THE ASSESSMENT OF COUNCIL-EXECUTIVE ROLES AND STYLES IN THE ETHIOPIAN URBAN CENTRES
THE ASSESSMENT OF COUNCIL-EXECUTIVE ROLES AND STYLES IN THE ETHIOPIAN URBAN CENTRES

Summary/Abstract: Urban governments are composed of lawmakers and law implementers just like most national governments. The lawmakers are councilors elected by the residents through regular local elections whereas those who implement policies, laws and ordinances are mostly selected. These urban government organs exist in different forms based on local and national political and administrative structures. There are three most common urban government models practiced in many places namely; council- mayor model, commission model and council-manager model. In some places, a variant of one model can be mixed to the other to fit local circumstances. The purpose of this study is to assess and identify the typologies and roles of urban government models in Ethiopia. To this effect, various secondary data sources were consulted. A review of proclamations and legislations issued by various Regional States in Ethiopia show both the council- mayor and the council-manager model are adopted in different urban centres in different regional governments including the city of Addis Ababa. In the council-mayor model, a weak mayor type is exercised because urban councils rely on committees established to implement and oversee councilors’ decisions. The council-manager model has been adopted with amended legislations in the later years of the urban reform. However, the practice of the council-manager model in the Amhara, Oromia and Addis Ababa City does not stand the test of council-manager model requirements identified in the literature. This is because the managers are not politically neutral and no open vacancies are announced to select managers.

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