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Tracking Trends in Ethiopia´s Civil

Society Sector

Mass Based Societies in

Ethiopia: Prospects and

Challenges

A research conducted through the

partnership between Forum for

Social Studies (FSS) and Atos

Consulting

March 2012

Addis Abeba

Ethiopia

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Contents

1. Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1

1.1. Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 1

1.2. Definition of MBS ................................................................................................................... 2

1.3. Research Methods ................................................................................................................. 6

1.4. Scope of the Study ................................................................................................................. 7

1.5. Challenges during the Fieldwork ............................................................................................ 8

2. Literature Review ................................................................................................... 9

2.1. The Concept of Civil Society and Mass Based Societies......................................................... 9

2.2. Mass Based Societies in Ethiopia ........................................................................................... 9

2.3. Mass Based Societies and Good Governance: Lessons from China and Kenya ................... 14

3. The State of Mass Based Societies Covered by the Study ....................................... 16

3.1. Tigray National Regional State ............................................................................................. 16

3.2. Addis Ababa City Administration .......................................................................................... 17

3.3. Amhara National Regional State .......................................................................................... 18

3.4. Benishangul-Gumuz National Regional State ....................................................................... 19

3.5. Regional Teachers Associations .......................................................................................... 22

3.6. Key Observations ................................................................................................................. 22

4. Knowledge about and Perceived Gaps in the Charities and Societies

Proclamation ................................................................................................... 24

4.1. Knowledge of MBS about the Charities and Societies Proclamation ..................................... 24

4.2. Perceived Limitations in the Charities and Societies Proclamation ........................................ 25

5. Opportunities and Challenges of Mass Based Societies in the Existing Legal

Environment .................................................................................................... 26

6. Participation of MBS in their Legally Sanctioned Spheres of Activity ......................... 30

6.1. Participation in Voter Education ............................................................................................ 30

6.2. Election Monitoring............................................................................................................... 31

6.3. Challenges Encountered in Carrying out Voter Education and Election Monitoring ................ 32

6.4. Participation of MBS in future elections ................................................................................ 34

6.5. Role of MBS in Promoting Good Governance ....................................................................... 34

7. Collaboration between Mass Based Societies and other Organizations ..................... 37

7.1. Financing and support through Bilateral programs and foreign charities................................ 37

7.2. Collaboration with Regional and National Government Bodies .............................................. 40

7.3. Collaboration with CBOs ...................................................................................................... 41

7.4. Desired Areas of Support from Donor Organizations ............................................................ 41

8. Conclusion and Recommendations ....................................................................... 43

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8.1. Conclusions ......................................................................................................................... 43

8.2. Recommendations and next steps........................................................................................ 46

Terms of Reference .................................................................................................. 53

Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 53

Objectives ...................................................................................................................................... 54

Scope 55

Available Knowledge ...................................................................................................................... 55

List of Tables

Table 1:1 MBSs and Professional organisations registered at the ChSA (at September 2011) .................. 5

Table 1:2 Summary of Study Localities by Region .................................................................................... 7

Table 3:1 Summary of the State of Women and Youth Associations in the Study ....................................20

Table 5:1 Summary of Issues on Future Engagements in Election Monitoring by MBS ............................27

Table 6:1Summary of Opportunities and challenges of Mass Based Societies in the Existing legal

environment ....................................................................................................................................34

Table 7:1 Summary of Major Collaboration between MBS and other organizations ..................................39

Table 7:2 Summary of Areas of Collaboration between MBS and Governmental Bodies ..........................41

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Acknowledgements

The research was carried out by Dr Ezana Amdwork and Dr Ayalew Gebre. The Forum for Social Studies (FSS, under direction from Dr Meheret Ayenew) and Atos (Dr Claire Howard, Dr Ann Condy, Dr Yeraswork Admassie and Ato Gemechu Desta) played an active role in guiding the research, editing the report and producing a separate Policy Brief based on the research findings and recommendations (forthcoming).

A number of individuals and organizations deserve recognition and appreciation for their part in the research that led to the production of this final report. Acknowledgements are due to the representatives of government institutions and Mass Based Societies in Addis Addis Ababa, Tigray, Benishangul-Gumuz and Amhara Regions for their cooperation in providing information. We would also like to thank the DAG Civil Society Sector Group for their thoughtful comments and feedback on an earlier draft.

Acronyms and abbreviations

AAYA Addis Ababa Youth Association ACETU All-China Federation of Trade Unions ACWF All-China Women's Federation AETU All Ethiopia Trade Union ARYA Amhara Region Youth Association AWA Amhara Women’s Association CBO Community Based Organization CELU Confederation of Ethiopian Labor Unions CETU Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions ChSA Charities and Societies Agency COPWE Commission to Organize the Party of the Working People of Ethiopia CPC Communist Party of China CSO Civil Society Organization DIP Democratic Institution Program EAC East African Community EIO Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman EATUC East Africa Trade Union Confederation EHRC Ethiopian Human Rights Commission EPRDF Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front ETA Ethiopian Teachers Association ETB Ethiopian Birr ETU Ethiopian Trade Union EU European Union FEACC Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission FGD Focus Group Discussion GTP Growth and Transformation Plan HAPCO HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office IEC Information, Education and Communication KEDOF Kenyan Election Domestic Observation Forum

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MBS Mass Based Society NEBE National Electoral Board of Ethiopia NGO Non-Governmental Organization NSA Non State Actor REWA Revolutionary Ethiopia Women's Association REYA Revolutionary Ethiopia Youth Association TPLF Tigrayan People's Liberation Front TYA Tigray Youth Association WAT Women’s Association of Tigray WPE Workers’ Party of Ethiopia FDRE Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia PASDEP Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty GTP Growth and Transformation Plan

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Executive Summary

1. The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia enacted Proclamation No. 621/2009 on Charities and Societies in 2009 (referred to below as ‘the Proclamation’). Article 57, Section 7 of the Proclamation authorizes mass based societies (MBS) to engage in activities aimed at promoting democracy, good governance and human rights. However, at present, there is little research-based knowledge on the state of these mass based societies across the country.

2. This study was conducted with the broad objective of assessing the prospects and challenges of mass based societies in Ethiopia. It aimed at reviewing the nature, characteristics, and state of mass based societies in Ethiopia; assessing whether and how MBS are adapting to play roles in enhancing the democratization process (voter and civic education, election monitoring and others), good governance and human rights as well as the opportunities and challenges they face in doing so.

3. There is no clear definition of MBS in Ethiopia. There is a historical understanding of organizations with mass membership, and there is an administrative definition set out in the Proclamation, but it is not very precise, and has resulted in confusion in registration as MBS (both resident and Ethiopian societies) and professional bodies as separate categories. Many professional bodies are unlikely to have mass membership.

4. Primary and secondary data were collected for the research. Secondary data sources included bylaws/articles of association, strategic plans, and annual reports of MBS under study, the Charities and Societies Agency database, national policies and legislation. A review of the relevant literature was carried out. Primary data collection was conducted through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. About 46 interviews were conducted with informants from MBS, government offices and institutions, donor agencies, and ordinary members of MBS. The study focused on youth, women and teachers associations in Tigray, Amhara, Addis Ababa and Benishangul Gumuz.

5. The MBS studied were all established with the goals of protecting the rights of their members and assuring that their members benefit politically, socially and economically. They all have structures which extend from the region down to the grassroots level and have a large, though not always active, membership. In terms of resources and capacities, the youth and women associations in Tigray were the strongest and better organized, followed by those in Addis Ababa and Amhara. The associations in Benishangul Gumuz were the weakest. The teachers associations are all regional chapters of the Ethiopian Teachers Association, and have similar capacities.

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6. The MBS have multiple sources of funding including project grants from government and non-government organizations earmarked for specific tasks, membership fees, and property rent. However, the very low amount of income from fees and rent has forced them to rely on the good will of their regional government and sector bureaus for their office space and day-to-day administrative support needs.

