Page 1 of 20

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 06

July 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 299

Prospect and Challenges of Good Governance in Dilla

Town: Analysis of Political History

Anteneh Melu and Girma Legesse

A Research Report submitted to Research and Dissemination Office of Dilla University Dilla,

Dilla University

1. Background of the Study

‘If men were angels, no government would be

necessary. If angels were to govern men, no

controls on government would be necessary. In

framing a government of men over men, the

great difficulty lies in this: You must first enable

the government to control the governed, and in

the next place oblige it to control itself.’

James Madison (1788), the 18th century state- builder

It is apparent that certain historical

developments in recent past have partly

altered the agenda of many developing

countries, though the concerns of these states

did not stem from the external influence

alone. These issues do not have much

impeachability about their significance

mainly in the poverty stricken less developed

states since they have been considered as

important remedies to the multifaceted ills of

these countries. Among these crucial tenets,

the most dominant strands of the

contemporary period are the political idea of

democratization and good governance.

As a criterion, good governance has assumed

wider position in international politics to be

installed mainly in developing countries so

as to facilitate their endeavor of curbing

poverty, bad governance and so forth. In

stating the basic position that good

governance holds, its significance weighs

much in the realm of development, while

controversies rage as to which must come

first or which is more important, most would

argue that both of these elements

(democracy and economic development) are

needed, that neither of these factors would

be effective without improved governance

that shapes how resources are used and who

has a say in those decisions.

The principal concern of this paper is highly

related with the recent paradigm of the

historical antecedents which gave rise to the

consideration of democracy and good

governance. In this case, Mohammed

highlights that

with the end of the cold war, multilateral

agencies such as the World Bank, UNDP

and the OECD and the major bilateral

development agencies adopted what they

considered to be a new conception of

democracy and good governance, in a bid to

foster the relationship between economic

growth and democracy.....democratization

and good governance have become effective

political instruments in the hands of donor

agencies for short-listing deserving states,

as well as black listing pariahs, according

Page 2 of 20

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 06

July 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 300

to their position on the democratic scale

(Mohammed,2001:12)

Ethiopia, as one of the developing countries,

has been engaged in basic political economic

and social developments so as to transpose

the multifaceted problems of the country.

Together with other agendas, the concept of

good governance has been assuming much

priority and passed through the blurred

stage to the present much-articulated form

characterized with the reforms and programs

of government since the recent past. The

attempt of installing and reinvigorating the

performance of good governance has

witnessed certain limitations felt even by the

government that precisely entangled the

fruits. In addition the dearth of good

governance at varying degree is bound to

reveal itself at different governmental levels

in varying places. In spite of the

decentralized federal form of administration,

it is apparent that the local governments

have not been implementing the political

authority without any constraints and

challenges.

In this case examining the prospects and

challenges of good governance at local

levels where the practice should be

reinvigorated and targeted to benefit the

mass at grass root levels, has been of greater

importance to display the major hindrances

and portray the possible opportunities lay

ahead. The findings of this case study would

be a stepping stone in any effort to improve

the conditions of good governance in other

parts of the country, besides the practical

utility that will offer to the target town. In

theoretical area, it would further create

opportunities to investigate the basic tenets

of good governance, which are being

exercised in most towns in the country. And

moreover, it would show the gaps in

selecting the parameters of good governance

and enrich our general understanding about

the matter in the political realm of the

country.

The study has tried to canvass the overall

practice of good governance that has been

undergone in the town, in addition. The

research study has also attempted to treat the

policies and strategies of government and the

various documents and archives of the

administration pertaining to good

governance in Dilla town. In far steps, it has

discerned the major alterations displayed and

prospects envisaged in the town. It has

furthermore been tried to shed light on the

limitations that impede the prevalence of

good governance in the locality in a better

way.

It focuses on this town for an intense

investigation on various reasons. The urban

development of the town could basically be

realized when the vicinity is able to secure

the system of good governance. Moreover

the local government can possibly address

the past problems and fasten the economic

and political developments of the area

principally for the benefit of the society by

galvanizing the various urban groups in good

governance for mutual benefits. In a nut

shell, the findings of this study would serve

as a premise for generalization about the

overall process of good governance in the

country. As a matter of both theoretical and

Page 3 of 20

Journal for Studies in Management and Planning

Available at http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/index.php/JSMaP

e-ISSN: 2395-0463

Volume 01 Issue 06

July 2015

Available online: http://internationaljournalofresearch.org/ P a g e | 301

empirical investigation, it would also enrich

our knowledge of the phenomenon.

2. Theoretical

Formulations

2.1. The Essence of Governance

Governance denotes the utilization of

political authority and exercise of control in

a society in relation to the management of

resources for social and economic

development. This broad definition

encompasses the role of public authorities in

establishing the environment in which

economic operators function and in

determining the distribution of benefits as

well as the nature of the relationship

between the ruler and the ruled. (OECD,

1995)

Furthermore, governance takes in the

capacity of the state, the commitment to the

public good, the rule of law, the degree of

transparency and accountability, the level of

public participation and the stock of social

capital as it is coined. It also adds that

without good governance, it is impossible to

foster development. ‘No amount of resources

transferred or infrastructure built can

compensate for-or survive bad governance’.

In addition, governance comprises the

institutions, processes and convictions in a

society, which determine how power is

exercised, how important decisions affecting

society are made and how various interests

are accorded a place in such decisions.

(Institute of Governance, 2002) Governance

is the sum of the many ways individuals and

institutions, public and private, manage their

common affairs. It is a continuing process

through which conflicting or diverse

interests may be accommodated and co

operative action may be taken. It embraces

‘formal institutions and regimes empowered

to enforce compliance, as well as informal

arrangements that people and institutions

either have agreed to or perceive to be in

their interest’.(Commission on Good

Governance,1995)

In the World Bank denotation governance is

merely seen as the manner in which power is

exercised in the management of a country’s

economic and social resources for

development; on this definition, the concept

of governance is considered directly with the

management of the development process,

involving both the public and the private

sectors. It encompasses that

the functioning and capability of the public sector

as well as the rules and institutions that create

the framework for the conduct of both public and

private business including accountability for

economic and financial performance and

regulatory frameworks relating to companies,

corporations and partnerships. In broad terms,

then, governance is about the institutional

environment in which citizens interact among

themselves and with government agencies/offices.

(World Bank, 1997)

2.2. The Commencement, Principles

and Basics of Good Governance

2.2.1. Good governance in

International Context

Good governance is the term that stands for

the paradigm shift of the means of securing

development. It has in fact become a cliché

to say that good governance is essential for