so-called
Washington consensus, that is being promoted by some international
financial institutions. The abysmal failure of this orthodoxy in Africa over the
past decade and a half clearly suggests that it can and must be questioned.
Indeed, many thoughtful individuals in the citadels of the orthodoxy are
questioning many of its prescriptions. The choice we are left with under HIPC
is thus to either abandon all independent and rational thinking in economic
policy-making or wallow in the quagmire of unsustainable debt. It is a choice
between the devil and the deep blue sea. To use the whip of debt overhang
to enforce this orthodoxy in debt-ridden countries, is in some ways
tantamount to blackmail and is therefore both unviable and immoral.197
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With such vehement opposition to the program coming from the head of the
Ethiopian State we have to wonder about how much effort Ethiopia really plans on
putting into developing their PRSP. As we discussed in the previous pages, we
identified a number of possible pitfalls in Ethiopia’s strategy that might prevent a
successful outcome. There are other topics touched upon in the I-PRSP that we
would have liked to have analyzed in much greater detail such as the current state of
the judiciary, details of the proposed micro-credit program, privatization, the
Country’s disaster/famine preparedness programs, participatory processes, and
environmental degradation among many others. It is clear that developing a
sustainable poverty reduction strategy for a country like Ethiopia is a very complex
and time consuming task that will not only require resources, but great commitment
from all parties involved.
We sincerely hope that those creating the final PRSP and those reviewing it
will find our insights useful as they continue working through the PRSP process.
Even more than that, we hope that the PRSP process itself is not so flawed that all
the energy and resources that have been put into it so far were wasted. We must
maintain faith that if there is sufficient support and desire to relieve the poverty in
Ethiopia there can be a successful collaboration between the World Bank and the
IMF, international aid organizations, NGO’s, the Ethiopian State, and the people of
Ethiopia who are actually suffering from poverty and other dimensions of ill-being.
We believe that the only way for such a successful collaboration to occur is through
communication, and if our work can aid that process in any way it would be the
greatest reward for our labors.
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References
Abegaz, Berhanu. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999).
Abraha, Timnit. Debt: Ethiopia a Background Brief, For NGO Networking Service,
InterAfrica Group (October 2000).
The Christian Relief and Development Association (CRDA) website, URL:
http://www.crdaethiopia.org
Clark, Jeffrey. Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia, (June 2000).
Consultations with Civil Society Organizations: General Guidelines for World Bank
Staff, From NGO and Civil Society Unit Social Development Department,
(June 2000).
Country Report Ethiopia. The Economist Intelligence Unit, (March 2001).
Curl, Kinshasa and Sonja El-Walkil. Civil Society, Unpublished paper prepared for
University of California, Los Angeles Urban Planning 217A Course:
Comprehensive Project, (Winter 2001).
Dercon, Stefan and Krishnan, Pramila. Changes in Poverty in Rural Ethiopia 1989 –
1995: Measurement, Robustness Tests and Decomposition. Oxford:
University of Oxford, Center for the Study of African Economies (March
1998).
Dercon, Stefan and Krishnan, Pramila. In Sickness and in Health…Risk-sharing
within households in rural Ethiopia. Oxford: University of Oxford (April 1997).
Devarajan, Shantayanan, Daiv Dollar, Torgny Holmgren. Aid and Reform in Africa,
From the Development Research Group, the World Bank (December 1999).
Development Committee. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers-Progress
Implementation. (April 2001).
Domenzain, Alejandra, Peter Song, and Haydee Urita. International Aid Systems,
Unpublished paper for the University of California, Los Angeles Urban
Planning 217A Course: Comprehensive Project, (Winter 2001).
The Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Profile 2000: Ethiopia. London: The
Economist Intelligence Unit (2000).
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
114
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
References (cont.)
Edwards, Michael and David Hulme. Development, NGO’s and Civil Society,
Obtain additional site information form the Winter International Aid Group.
Estache, Antonio, Gomez-Lobo, Andres, and Leipzeiger, Danny. “Utility Privatization
and the Needs of the Poor in Latin America: Have We Learned Enough to Get
it Right?” London, UK: Paper presented at the World Bank Infrastructure for
Development: Private Solutions and the Poor Workshop, (31 May - 2 June,
2000).