7. MBS collaborate with governmental and nongovernmental organizations, on large and small projects. Common areas of collaboration include HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support, social and economic development, environmental protection and natural resource management, and good governance and democratization.

8. The youth and women associations in Tigray and Addis Ababa maintain strong ties with donors that date back prior to the Proclamation. The associations state that the donors who used to support their socioeconomic development programs continue to do so regardless of the 90/10 percentage restrictions for Ethiopian Societies, as long as funds are not used for democratization and similar purposes. The strong relationship is attributed to the MBSs’ trustworthy track records and well-entrenched organizational structures that extend to the grassroots. Partnerships are weaker in Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions due to limited capacity and experience of the MBS in resource mobilization; small number of larger charities operating in these areas, and loss of donor trust in some cases.

9. Proclamation No. 621/2009 contains specific provisions concerning MBS, which are meant to empower them to exercise their roles and responsibilities in democratization, good governance and human rights. However, MBS pointed out that despite being major stakeholders, they were not consulted in the drafting process. They suggest their non-involvement calls into question the intention to facilitate MBS's contribution to national development.

10. Government officials maintain that the Proclamation opens up and facilitates opportunities for fund raising for CSOs including MBS which did not exist before, such as engaging in public collections and revenue generation, which reduce their dependence on external financial support and thereby enhance their independence and sustainability. However, TECS research on CSOs and income generation found charities and societies are struggling to make any revenue from income generation, while the public collections guidelines impose strict requirements, which will make this option less attractive particularly for political advocacy work.

11. Because there has been no awareness raising and support to MBS regarding their new roles, their participation in democratization, voter education, election monitoring and rights advocacy are, to date, not different than was the case prior to the Proclamation. They have been active partners with the Electoral Board in supporting voter education and voter monitoring, but there are signs that their involvement may be curtailed as the Proclamation 10% rule starts to impact on their operations, making them unable to expand and consolidate work in these areas.

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12. With regard to promoting good governance, MBS are very active in exposing corrupt practices through their representatives in local governance structures, and conducting relevant research as in the case of some teachers associations. In collaboration with the Ombudsman and Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, youth and women associations have mobilized their members for the fight against corruption and administrative injustice, by conducting training and educational campaigns.

13. On the basis of memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the EHRC, women associations in Tigray, Amhara and Addis Ababa, are providing training to their members on issues identified to be major concerns of women such as harmful traditional practices and gender-based violence. The Ethiopian Teachers Association is about to sign a MoU with the Commission to receive a grant for a rights based project.

14. MBS in the study regions are planning to participate in municipal, Woreda and kebele elections due in 2012. To this effect, they are making preparations, albeit to

varying degrees. Voter education and election monitoring-related activities are included in some strategic plan and management documents and annual plans for 2011/12.

15. Key government bodies (the National Electoral Board, Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, and the Institution of the Ombudsman) agree that MBS can make important contributions towards the democratization process and the promotion of good governance, given their structures and membership. They consider it as a step in the right direction that the Proclamation empowers MBS to play the role of key actors and allies in this effort.

16. Unlike other CSOs, MBS are generally organized with the support and facilitation of the government. Their structures follow the organizational patterns of government institutions, and they maintain close working ties with the relevant sector ministries/bureaus. For this reason, they find themselves under the oversight of the concerned government bodies, which tend to view them as their executive arms rather than independent entities. The nature of their organization and operation therefore limits their freedom to exercise their mandates, and exposes them to pressure to compromise their interests and roles.

17. Serious problems of weak accountability in certain MBS were raised by interviewees in the Amhara Region Youth Association and the Benishangul-Gumuz Women Association. In one association, funds obtained through membership contributions, donor grants and transfers from government sector bureaus had been misused and misappropriated by the former leadership. In another association, there is a tendency for the leadership to remain in office without undergoing re-election periodically.

18. Many interviewees stated that there is an under-developed culture of voluntarism, which explains the reluctance of constituents to register with and serve in the associations.

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19. A weak capacity to execute programmes is a further challenge faced by many MBS. There is a shortage of trained staff with the expertise in project management, resource mobilization, and the administration of finance. Institutional weaknesses in the absence of structures or poor office facilities at local levels are challenges especially in the case of MBS in Benishangul-Gumuz and Amhara regions.

20. The key recommendations for arising from the findings are listed below. Many actions require further dialogue on best options for future engagement with MBSs.

For Government

Government policy makers should provide further guidance to the ChSA concerning the nature and scope of MBS and their registration.

Government Agencies involved in the accountability sector should take a strategic approach to working with MBS on governance, democracy and human rights.

To achieve GTP goals, administrations at the regional, woreda and kebele levels should encourage the participation of women and youth associations, and professional associations. Actions such as including representatives of MBS in standing committees of councils and council meetings should be strengthened.

Similarly to achieve GTP goals, the National Electoral Board should consider working together with and supporting MBS particularly in increasing public awareness. However, it must provide build into its planning adequate time for MBS to apply for funding for capacity building.

For MBS

MBS must work toward restoring their image and reputation, and regaining trust. They should to adopt measures to increase transparency in areas of financial management and keep to the limits of office terms for elected leaders.

MBS need a common platform to voice their concerns in a collective way, such as a national network or federation, under whose umbrella the MBS may work together to promote their common agenda.

For Donors (especially the Civil Society Sector Group – CSSG)

Use the Charities and Societies Sector Working Group (CSSWG) and other high level groups to take Government's thinking about MBS and their roles forward.

Engage in dialogue with the Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) to identify how key recommendations can be taken forward. DIP brings together most Ethiopian stakeholders in democracy and governance. Ethiopian organisations such as MBS have legitimate access to global resources channeled though different UN agencies, through Ethiopia’s membership of the UN.

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1. Introduction

The Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia enacted Proclamation No. 621/2009 on Charities and Societies in 2009. Article 57, Section 7 of the proclamation authorizes mass based societies (MBS) to engage in activities aimed at promoting democracy – including election monitoring and voter education - good governance and human rights. Likewise, the current national five-year Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) (MoFED, 2010) expects mass based societies to contribute to the process of building democracy and good governance, and enhance their participation in the implementation of the plan.

According to the Proclamation, mass based societies include women's associations, youth associations, and professional associations, and other types of association that are not specifically identified. These are organized at the national and regional levels, with structures extending from the federal to regional, Woreda, and Kebele levels.

The Proclamation and GTP place mass based societies in a privileged position, not only permitting but encouraging them to engage in areas that are proscribed to most parts of civil society in Ethiopia. However, at present, there is little research-based knowledge on the state of these mass based societies across the country. It is not clear what role mass based societies have been playing in connection with the spheres of activity that the Proclamation has made permissible for them to date. Moreover, there is limited information regarding their organization and capacity which would enable stakeholders to judge their competence to carry out these crucial roles.

In view of the above, this study was proposed with the aim of generating evidence-based and policy relevant knowledge regarding the state and activities of mass based societies in Ethiopia. In addition, the outputs of the study aim to inform development actors and stakeholders interested in working with mass based societies in the area of building their capacities and enhancing their effective performance.

1.1. Objectives

The general objective of this research is to explore ways in which mass based societies can play constructive roles in supporting the processes of democratization, good governance and human rights, and social and economic development in accordance with the Charities and Societies Proclamation No. 621/2009.

Additionally, the research was conducted with the following specific objectives:

1. Conduct a historical review of the nature, characteristics, and roles of mass based societies in Ethiopia;

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2. Assess the state of existing mass based societies in the country, with particular attention to their structure, functions, membership, leadership, financial sources, and capacity;

3. Examine the changes that the societies are making in order to meet their roles in connection with governance and human rights;

4. Assess the preparations they are making to undertake voter education and election monitoring in respect to the next elections;

5. Analyze their recent handling of voter education and election monitoring, if any, and the capacity they have to carry out such an exercise;

6. Make a comparative review of the role and contribution of MBS in selected African countries in the area of good governance and advancing human rights;

7. Examine the opportunities and challenges that mass based societies have had as they endeavor to meet their new roles;

8. Assess the manner in which mass based societies and their membership perceive themselves vis-à-vis civil societies;

9. Examine the relationship between mass based societies and CSOs/NGOs;

10. Put forward recommendations on issues of policy relevance and concerns pertaining to the roles mass based societies are expected to play as envisaged in Charities and Societies Proclamation and the GTP.

1.2. Definition of MBS

The first step in understanding and identifying suitable MBSs to investigate involved an assessment of how MBSs are defined. In the Ethiopian context, there has hitherto been no agreed and precise definition of mass based societies but there are loose definitions derived from the historical experience of MBSs, legal and administrative definitions.

Historically in Ethiopia, there has been a common understanding of the type of organisations which were seen as “mass based”. These were particularly the women and youth organisations. The characteristics and ways of operating among these MBSs are described in chapter 2 below.

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A definition of an MBS, and what distinguishes it from other kinds of civil society organizations, would generally include, among others:

• Large size of membership;

• Focused on providing services to that membership;

• That members (whether individuals and/or organisations) have some attribute in common. Sharing that attribute is necessary for membership.

In some counties, MBSs can include trade unions, for example. However, in Ethiopia, trade unions are actually registered under another Proclamation, even if they have the key characteristics of a MBS.

The Proclamation P621 provided a legal definition of mass based societies for the first time. Essentially, in but it was a rather limited definition. It lacked a more thorough description of the core characteristics of an MBS, and what distinguishes it from other kinds of civil society organisations.

A useful definition of MBS, which is relevant for this research, arises through the actual process of registering organisations as MBS at the Charities and Societies Agency. This could be described as an administrative definition.

Essentially, in Ethiopia, two main types of organization can be classified as MBS: those that are registered at the Agency as such; and those that are primarily regionally based, so do not necessarily have to register at the Agency, and which share the characteristics set out above. Essentially an MBS in Ethiopia:

It is registered as an MBS by the Agency;

OR

It operates at a regional level and has a large membership, who share specific characteristics;

It is ‘Ethiopian’ and therefore subject to the 90:10 ratio, limiting the amount of external funding it can receive.

Many key MBS do not need to register at the Agency (for example many women’s and youth associations), because of the regional focus of them membership. However, those MBS that operate in more than one region, or which operates in Addis Ababa as

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well as their home region need to register with the Agency. It is, obviously, very difficult to get a sense of the numbers of MBS that are not registered with the Agency, but are functioning across the country with regional registration.

Within the definition as set out above, there are a number of different types of MBS however. All of them are membership-based, but the professional MBS (such as teachers associations), are different from what is considered the more traditional ‘status-based’ MBS (such as youth/women associations). In a similar manner, under the overall banner of professional MBS, there are those that are true ‘professional’ bodies, with an interest in standards, regulation of the profession and professional development (such as economists or health professionals) and those that are occupational groupings (such as the taxi owners association), which focus primarily on promotion of their common interests.

Professional Societies are a grey area. In the Proclamation Professional Societies are part of the MBS definition. However, this category of CSO is classified separately to that of “mass based” at the point of registration. Although many Professional Societies are very small, and have a very limited specific membership, they do have the same freedom to operate in areas relating to democracy.

There are other CSOs which at first sight would appear to have the characteristics of MBS, for example some of the regionally based Development Associations. However, many of these have registered as resident charities, in order to access overseas and donor funding, and so do not have the privileges in law of MBS in Ethiopia.

The process of re-registering existing CSOs took place shortly after the Agency was established and there was as yet little understanding on the side of either the Agency or the CSOs themselves as to what constituted a MBS. It is therefore not surprising that during the process of registration and the subsequent transferrable of all CSO data into a database, there was no clear advice available as to which organisations should register as MBS, either according to the size of their membership or type of organisation. There are, for example a small number of CSOs which have been registered as Ethiopian resident mass based societies. This is a contradiction in terms, as no organisation that receives salient external resources is permitted to engage in activities in proscribed areas of democracy and governance.

During the course of this research, the TECS project also assisted the Agency to develop a database of all registered charities and societies. It has therefore been possible to identify all organisations, which were registered as mass based or professional. The following table shows the main groupings of these organisations and provides some comments on the data.

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Table 1:1 MBSs and Professional organisations registered at the ChSA (as of September 2011)

Type of CSOs

Numbers registered

Main categories of organisations (according to organisation name)

Comments

Mass based Ethiopian societies

16 University students – 4 Coffee/cotton growers and exporters – 2 Disability assoc - 2 Youth – 1 Women – 1 Taxi owners – 1 Bet-Israel assoc – 1 Korean war veterans – 1 Former students of an elementary school - 1 Others – 2

Although involvement in democracy is a privilege rather than an obligation for MBSs, it is not obvious that all organisations in this category would be competent to or interested in engaging in democracy and elections education activities

Mass based Ethiopian resident societies

9 Disabled/HIV orphans – 2 University students – 1 Women and children assoc – 1 Ethio-Cuban friendly assoc – 1 Greek club – 1 Others – 3

Given MBSs are permitted to engage in election education, we suspect that this group of Ethiopian Resident Societies has been incorrectly registered as mass based.

Professional 103 No simple typology but includes associations of professionals or employees in the following areas:

Health professionals

Travel personnel (from taxi drivers to airline pilots)

Management/ marketing/ engineering professionals

Science professionals (soil, space)

Agriculture personnel (from weeds and beekeeping to vets)

Cultural bodies, including writers, journalist

Teachers

This category of CSO is classified separately to that of “mass based” although it is part of the MBS definition according to the Proclamation. It is not further sub-divided into ‘resident’ and ‘Ethiopian’.

Not all groups appear to be professionals

1, such as the taxi drivers,

cabin crew and beekeepers.

Many of the professional bodies are likely to have a very small membership, and be very unrepresentative of the population at large (e.g. seamen, space scientists, pediatricians)

This study therefore focused on three types of MBS, all of which fall clearly into the definitions of MBS set out above. We focused on women’s and youth associations, and one professional association which was known to have a large number of members and so which shared the key characteristics of MBS, namely teachers. Women’s and youth

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Professional bodies are characterised by strict entry criteria, accreditation schemes, and/or codes of conduct, to guarantee the

quality/standards/ethics of the services they provide, such as doctors, lawyers, accountants.

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associations are membership-based MBS formed by segments of the society that have mutual interests arising from gender and age respectively. The regional youth and women’s associations constitute members who, in the case of the first, are defined “youth” based on their age2 and the second, females in the productive age. They are essentially organized at a regional level (although as set out in Table 1.1, two of these associations have registered with the Agency, because their activities extend outside their own region). Teacher associations are member-based MBSs, registered formed of individuals who share the same occupation.

1.3. Research Methods

The research drew upon both secondary and primary data from multiple sources. Secondary data, particularly on the background, profile and activities of the associations under study were collected from documents such as bylaws, strategic plans, annual reports, as well as the Charities and Societies Agency database. In addition, a review of the relevant literature in the area of study was carried out in order to gain better understanding and insight regarding international experience on the role of mass based societies in supporting democracy and good governance.

Primary data collection was undertaken through two major methods — namely, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. About 46 in-depth interviews were conducted with leaders, employees and members of mass based societies; officials from regional government bureaus; officers of the Charities and Societies Agency; and informants from the Federal Ethics and Anticorruption Commission (FEACC), the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Institute of the Ombudsman, EU civil society fund, and other CSOs. Through this method, primary data pertaining to the state of these societies (structure, leadership, participation, capacity, etc.), their major activities and achievements, their knowledge about the charities and societies proclamation, the opportunities the Proclamation affords, the challenges MBS encountered, and possible areas of support for MBS were collected. In addition, in-depth interviews were conducted with government officials and representatives of organizations working with mass based societies.

Focus group discussions, with participants ranging from 5 to 9 in number, were conducted with ordinary members of the MBS. The rights and duties of members, the level of participation of members, their level of knowledge of the Proclamation as well as the registration status of the associations of which they are members, and the major activities of the associations (particularly regarding good governance and democratization) were some major issues covered in the focus group discussions.