Ethiopia: Country Commercial Guide. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government; U.S.
Foreign and Commercial Service. (2001) Available at
http://www1.usatrade.gov
Ethiopia: Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 200/01 – 2002/03. Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, (November 2000).
Ethiopia Regionalization Study. World Bank, (June 2000).
Fowler, Alan. NGO Futures: Beyond Aid – Introduction to the Special Issue NGDO
Value and the Forth Position, TWQ-Introduction.
The Horn of African NGO Network for Development (HANND) website, URL:
http://www.hannd.org
InterAfrica Group (IAG) website, URL: http://www.interafrica.org.
InterAfrica Group (IAG) website, URL: http://www.interafrica.org/vrc/debt.html.#III.
Abraha, Timnit. Debt: Ethiopia a Background Brief, For NGO Networking
Service, InterAfrica Group (October 2000).
Interim Support Strategy for The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. World
Bank, (November 2000).
International Forum on Capacity Building: Africa (IFCB) website, URL:
http://www.ifcb-ngo.org.
Latif, Jalal-Abel. Executive Director, InterAfrica Group, Informal exploratory
interview, (May 2001).
Library of Congress. Ethiopia – A Country Study. www.library of Congress/Federal
Research Division/Country Studies/Area Hand…/Ethiopia.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
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POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
References (cont.)
Maluccio, John A. and Quisumbing, Agnes R. Intrahousehold Allocation and Gender
Relations: New Empirical Evidence. Washington DC: The World Bank
(October 1999).
Network for Development (HANND) website, URL: http://www.hannd.org.
Neuhaus, P., et al. Ethiopia: Recent Economic Developments. Washington, D.C.:
International Monetary Fund, (September 1999).
News & Notices For IMF and World Bank Watchers. Volume 2, Number 3
(Fall 2000).
News and Notice for IMF and World Bank Watchers. Volume 2, Number 4. (Spring
2001).
Owusu, Kwesi, Sarah Clarke, Stuart Croft, John Garrett. Through the Eye of a
Needle. Jubilee 2000, (December 2000).
Pankhurst, Dr. Richard. An Introduction to the Economic History of Ethiopia.
London, (1961).
Parker, Ben. Ethiopia: Breaking New Ground. Oxford: Oxfam, (1995).
Piester, Kerianne, ed. Food for Thought, Proceedings from Brown Bag Lunch
Series, From Latin America and the Caribbean Civil Society Team of the
World Bank (Fall 1999).
Prochnik, Ethan M. Food and Famine in Ethiopia: A Historical and Political Study.
Washington, D.C.: US State Department, (1986).
Robb, Caroline M. Participation in Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers – Draft.
Washington, D.C.: IMF (August 2000).
Savas, E.S. Privatization and Public Private Partnerships. New York: Seven Bridges
Press (2000).
Schwab, Peter. Ethiopia – Politics, Economics and Society. London, (1985).
Telantin, Michela. World Bank partners are the Ethiopian people, not government of
the day- say campaigners, (May 23, 2001).
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
116
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
References (cont.)
Wangwe, Samuel. Fostering Technical Capacity Building: The Case of Ethiopia and
the United Republic of Tanzania, (May 1995).
Wily, Liz Alden. Land Tenure Reform and The Balance of Power in Eastern and
Southern Africa. United Kingdom: Overseas Development Institute (June
2000) no. 58. www.odi.org.uk/nrp/58.html
The Women’s Affairs Office, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Implementing
the Ethiopian National Policy for Women: Institution and Regulatory Issues.
Washington D.C.: World Bank (April 1998).
Van Hove, K., and H.B. Solignac Lecomte. Aid for Trade Development: Lessons for
Lome V. (ECDPM Discussion Paper 10). Maastricht: ECDPM, (1999).
The World Bank. Ethiopia: Social Sector Report. Washington D.C. (August 1998).