2 This definition is usually based on the country’s youth policy which defines youth as persons of ages 15-29 (Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture

2004:4).

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1.4. Scope of the Study

The research initially planned to cover one city administration and two national regional states (Addis Ababa City Administration, Tigray National Regional State, and Benishangul Gumuz National Regional State).

Addis Ababa was selected since it houses some of the more vibrant MBS in the country and because it is the seat of relevant federal government organizations working with mass based societies. The selection of Tigray was based on the following considerations: (i) it is one of the four relatively developed regions in the country, namely, Amhara, Oromia, and SNNPR, in terms of infrastructure and service provision; and (ii) it is known for the presence of strong mass based societies that have flourished in the Region over the last two decades, as a result of historical and political factors. Benishangul Gumuz National Regional State was included because it is one of the four emerging regions of the country, the other three being Afar, Somali, and Gambela.

As the fieldwork progressed, however, it was felt that a fourth region should be included to better assess the situation of MBS that do not fall under the auspices of the Charities and Societies Agency, and are registered only with the relevant offices of their respective regions. In view of this, the Amhara National Regional State was added. The fieldwork in each of the study regions was conducted in the regional capital and in selected localities. The following table summarizes the distribution of the study sites:

Table 1:2 Summary of Study Localities by Region

Study Region Localities

Tigray

Mekele City Administration3

- Hawelti Local Administration (Tabia/Kebele)

South-eastern Zone - Hentalo Wajirat Woreda - Frewoini Kebele

Wukro town and Kilte Awlaelo Woreda

Addis Ababa Addis Ababa City Administration

- Bole and Yeka Sub-cities

Amhara Bahir Dar City Administration

Fogera Woreda and Werota Town

Benishangul Gumuz Assosa City Administration

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Unlike Addis Ababa City Administration which is divided into sub-cities and Woredas within the sub-cities, and comes directly under the Federal

Government; Mekele is organized as a special Zone within the Tigray National Regional State, and is divided into Woredas that are further sub-divided

into what are locally known as Local administrations (Kebebawi Memehededar) that are the equivalent of tabias/Kebeles.

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1.5. Challenges during the Fieldwork

The greatest challenge during the fieldwork was the difficulty faced in securing interview sessions, particularly with the regional leaders of the associations under study. Since these persons are decision makers in their associations, the fieldwork could not progress without their cooperation. While this problem was easily overcome in Tigray, it was more difficult to solve in the other study regions. Both in Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz, many senior leaders of the associations under study were unavailable. The greatest problem, however, was faced in Addis Ababa, where leaders of associations are continually engaged in meetings, trainings, media events. This resulted in repeated rescheduling of appointments.

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2. Literature Review

2.1. The Concept of Civil Society and Mass Based Societies

The term civil society refers to an ambiguous and elastic concept. It is important to define this concept before using it in studies. UNDP defines civil society as a third sector existing alongside and interacting with the state and private sector. It takes a broad view of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) of which Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are an important part (UNDP, 2005). CSOs are intermediary organizations that occupy the social space between the market and the state. Hence, this sector comprises Community Based Organizations (CBOs), NGOs, labour unions, student and youth organizations, social movements, women’s organizations, traditional leadership, charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, professional associations, media associations, etc (Cerritelli et al., 2008a).

The definition and function of Mass Based Societies (MBS) is highly dependent on the context of each country. The current study employed the definition provided by the Charities and Societies Proclamation No. 621/2009 of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, to the effect that ‘Mass based Societies shall include professional associations, women’s associations, youth associations and other similar Ethiopian societies’ (Federal Negaret Gazetta, 2009).

2.2. Mass Based Societies in Ethiopia

2.2.1. Mass Based Societies during the Imperial Regime

Non-governmental bodies during imperial regime were mainly welfare organizations and mutual aid societies. They were chiefly concerned with providing support and sustenance to their members. This was not because the law of association (incorporated in the civil code of 1960) was prohibitive. Indeed, the same law had been employed until the enactment of the current charities and societies proclamation. It was rather because any other form of engagement was seen to be dangerous and taken by the state as a form of criticism (Dessalegn, 2004).

Among MBS existent during the imperial regime, women’s organizations were relatively lively and started fighting for women’s welfare even before the Italian invasion. The Ethiopian Women Humanitarian Association (dedicated to humanitarian work) and the Ethiopian Women Welfare Organization (dedicated to advance women’s interests) were established in 1935.

The Ethiopian Women’s Voluntary Association that tried to coordinate the work of female volunteers who helped in the cause against Italian invasion, was established in 1937.

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The Ethiopian Women Patriotic Union also helped Ethiopian patriots who were engaged in guerrilla war against the Italian occupation.

The early 1960s marked the establishment of the Ethiopian Women’s Christian Association, with the aim of offering moral guidance to Ethiopian women. The Ethiopian Officers’ Wives Association and the Ethiopian Female Students' Association were also established during this period (Paulos, 2011). These associations have offered a way for women to organize themselves around issues relating to gender. However, they were mainly established by women from the nobility and were limited in scope (Eskinder, 2008).

Hence, the associations created during the country’s occupation by Italy mainly focused on mobilizing women to fight against the occupation, while the associations established after 1941 were mainly focused on the social service provision for the women and children, but were limited in scope.

Compared to other countries, an organized labor movement came late to Ethiopia. This was due to the small size of industrial working force and negative attitude of the imperial government towards any organized movement. Those unions that were formed initially endured harassment from both management and the government.

2.2.2. Mass Based Societies during the Derg

The Derg regime formally established the Commission to Organize the Party of the

Working People of Ethiopia (COPWE) in December 1979 to launch the political, ideological and organizational activities necessary for the creation of Workers’ Party of Ethiopia (WPE). The mass organizations affairs department was one of the eight departments of COPWE. The establishment of All Ethiopia Trade Union (AETU)4, All-Ethiopia Urban Dwellers' Association, and All-Ethiopia Peasants' Association preceded the creation of COPWE. Other MBS, such as the Revolutionary Ethiopia Youth Association (REYA), Revolutionary Ethiopia Women's Association (REWA), and a number of professional associations were instituted after COPWE's establishment (Warner, 1982). All of these organizations were formed and primarily financed by the government. With the exception of some organizations relating to customary institutions (Iddir, Equib, traditional and religious associations, etc) the Derg suppressed almost all

forms of free associational life (Dessalegn, 2004).

Regarding unions, the regime controlled their affairs under the pretext of giving protection to the working class from its traditional foes (such as imperialism and bureaucratic capitalism). This made trade unions extensions of government institutions subjected to the control and manipulation of the WPE. In fact, the ILO consistently

4 Changed to Ethiopia Trade Union (ETU) in 1986

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criticized the 1975 proclamation and AETU for contravening international standards (Assefa, 2003).

Following proclamation No. 188/80 of July 17, 1980, the Derg established REWA and

REYA in September 1980 (REWA, 1982; Clapham, 1988). REWA operated under the political ideological and organizational guidance of COPWE, and in turn gave leadership and guidance to the various regional, provincial, district and primary associations that fell under it. The main objective of both REWA and REYA was propagating the theory of scientific socialism (REWA, 1982).

A common feature of mass organizations during the Derg was that they were too close

to the government to be of any real use to the group they represented. Their purpose was the consolidation of the power of Derg. Consequently, there was little improvement in the lives of women (especially those who lived in rural areas), whether in the social, economic or political sphere as a result of the efforts of the association (Nolan, 2009).

2.2.3. Mass Based Organizations in the EPRDF Regime

Following the adoption of the transitional charter in July 1991, Ethiopia recognized freedom of association and expression. Consequently hundreds of political parties were established. The government’s development strategies, such as the Plan for Accelerated and Sustained Development to End Poverty (PASDEP), also emphasized the importance of CSOs5 (particularly membership based CSO) in democratization and good governance (Haegeman and Kantelberg, 2010).