The World Bank. HIPC Debt Initiative: Flow Chart. Washington D.C.
www.worldbank.org./hipc/about/FlowChrt4.pdf.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
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POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
Glossary of Terms
AfDB
ADA
ADLI
BDPP
Bride price
CAS
CBE
CDF
CPIA
CRDA
CSRP
DAC
DBE
Derg
DPPC
EAUT
EDA
EMDA
EPRDF
ERA
ESRDF
EU
GDP
GNP
HANND
HIPC
IAG
IFCB
IDA
Idirs
INGO
I-PRSP
Iqub
Kebele
NGO
ODA
ODA
ORA
PRSP
African Development Bank
Amhara Development Association
Agriculture Development Led Industrialization
Bureaus for Disaster Prevention and Preparedness
A sum of money or goods paid to a bride and her family by the
husband at the time of marriage.
Country Assistance Strategy
Commercial Bank of Ethiopia
Comprehensive Development Framework
Country Policy and Institutional Assessment
Christian Relief and Development Association
Civil Service Reform Program
Development Assistance Committee
Development Bank of Ethiopia
The name of the Marxist/Leninist regime led by Colonel Mengistu Haile
Mariam in power from 1974 – 1991.
Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission
Ethiopian United Action Team
Effective Development Assistance
Ethiopian Muslim Development Agency
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front
Eritrean Relief Association
Ethiopian Social Rehabilitation and Development Fund
European Union
Gross Domestic Product
Gross National Product
Horn of Africa NGO Network for Development
Heavily Indebted Poor Country
InterAfrica Group
International Forum on Capacity Building
International Development Association
Funeral associations, an informal women’s group.
International Non-Governmental Organization
Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
Traditional rotating savings and credit associations, an informal
women’s group.
A village level form of government.
Non-Governmental Organization
Official Development Assistance
Oromo Development Association
Oromo Relief Association
Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
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POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
Glossary of Terms Cont.
REST
RRC
SIP
SNNPS
TDA
TPLF
UN
UNDAF
US
Woreda
WTO
Relief Society of Tigray
Relief and Rehabilitation Commission
Sector Investment Program
Southern Nation and Nationalities People’s Region
Tigrayan Development Association
Tigray People’s Liberation Front
United Nations
United Nations Development Assistance Framework
United States
A district level form of government.
World Trade Organization
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
119
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
Endnotes
2
http://www.worldbank.org/poverty/strategies/overview.htm
2
The Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Profile 2000: Ethiopia, (2000): p. 5
3
IBID: p. 17
4
The World Bank. Ethiopia: Social Sector Report, (August 1998): p. 14.
Women’s Affairs Office, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Implementing the Ethiopian
National Policy for Women: Institutional and Regulatory Issues, (April 1998): p.18.
5
Women’s Affairs Office, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Implementing the Ethiopian
National Policy for Women: Institutional and Regulatory Issues, (April 1998): p.18.
6
7
IBID: p.2.
8
IBID: p.1.
9
IBID: p.1.
10
IBID: p.46.
11
Government of Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2000/01-2002/03,
(November 2000): p. 18.
Women’s Affairs Office, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Implementing the Ethiopian
National Policy for Women: Institutional and Regulatory Issues, (April 1998): p.3.
12
13
IBID: p.2.
14
IBID: p.6.
15
The Economist Intelligence Unit. Country Profile 2000: Ethiopia, (2000): p.17.
16
IBID: p.14.
17
The World Bank. Ethiopia: Social Sector Report, (August 1998): p. xviii.
18
IBID: p. 83.
19
IBID: p. 80.
20
IBID: p. 24.
21
IBID: p. xx.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
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POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
Endnotes (cont.)
22
IBID: p. 68.
23
IBID: p. 30.
25
IBID: p. 29.
26
IBID: p. 57.
27
IBID: p. xxii.
28
IBID: p. xxiii.
29
IBID: p. 57.
30
IBID: p. 17.
31
IBID: p. 17.
3232
IBID: p. 26.
33
IBID: p. 17.
34
IBID: p. 26.
35
Schwab, Politics, Economics and Society, (London, 1985), p. 4.
36
IBID, p. 4.
37
Richard Pankhurst, An Introduction to the Economic History of Ethiopia, (London 1961), p. 64.
38
Ethan M. Prochnik, Food and Famine in Ethiopia: A Historical and Political Study, (Washington
D.C.: U.S. State Department, 1986), p. 14.