The above laws and policy provisions legitimized grounds for participation of citizens in the governance process. Different civic organizations focusing on voter education, election observation, human rights education and monitoring for the first time appeared in the country during the 1990s (Dessalegn, 2004; Dessalegn et al., 2008). The voluntary sector included professional societies, women's groups, human rights and advocacy organizations, community organizations, NGOs, employers' associations, educational foundations, think tanks, and cultural societies. Old established institutions, which were dormant during the repressive rule of the military government, became more visible and active (Dessalegn, 2004).

The previous two sections have indicated that MBS shared common features during the Emperor’s time and the Derg era. It remains an open question whether the MBS in EPRDF era function differently. There is a prevailing perception among the public that some MBS, at least, are subject to the control of authorities, something is discussed further below.

5 As a result of the dearth of literature specifically focused on MBS, this section had to use materials that dwell on CSOs in general. Where

possible, attempt is made to glean MBS-specific information from the available literature.

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2.2.4. CSOs, Governance and Democratization prior to the Proclamation

Before the promulgation of Charities and Societies Proclamation, there was limited participation of MBS in good governance, democratization, and voter education and election observation. Indeed, there were few NGOs of any type focusing on this area: in 1995 only ten NGOs were registered to work on human rights, advocacy, and democracy issues (CRDA, 1995 cited in Kassahun, 2002).

Across regions, the participation of CSOs in policy and political dialogue remains weak in comparison to service delivery. Most CSOs do not consider such activities as their responsibility and have not included them in their agenda (Cerritelli et al., 2008b). The activities of MBS reflect this. Previous studies characterize MBS in the country as narrow-focused, concentrating on internal matters of the associations than wider policy issues (Assefa, 2003).

Moreover, certain MBS - such as youth and women’s associations - are stated to lack the leadership and structure to significantly contribute to the promotion of democracy and good governance in the country (Cerritelli et al., 2008a). This, however, does not mean that MBS have no role to play in the country’s effort towards democratization and good governance. Studies show that in Tigray, Amhara and Oromia, representatives of women’s and youth associations participate in regional councils meetings as non-voting members. They have also representation in a number of committees at the regional level such as land administration and others (Cerritelli et al., 2008b; Haegeman and Kantelberg, 2010).

With regard to professional associations, there is little documented evidence available about the extent of their contribution in promoting good governance and democracy (Dessalegn, 2004). However, professional association in the health and legal sectors have contributed to the drafting of Health and HIV-AIDS policies and in the preparation of laws such as family law, press law and labor law, respectively (Cerritelli et al., 2008a).

2.2.5. MBS, Good Governance and Democracy since the Proclamation and GTP

Article 14 (5) of the Charities and Societies Proclamation reserved the right to Ethiopian charities and Ethiopian societies to participate in the advancement of human and democratic rights; the promotion of equality of nations, nationalities and peoples and that of gender and religion; the promotion of the rights of the disabled and children’s rights; the promotion of conflict resolution and reconciliation; and the promotion of the efficiency of justice and law enforcement services.

The recently promulgated GTP also emphasizes the role of MBS in these areas (MOFED, 2010). The GTP emphasizes the importance of strengthening women’s associations, creating a more conducive environment for women’s association, and

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coordinating women’s associations and all other sectors are set out in the GTP as strategies for enhancing women development. The GTP also states that the main objectives for youth and sports development are to increase the participation of youth in democratic governance, economic and social initiatives.

MBS have been involved in voter education and election monitoring in the aftermath of the Proclamation. In 2010, the Consortium of Ethiopian Civil Societies for Election Observation (CECSEO)6 was the largest domestic election observation group. On 24 May, CECSEO presented its assessment of the electoral process, giving full approval for the election. There was, however, little evidence regarding the consortium’s technical ability and independence (EU Election Observation Mission, 2010).

2.2.6. Formation and Objectives of Mass Based Organizations

Following the overthrow of the Derg regime, the trade unions, professional, and women and youth associations are amongst the larger MBS in the country (Cerritelli et al., 2008a).

Following the enactment of the Labor Proclamation No. 42/1993, ETU was again reorganized as the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU). The constitution of CETU encompasses a wide range of activities and modalities for actions. These include participation in policy dialogue for the formulation of laws and principles that address basic working conditions. However, the focus of CETU is firmly on labor issues and the working environment, rather than on any wider objective of participating in the promotion of good governance and democracy (Haegeman and Kantelberg, 2010).

Regional youth and women’s associations have also been established in all regions of the country. Participation rates are relatively low in these associations. For instance, in Amhara region, only 5-6% of the regional youth are actually members of the youth associations and this can put the mandate and representativeness of these associations under question (Cerritelli et al., 2008a; Cerritelli et al., 2008b).

Professional associations of various sorts have also proliferated and registered in recent years. In 2004, there were 99 such associations, and their number grew to 151 in 2008. Most professional associations aim at organizing professionals and practitioners to have a collective voice in decisions affecting their activity. Professional associations suffer from the lack of structure that allows for regular and institutionalized interaction as many associations are fragmented into sub-specialties.

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CECSEO was composed of several organizations, the most prominent being the ETA. Other member associations included the Ethiopian

Employers’ Association, the CETU, the Ethiopian Women Traders’ Associations, the Ancient Ethiopian Patriots’ Association, the Ethiopian Youth Federation, the Ethiopian Women’s Federation, the Ethiopian Tour Operators’ Association, the Ethiopian Lawyers Association, the Ethiopian Journalists’ Association, the Union of Ethiopian Bar Associations, and the Ethiopian Renaissance Association.

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2.2.7. Financial and Material Sources of Mass Based Organizations

The material and financial sources of MBS can be categorized into three: the government, members’ contributions and charities/sister organizations. Government supports CSOs, including MBS, mainly in the form of land or work premises provision.

The CETU gets its financial resources from per capita dues paid by union members in individual undertakings. Apart from these, CETU derives income from office rentals, donations and income generating establishments. Rental of buildings alone account for 60% of the total income of CETU. The contribution of trade union membership fees was only 3.7% of the Confederation’s annual income (Assefa, 2003).

Professional associations obtain their income from members’ contribution, but these are usually meagre. In addition, some organizations like the Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA) generate revenues for their associations by conducting research and providing professional services, while others raise funds through international contacts such as international organizations and sister organizations in other countries.

2.3. Mass Based Societies and Good Governance: Lessons from China and Kenya

In this section, an attempt is made to describe the experiences of China and Kenya to provide insight about the role of mass-based organizations in promoting good governance and popular participation in the public spheres of these countries. These two countries were selected as case studies because they might inform the Ethiopian experience in defining the role of mass-based societies in advancing the democratic process. China was proposed, because - despite huge differences in ideology and politics – there are similarities in the links between MBS and political parties. Kenya, in contrast was suggested because of the role that MBS have played in democracy and the comparability in terms of economic and political development. The intent is not to draw comparisons but to see if Ethiopia can draw possible lessons on how best mass-based societies can be actively involved in promoting good governance, election monitoring and democracy based on the experiences of the two countries.

In China, mass-based organizations work under the control and guidance of the Communist Party of China (CPC). They are highly encouraged for purposes of popular participation and general mobilization of the masses for political activity.

An important mass-based organization in China is the All-China Youth League. The League draws its members from all over the country and is powerful because it is the recruiting ground for party membership and leadership. It also receives guidance from the Communist Party and is an important institution to popularize party programs and

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ideology among youth (http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/14/content_22259.htm).

Equally important and closely allied to the Communist party is the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF). This is the leading organization that fights for women rights and provides an important pillar of state power. It works to represent women in social and political consultation, democratic management and supervision, formulation of law, rules and regulations regarding women and children; and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of women and children.

A key feature of mass-based organizations in China is their close association with the party. It is notable that most Chinese mass-based organizations are created and funded by the CPC. Subordinate units of these organizations are distributed all over the cities and rural areas of the country. They are used to encourage popular participation, mobilize the masses, and integrate them into party-directed political life. Hence, based on the Chinese experience, MBS are very effective for the party but are not very effective in counterbalancing the power of the state which civil societies elsewhere are expected to do. This raises serious questions as to whether such a model can be recommended for the Ethiopian experience.

In contrast to China, Kenya has a vibrant civil society culture that is independent and largely free from political control. The country does not officially make a distinction between ‘mass-based organizations or societies’ and non-governmental organizations.

But it can be assumed that a wide network of civil society organizations undertake tasks performed elsewhere by mass-based organizations. Hence, they can be the subject of discussion to provide a proper context for examining the role of mass-based societies in Ethiopia.

Kenya’s active civil society culture presents immense opportunities for the effective working of Ethiopian mass-based societies, and has done so since the early 1990s. CSOs have participated in the constitutional reform process and remain important actors for democratic development in the country. For example, in the 2007 election, the Electoral Commission of Kenya contracted civil society groups countrywide to carry out voter education campaigns over a 40 days period. The Kenyan Election Domestic Observation Forum (KEDOF), which has 13 civil society and faith-based organizations (including women and youth organizations), was the most important local observer. This involved voter educators visiting homes, markets, churches, mosques and religious meetings in villages in teams of two.

The sources of fund for these activities were the national budget and the joint donor basket fund run by the UNDP (Commonwealth Secretariat, 2007). In sum, the Kenyan experience in international assistance to strengthen democracy and galvanize civil society to play an active role in elections can provide a positive lesson for Ethiopia in the direction of channeling resources to mass-based societies to enable them carry out the responsibilities permitted by the proclamation.

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3. The State of Mass Based Societies Covered by the Study

This section presents the background, structure, resources, and capacities of the associations under study, using data collected from leaders and members of the associations as well as documents (annual reports, profiles, strategic plans and project documents). As the history, context of establishment and capacity of the regional women and youth associations are very distinct, they are presented separately. The teachers’ associations, on the other hand, are regional chapters of their parent organization, the Ethiopian Teachers’ Association, and have more or less similar structures and operations, and are therefore discussed together.

3.1. Tigray National Regional State

Women’s Association of Tigray

The history of the Women’s Association of Tigray (WAT) can be traced back to a Women’s Committee established in 1976 within TPLF. Following the fall of the Derg in 1991, WAT was established as an independent regional association of women. Following the enactment of the Proclamation, the association was re-registered with the Charities and Societies Agency in 2009 as an Ethiopian Society.

WAT has an organizational structure that stretches from the region all the way down to the gujile (group) level. The association has branch offices throughout the region. WAT

has a membership of approximately 650,000 women who are in the productive ages of 18-49 years, and some 7,000 associate members. At the time of this study, the association had 76 staff. According to the Mekele and South-eastern zone association chairpersons, its greater reach and large number of members has enabled WAT to execute a number of projects successfully and made it very attractive to donors. WAT has a three story building which houses a well equipped head office, and owns a few vehicles. In addition, three vocational training centers, a small restaurant and several flourmills are owned and operated by the association. Almost all zonal associations have a separate office made available by the regional government. The Woreda associations are permanently hosted by Woreda Administrative Offices of women, children and youth.

The major income for WAT comes from various project grants which make up about half of the total income of the association. Membership fees make up the next largest source of income, but there are concerns over a lack of resources to collect these regularly.

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Tigray Youth Association (TYA)

Like the regional women’s association, Tigray Youth Association was established in the context of the armed struggle against the Derg. The Association was re-registered with the Charities and Societies Agency in 2010 as an Ethiopian Society.

The organizational structure of TYA follows a similar region-zone-Woreda-tabia-qushet-

group pattern as that of WAT. The association is managed by a board of directors, elected by a general congress every five years. While full time leaders exist at the regional and zonal levels, offices and local structures of the association from the Woredas down to the qushets are staffed by volunteers. By the end of 2010, the

association had about 400,000 full members aged 15-35, and additional associate and honorary members. The association believes that its active and motivated membership is its strongest and distinctive feature, and government officials and donors who were interviewed agreed.

The association has its own head office and is currently building a youth recreational center in Mekele. It has 3 cars and 11 motorbikes. While it runs about 15 ICT centers in various Woredas and has taken over the running of 6 youth centers built by the regional

government, offices at zonal level and below remain understaffed and underequipped. The association is involved in implementing a number of development projects and, as a result, a significant proportion of its budget comes from grants. In 2009/10 alone, the association was running projects worth ETB 8 million, while about ETB 3 million was obtained through membership fees, donations, and fund raising activities.

3.2. Addis Ababa City Administration

Addis Ababa Youth Association

Addis Ababa Youth Association (AAYA) is an association of youth between the ages 15 and 35 established in 1998 with the goals of youth development, increased youth participation and stronger youth mobilization. The organization re-registered with the Charities and Societies Agency in 2009. Like most similar associations, the structure of AAYA starts with a general assembly and executive committee at regional level and a council and executive committee at the sub-city and Woreda levels. The association operates in all sub-cities and 98 Woredas of the city. As of 2010, the association has

31,000 active members, 21 employees, and 13 fulltime elected officials.

The association has its own head office, owns a number of houses and kiosks (some inherited from its predecessor, REYA), and runs a restaurant. However, at Woreda level the practice of sharing the working spaces of government offices prevails. Unlike most associations of its kind, a significant proportion of AAYA’s income comes from rental of various properties. By the end of 2009, for instance, slightly more than half of the total

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income of the association came from rent. Grants for various projects, most of which are development related are the second most important source of income for the association.

Addis Ababa Women’s Association

Established in the same year as its youth counterpart, the Addis Ababa Women’s Association (AAWA), is currently registered with the Charities and Societies Agency. The association states that it has about 154,000 full members and 5500 associate members. The association has offices in all sub-cities and most Woredas of the city.

AAWA has similar objectives to the other associations under study. Specifically, it aims to increase women’s participation in the political, social, and economic spheres; assure the respect of human rights; and bring about gender equality through awareness raising, advocacy work and other strategies.

3.3. Amhara National Regional State

Amhara Women’s Association and Amhara Region Youth Association

Established in 2002, the Amhara Women’s Association (AWA) and the Amhara Region Youth Association (ARYA) are both registered with the regional Justice Bureau. Interviewees from both associations stated that their associations work to assure social, economic, and political benefit of their members.

Both associations have presence at all administrative levels – from region to Kebele. Both associations have a branch in Addis Ababa, and ARYA also has branches in several universities in the country. The women’s association, which is perhaps relative ly better organized, conducts its general assembly every 3 years. AWA has a council of 53 active members, a nine-person executive committee, and a management committee composed of the association chairperson, vice-chairperson, and secretary (all of whom are fulltime workers). While 10 of the 11 zones have fulltime coordinators, only 60 of the 166 Woredas have the same. Kebele level associations are led by an all-volunteer 7-person committee. ARYA and AWA claim memberships of 600,000 and 844,144 respectively. However, both associations state that most of their members are not active participants in the association, often failing to pay membership fees. In both cases, less than a third of their members paid the annual fee of ETB 3 in 2010/11.

The head offices of both associations are moderately sized and were constructed using funds collected from the public. Zone level women’s associations are located in designated offices allocated by local authorities and are each equipped with a computer and a telephone line. Zone level youth associations as well as both youth and women’s associations at the Woreda and Kebele levels have no designated working space,

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whether their own or government allocated. While both associations own plots of land, and a few other properties, they are not as prosperous as their counterparts in Tigray.

3.4. Benishangul-Gumuz National Regional State

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Youth Association

The Benishangul-Gumuz Region Youth Association was officially established in 2004. In its seven years of existence, it has registered about 350,000 young people. However, only a few of these are fee paying members. While the association has elected leaders at the region, zone and Woreda levels, it has no structure at the Kebele level. Leaders of

the association at the regional level are not full time staff, and do not have offices.