39
Ben Parker, Ethiopia: Breaking New Ground, (Oxford: Oxfam, 1995), p. 10.
40
Ethan M. Prochnik, Food and Famine in Ethiopia: A Historical and Political Study, (Washington
D.C.: U.S. State Department, 1986), p. 15.
41
IBID, p. 81.
42
Ben Parker, Ethiopia: Breaking New Ground, (Oxford: Oxfam, 1995), p. 14.
43
Interim Support Strategy for the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, (The World Bank,
November 2000), p.3.
44
Ben Parker, Ethiopia: Breaking New Ground, (Oxford: Oxfam, 1995), p. 18.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
121
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
45
Ethan M. Prochnik, Food and Famine in Ethiopia: A Historical and Political Study, (Washington
D.C.: U.S. State Department, 1986), p. 16 – 17.
Endnotes (cont.)
46
IBID, p. 17.
47
Country Profile 2000: Ethiopia, (London: The Economist Intelligence Unit, 2000), p. 2.
48
IBID, p. 4.
49
“Ethiopia Regionalization Study”, (Washington D.C.: World Bank, June, 2000), p. 1.
50
IBID, p. 1.
51
IBID, p. 2.
52
IBID, p. 3.
53
IBID, p. 17.
54
IBID, p. 28.
55
IBID, p. 30.
56
IBID, p. 25.
57
IBID, p. 7.
58
IBID, p. x.
59
IBID, p. 10.
60
IBID, p. xi.
61
IBID, p. xii.
62
IBID, p. xii.
63
P. Neuhaus, et al., Ethiopia: Recent Economic Developments (Washington, D.C.: International
Monetary Fund, September 1999), p. 48.
64
“Ethiopia Regionalization Study”, (Washington D.C.: World Bank, June, 2000), p. 45.
65
IBID-, p. xiii.
66
IBID, p. 34.
67
IBID, p. 34.
68
IBIB, p. 34.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
122
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
Endnotes (cont.)
69
H.B. Solignac Lecomte and K. Van Hove, Aid for Trade Development: Lessons for Lome V
(Maastricht: ECDPM, 1999), p. 27.
70
IBID, p. 28.
71
“Ethiopia Regionalization Study”, World Bank, June, 2000, p. 9.
72
H.B. Solignac Lecomte and K. Van Hove, Aid for Trade Development: Lessons for Lome V
(Maastricht: ECDPM, 1999), p. 27.
73
Government of Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2000/01-2002/03,
(November 2000): p. 28.
74 Ethiopia: Country Commercial Guide, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service,
2001), Available at http://www1.usatrade.gov.
75 Antonio Estache, Andres Gomez-Lobo and Danny Leipzeiger, “Utility Privatization and the Needs
of the Poor in Latin America: Have We Learned Enough to Get it Right?”, (London, UK: Paper
presented at the World Bank Infrastructure for Development: Private Solutions and the Poor
Workshop, 31 May - 2 June, 2000), p. 29.
76 Ethiopia: Country Commercial Guide, (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Foreign and Commercial Service,
2001), Available at http://www1.usatrade.gov.
77 InterAfrica Group (IAG) website, URL: http://www.interafrica.org.
79
Piester, Kerianne, ed. Food for Thought, Proceedings from Brown Bag Lunch Series, From Latin
America and the Caribbean Civil Society Team of the World Bank (Fall 1999).
80
Consultations with Civil Society Organizations: General Guidelines for World Bank Staff, From
NGO and Civil Society Unit Social Development Department, (June 2000): p. 5.
81
Abegaz, Berhanu. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p. 4.
“The Derg (Committee in Amharic) was the Armed Forces Coordinating Committee that came into
power in 1975. The Derg abolished the monarchy and proclaimed a republic.”
82
Clark, Jeffrey. Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia, (June 2000): p. 18.
83 Ibid. p. 19.
84
Clark, Jeffrey. Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia, (June 2000): p. 4 and10.
85
Civil war and conflict will be examined by Russell Horning in the crosscutting section of the PRSP
Comprehensive project.