Elected leaders in zones and Woredas, are not very active, the association has been unable to conduct its annual council for the past two years and most committees at the region, zone, and Woreda levels are incomplete. The association does not have any

professional employees and has implemented few development or advocacy related projects throughout its existence. The association has no office space, equipment, vehicles or any other significant property. Moreover, it has been unable effectively to collect the membership fee of ETB 12 per year (most years achieving less than 10% collection rate).

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Women’s Association

The situation of the regional women’s association, which was established in 1999, is only slightly better resourced than that of the youth association. According to relevant documents and interviews with association officials, the women’s association did little other than organizing itself and trying to increase the number of its members in the years 1999 – 2004. None of the members of its councils, executive and other committees work for the association on a full time basis. The association registered 28,000 members initially, but it has no up to date data on current members and it has failed to collect any much revenue through membership fees. Currently, the association is using a small room allocated to it by the regional Bureau of Women, Children, and Youth as its head office, with a computer and printer. Similarly, zone level associations are housed in government offices.

The regional women’s association is almost totally dependent on project grants for running its activities. This becomes very obvious when one notes that almost three-quarters of the finance for the period 2004–2010 came from the regional HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Office.

The table below summarizes the similarities and differences between the MBS in this study.

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Table 3:1 Summary of the State of Women and Youth Associations in the Study

Establishment and Registration

Organizational Structures

Human Resources Physical Resources Financial Sources

Women’s Association of Tigray (WAT) and Tigray Youth Association (TYA)

Established in 1991; were registered by the Ministry of Justice, and regional Justice bureau respectively

Re-registered with the Charities and Societies Agency as Ethiopian Society in 2009 and 2010 respectively

Have a region-Woreda-tabia (Kebele)-qushet (village)- gujile (group) structure

Present in all zones, Woredas and tabias of the region; as well as in Addis Ababa

WAT has full time leaders at the regional, zonal and Woreda levels; TYA has the same only at regional and zonal levels

Have about 650,000 and 400,000 full members respectively

Both owns well equipped head offices, a number of vehicles and other establishments

Zonal associations have offices made available by the regional government; Woreda associations hosted by Woreda offices of women, children and youth

Project grants by donors and government bureaus are major sources of finance followed by membership fees

Addis Ababa Women’s Association (AAWA) and Addis Ababa Youth Association (AAYA)

Established in 1998, were registered with the Ministry of Justice; re-registered with the Charities and Societies Agency in 2009 as Ethiopian Society

Structured at the city - subcity - Woreda levels

Operate in all sub-cities and almost all Woredas of the city.

Both have full time elected official and a few employees

Have about 154,000 and 31,000 full members respectively

AAYA its own head office, owns a number of houses and kiosks and runs a restaurant

Both share the working spaces of government offices at the Woreda level

Major sources of finance include property rent, project based grants, and membership fees

Amhara Established in 2002, both Both associations have Both have full time Both have moderately Sources of finance are

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Establishment and Registration

Organizational Structures

Human Resources Physical Resources Financial Sources

Women’s Association (AWA) and Amhara Region Youth Association (ARYA)

registered with the regional Justice Bureau

presence at all administrative levels – from region to Kebele.

leaders at the regional level; Unusually, AWA has a few professional staff and full time coordinators at the zonal level

Have 844,144 and 600,000 members, respectively

sized and equipped head offices; AWA has zonal offices allocated to the association by local authorities

Both share the working spaces of government offices at the Woreda level

project grants and membership fees

Benishangul Gumuz Region Women’s Association and Benishangul Gumuz Region Youth Association

Established in 1999 and 2004 respectively.

Both are registered with the regional Justice Bureau

Organized from region to Woreda, but both have only nominal presence below the regional level

Have 28,000 and 350,000 members registered at one time or another, but most are not active members

Both do not have any significant physical resources and are housed by government offices, even at the regional level

Some project grants, support from the regional government

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3.5. Regional Teachers Associations

The three regional teachers associations covered by the study are all regional offices of their parent association – the Ethiopian Teachers Association (ETA). ETA started out as a “Teachers Union” in 1949 at a meeting of about 32 teachers in Addis Ababa. The original objective of the union was the strengthening of friendship among teachers by organizing sports competition events and organizing training and up-grading opportunities to teachers7. A nationwide association of teachers came to existence when the ETA was officially registered with the Ministry of Inland Affairs in 1969. Currently, ETA follows the country’s federal structure, with a head office in Addis Ababa and branch offices in all national regional states and city administrations.

The regional teachers associations are organized with executive committees at the region, zone and Woreda levels. Usually only members of the regional executive committee work

fulltime for the association. At the school level, there are ‘basic associations’ of teachers.

The primary source of income for the regional teachers associations is the fee collected from their members. In the study regions, a monthly membership fee of 4 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) is directly deducted from the salaries of members. The income of teachers associations is significant and allows them to engage in several activities of their own.

3.6. Key Observations

A few important observations can be made on the basis of the above discussion of MBS covered by the current study.

Firstly, the associations under study have nearly identical structures from the regional level down to the lowest administrative level. This is perhaps one of their most important assets, making them significant actors in the social and political arena of the country.

Secondly, these associations are mostly led, particularly below the regional level, by part-timers who volunteer their services. While this is important in as much as it indicates endorsement of the associations’ visions by their members, it also has its own problems since the work involved in leading associations is too much to be done on a part-time basis. And the culture of voluntarism is not yet sufficiently developed in the local context. For this reason, there has been a tendency to seek admission into these associations expecting some kind of advantage. When such expectations fail, it is common for volunteers to withdraw their support.

The third point relates to the organisations’ actual membership. While these organizations claim a significant number of the demographic and occupational groups they claim to represent as members, our research has found that most of these members are passive. They neither regularly pay their membership fees, nor actively participate in organizational

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http://ethiopianteachers.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=49&Itemid=54

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affairs. Possibly related to this point is a serious lack of donor and membership trust mentioned by some Women and Youth Association leaders. Among the reasons cited for the erosion of trust in these organizations are mismanagement of resources, non-transparency in the conduct of associational affairs, and failure to carry out financial and property audits.

Other reasons could relate to problems in accountability. The Director of the Amhara Region Youth Association admitted that the funds obtained through membership contributions, donor grants and transfers from government sector bureaus had been misused and misappropriated by the former leadership. The Benishangul-Gumuz Women Association stated that he had observed problems in the collection and use of membership contributions. There are also problems related to unaccountability among the leadership. Once elected the leadership stays in office indefinitely. Because of this, as the project officer indicated, the leadership lost its credibility with the membership, for which reasons many of them left the association.

MBS also report that women and youths often hold negative attitudes about associations, having no trust that MBS will serve their interests and bring them any real benefits. Negative connotations about women and youth associations under the Derg still prevail and adversely influence the attitudes of community members towards these associations.

A fourth important observation is the fact that most of the MBS under study are not primarily member-financed. The stronger ones have a range of sources of funding, including donors. The weaker ones are very reliant on regional governments. Those with the opportunity and assets also undertake significant income generating business activities. There is also a potential challenge in any reliance on donor funding as to how mass based organizations find a balance between addressing donors’ concerns and the interests and needs of members.

A fifth observation is that those organizations with the least capacity tend to be heavily dependent on the government. All three types of associations have cordial working relationships with their respective regional governments, bureaus and offices. However, the relationships are by no measure symmetrical. Due to their limited capacity, especially at the local levels, the less capable associations are particularly dependent on the support and goodwill of the regional governments for their day-to-day operations, and, in some cases, even their very existence.

Sixthly, the majority of these associations are unable to employ professional staff, who would assist them in member and resource mobilization as well as the day to day running of the affairs of the associations.

Finally, the absence of an umbrella organization which brings together many associations under a network or federation at the national level has proved to be a challenge. This constraint makes it difficult for these MBS to speak in a collective voice for their rights and interests.

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4. Knowledge about and Perceived Gaps in the Charities and Societies Proclamation

This section assesses the level of knowledge of leaders and members of MBS about the Charities and Societies Proclamation. It also examines what leaders of the associations under study as well relevant government officials in the study regions perceive as gaps in the Proclamation.