86
Clark, Jeffrey. Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia, (June 2000): p. 5.
87
Ibid. p. 9.
88
Ibid. p. 6.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
123
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
Endnotes (cont.)
89
Fowler, Alan. NGO Futures: Beyond Aid – Introduction to the Special Issue NGDO Value and the
Forth Position, TWQ-Introduction. The solidarity paradigm will be explored in detail during the new
paradigm subsection.
90
Clark, Jeffrey. Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia, (June 2000): p. 6.
91
Ibid. p. 12.
92
Ibid. p.1.
93
Ibid. p. 8 and 9.
94
Ibid. p. 1.
95
Ibid. p. 19.
96
Ibid. p. 8.
Ethiopia Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2000/01 – 2002/03, (November 2000): p. 3.
Land Tenure will be examined in detail in the Poverty Section of this paper by Toriana Henderson.
Berhanu, Abegaz. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p. 42.
97
98
99
Clark, Jeffrey. Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia, (June 2000): p. 8.
100
The Christian Relief and Development Association (CRDA) website, URL:
http://www.crdaethiopia.org
101
Ibid. CRDA website.
102
Clark, Jeffrey. Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia, (June 2000): p. 8.
103
IBID: p. 5.
104
The role of the CRDA will be examined in the Involvement in the PRSP process subsection of this
paper.
105
Clark, Jeffrey. Civil Society, NGOs, and Development in Ethiopia, (June 2000): p. 9.
106
The Horn of African NGO Network for Development (HANND) website, URL: http://www.hannd.org
107
Yusuf, Yasmin. Ethiopia Muslims Development Agency Established. The Horn of African NGO
Network for Development (HANND) website, URL: http://www.hannd.org.
108
InterAfrica Group (IAG) website, URL: http://www.interafrica.org.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
124
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
109International
110
Forum on Capacity Building: Africa (IFCB) website, URL: http://www.ifcb-ngo.org.
I-PRSP. p. 35.
Endnotes (cont.)
111
Consultations with Civil Society Organizations: General Guidelines for World Bank Staff, From
NGO and Civil Society Unit Social Development Department, (June 2000): p. 3.
Fowler, Alan. NGO Futures: Beyond Aid – Introduction to the Special Issue NGDO Value and the
Forth Position, TWQ-Introduction.
112
113
Berhanu, Abegaz. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p. 30.
114
I-PRSP. p. 35-36.
115
Organizations such as USAID provide relief funds, which are channeled though United States
based NGOs.
116
Abegaz, Berhanu. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p:3.
117
Ibid. p.8.
118
Ibid. p.8
119
Civil war and conflict will be examined by Russell Horning in the Crosscutting section of the PRSP
Comprehensive Project.
120 Devarajan, Shantayanan, Daiv Dollar, Torgny Holmgren. Aid and Reform in Africa, (December
1999): p. 9. From the Development Research Group, the World Bank.
121
Ethiopia Regionalization Study, World Bank, June, 2000, p. 30.
122
Abegaz, Berhanu. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p. 35.
123
Ibid. p. Abstract.
124
Ibid. p. 3.
125
Devarajan, Shantayanan, Daiv Dollar, Torgny Holmgren. Aid and Reform in Africa, (December
1999): p. 13. From the Development Research Group, the World Bank.
126
Ibid. p. 14.
127
Ibid. 15.
128
Owusu, Kwesi, Sarah Clarke, Stuart Croft, John Garrett. Through the Eye of a Needle. Jubilee
2000, (December 2000): p. 19.
129
Ibid. p.19.
130
Ibid. p. 19.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
125
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
131
Abegaz, Berhanu. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p. 12.
Endnotes (cont.)
132
Ibid. p.12.
133
Ibid. p. 11and 12.
134
Ibid. p. 15.
135
Ibid. p. 25.
136
Ibid. p. 15.
137
Ibid. p. 17.
138
Ibid. p. 18.
139
Ibid. p. 18.
140
Ibid. p. 21.
141
Ibid. p. 32.
142
External aid is coordinated at Consultative Group Meeting which usually occur biennially. Ibid. p.
33.
143
Ibid. p. Abstract.
144
The Ethiopia County Assistance Strategy (CAS) outlines the donors’ goals.
145
Abegaz, Berhanu. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p. 32.
146
Ibid. p. 33.
147
Ibid. 34. Further detailed analysis regarding NGOs is available in the Civil Society section of this paper.
148
Abegaz, Berhanu. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p. 39.
149
These findings are based on ten case studies in Africa, including Ethiopia. Devarajan,
Shantayanan, Daiv Dollar, Torgny Holmgren. Aid and Reform in Africa, (December 1999): p. 3 and
30. From the Development Research Group, the World Bank.
150
Ibid. p. 31.
151
Ibid. p. 17.
152
Wangwe, Samuel. Fostering Technical Capacity Building: The Case of Ethiopia and the United
Republic of Tanzania, (May 1995): p. 14.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
126
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
153
For additional information on building partnerships with the private sector to increase technological
capacity please refer to: Wangwe, Samuel. Fostering Technical Capacity Building: The Case of
Ethiopia and the United Republic of Tanzania, (May 1995): p. 14-19.
Endnotes (cont.)
154
Abegaz, Berhanu. Aid and Reform in Ethiopia, (August 1999): p. 35.
155
News & Notices For IMF and World Bank Watchers. Volume 2, Number 3 (Fall 2000): p. 16.
156
Ibid. p. 16.
157
Domenzain, Alejandra, Peter Song, and Haydee Urita. International Aid Systems, Unpublished
paper for the University of California, Los Angeles Urban Planning 217A Course: Comprehensive
Project, Winter (2001).
Edwards, Michael and David Hulme. Development, NGO’s and Civil Society. P. 51. Obtain
additional site information form the Winter International Aid Group.
158
159
Informal exploratory interview with Jalal Abel-Latif, Executive Director, InterAfrica Group, (May
2001)
160
Government of Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2000/01-2002/03,
(November 2000): p. 21 and 22.
161
Development Committee. Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers-Progress Implementation. (April
2001): p. 5.
162
News and Notice for IMF and World Bank Watchers. Volume 2, Number 4. (Spring 2001): p. 14.
163
IBID: p. 9.
164
Ibid. p. 11.
165
Ibid. p. 13.
Ethiopia Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2000/01 – 2002/03, (November 2000): p. 1215.
166
167
Abraha, Timnit. Debt: Ethiopia a Background Brief, For NGO Networking Service, InterAfrica
Group (October 2000).
168
Telantin, Michela. World Bank partners are the Ethiopian people, not government of the day- say
campaigners, (May 23, 2001): p. 2.
169 According to Jubilee 2000, Ethiopia owes US$1.5 billion in IDA loans, the largest amount in SubSaharan Africa.
170
I-PRSP: p.27
171
I-PRSP: p. 33.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
127
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
172
IBID: p.3.
173
IBID: p. 3.
Endnotes (cont.)
174
IBID: p. 11.
175
IBID: p. 11.
176
IBID: p. 12.
177
IBID: p. 15.
178
IBID: p. 13.
179
IBID: p. 10.
180
IBID: p. 22.
181
IBID: p. 5.
182
IBID: p. 8.
183
IBID: p. 13.
Women’s Affairs Office, Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Implementing the Ethiopian
National Policy for Women: Institutional and Regulatory Issues, (April 1998): p.1.
184
185.
Government of Ethiopia. Ethiopia: Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper 2000/01-2002/03,
(November 2000): p. 14.
186
IBID: p. 19.
187
IBID: p. 19.
188
IBID: p. 20.
189
IBID: p. 20.
190
IBID: p. 16.
191
IBID: p. 18.
192
IBID: p. 28.
193
IBID: p. 21.
194
IBID: p. 22.
195
IBID: p. 22.
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
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POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
196
IBID: p. 23.
197
InterAfrica Group (IAG) website, URL: http://www.interafrica.org /vrc/debt.html.#III. Abraha,
Timnit. Debt: Ethiopia a Background Brief, For NGO Networking Service, InterAfrica Group (October
2000).
Appendix A
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
129
POVERTY REDUCTION STRATEGIES FEASIBILITY FOR ETHIOPIA
Ethiopia I-PSRP Critique
130