4.1. Knowledge of MBS about the Charities and Societies Proclamation

The interviews and the discussions conducted with the representatives of the youth and women associations indicate that the Proclamation has not yet been sufficiently popularized among the leadership and members of these associations. In the case of Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions, knowledge about the Proclamation was found to be extremely limited, including among the upper echelons of the leadership. In Tigray Region and Addis Ababa, top level leaders do have an understanding of the Proclamation, but there is obvious lack of knowledge among lower level leadership and ordinary members of the associations.

Lack of knowledge and misunderstanding about the Proclamation is widespread. For instance, the Vice Chairperson of Yeka Sub-City youth association in Addis Ababa said that the general feeling was that the legislation did not concern MBS. In relation to this, the Chairperson made the following remarks:

The same thoughts were expressed during the focus group discussion (FGD) held with members of Hawelti sub-city youth association in Mekele. The FGD participants indicated that youth association members had discussions on the Commercial Registration and Business Licensing Proclamation (Proclamation No. 686/2010). They emphasized that this was not the case with the CSO legislation.

The leader of the Tigray Teachers Association held a rather different perception. According to him, the lack of attention shown on the part of the responsible government bodies to adequately popularize the Proclamation among MBS is more a result of the desire to restrict the activities of charities. If that were not the case, he argued, efforts would have been made to broaden the awareness of MBS regarding the roles and responsibilities assigned to them by the Proclamation, especially regarding their right to engage in democracy, good

The Agency or other concerned bodies provided no orientation or training to the leadership of youth associations on the content and significance of the Charities and Societies Proclamation. For this reason, we too have not organized forums to sensitize our members to the issues and implications related to the Proclamation. For instance, discussions were facilitated for youth associations on the draft Vagrancy Control Proclamation which was adopted in 2004. The youth associations contributed their part in this process by providing

feedback to the draft law.

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governance and rights. Overall, twenty five of the thirty key informants interviewed stated that sufficient information and support was not forthcoming from the concerned government bodies in this respect.

4.2. Perceived Limitations in the Charities and Societies Proclamation

Lack of consultation: Most of the mass based societies covered in this study maintain the

view that the Proclamation may well have been enacted “to aid and facilitate the role of Charities and Societies in the overall development of Ethiopian peoples” (Federal Negaret Gazetta, preamble to Proclamation No. 621/2009). However, the mass based societies operating in Addis Ababa and Tigray in particular expressed that the process through which the Proclamation was formulated and adopted was not participatory enough. The leaders of the Tigray Youth Association (TYA) indicated that given their years of experience, they should have been involved as active players in the process of drafting of the Proclamation.

Federal focus: Leaders of the mass based societies in Tigray Region perceive that the Proclamation was drafted and brought into effect with larger charities based in Addis Ababa in mind. For this reason, they believe that there has been inadequate consideration as to how regionally organized MBS can best be served by the Proclamation. As the former head of the Office of Association within the Federal Ministry of Justice (MoJ) put it, the Charities and Societies Agency needs to do more in connection with reaching out to MBS functioning at grassroots and regional levels.

Lack of clarity in the relationships and jurisdiction of the Agency and regional justice bureaus: Another perceived gap in the Proclamation relates to the lack of clarity in the

relationships and jurisdiction of the Agency and regional justice bureaus, which are authorized by the respective regional states to license and regulate MBS in the regions. Because there is as yet no regional charities and societies legislation, there are discrepancies in regards to the registration of MBS. In Tigray Region, the two oldest MBS, Tigray Youth Association (TYA) and Women's Association of Tigray (WAT) are registered with the Charities and Societies Agency. They justify their registration with the Agency by saying that they operate branch offices outside of Tigray. They also believe that this registration enables them to maintain relationships with domestic and international organizations/donors. The Regional Justice Bureau in Tigray perceives that these organizations could have processed their registration at regional level. Their counterparts in Amhara Region entertain the position that, as regionally organized MBS, it is not mandatory for them to register with the Agency, regardless of having members outside of the region.

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5. Opportunities and Challenges of Mass Based Societies in the Existing Legal Environment

This section includes the views of government and development partners as well as MBS interviewed.

According to some government informants, the Charities and Societies Proclamation affords civil societies including MBS the opportunity to become self-sufficient and sustainable. An officer at the Charities and Societies Agency expressed a view that public collections and revenue generation are the means that the Proclamation has legitimatized for MBS, among others, to enhance their access to resources and accomplish their stated mission. Another informant suggested that there are various possibilities for state executive organs to support MBS in different ways which can contribute to their strengthening and capacity enhancement.

However, other government institutions contacted indicated that MBS faced considerable challenges, including weak financial, human and organizational capacity. These institutions included the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Institution of the Ombudsman, and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission. They singled out limitations in the areas of resource administration and program execution as very serious challenges that the societies must deal with. The Head of Coordination for women, children and other vulnerable groups at the EHRC stated that one million Birr was granted by the Commission to women associations of four regions (Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, and SNNP) during 2011/12 fiscal year. Similar grants were planned to be transferred to women associations of other regions (Benishangul-Gumuz, Gambela, Somali, and Afar). But the transfers were put on hold due to observations of major weaknesses in the administration of funds and implementation of programs by the aforementioned women’s associations.

Most MBS representatives believe that the Proclamation has resulted in more challenges than opportunities for their operations and development. Fundamentally, the Proclamation imposes restrictions on the amount and sources of funding that MBS can mobilize to pursue the kinds of activities that it empowers them to engage in. MBS which are registered with the Charities and Societies Agency, are supposed to generate 90% of their funds from domestic sources, including contributions from members. In practice, the likelihood of MBS obtaining 90% of the funds they need from domestic sources is slim. Two years on from the adoption of the Proclamation, many MBS state that they have been forced to scale down their projects particularly in the areas of democratization, good governance and rights advocacy.

A case from Tigray Youth Association perhaps illustrates the implications of the restrictions on resource mobilization. The President stated that the Association applied for funding following a call for project proposal issued by the European Union to support democratization processes. The Association was not able to secure these resources because it was unable to provide proof that 90% of the finance was already available or would be forthcoming from local sources. According to the Addis Ababa Women Association, the Proclamation has obstructed the Association's delivery of mission on women empowerment by blocking access to global resources available for the cause of

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women.

Given funding constraints, MBS have to turn increasingly to the government for support, which may bring about a conflict of interest, and make it difficult for MBS to challenge the government, in particular on rights, democracy and governance issues.

The lack of financial resources has an impact on human resources. MBS are generally understaffed, especially in terms of trained staff with expertise in project management to execute running programs and deliver the intended results. MBS generally depend on volunteers rather than full time staff to keep their programs operational. Because of time constraints and overlap of work commitments, volunteers may not be as available as they need to be, properly to handle MBS affairs.

A representative from the European Union Civil Society Fund in Ethiopia identified the most serious capacity gaps in MBS as those in expertise in project planning, formulation and management, financial administration and internal governance. For this reason, MBS largely accessed resources from the Civil Society Fund as partners of lead implementing CSOs, rather than as individual applicants in their own rights.

The table below sets out a summary of the key issues identified by the MBS relating to opportunities and challenges created by the Proclamation.

Table 5:1Summary of Opportunities and challenges of Mass Based Societies in the Existing legal environment

MBS Opportunities Challenges

Women’s Association of Tigray (WAT)

The Proclamation allows revenue generation and public collections.

Enhances institutional capacity building.

Encourages voicing concerns and challenging the government to respect associational rights.

Opens the way for government support to be channeled to MBS.

The limits on accessing external funds are tantamount to the prohibition of promoting democratization, governance and human rights granted to MBS.

Promoting these practices with membership contributions alone is near-impossible.

Due to these restrictions, our association is forced to concentrate only on development projects.

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MBS Opportunities Challenges

Tigray Youth Association (TYA)

The Proclamation promotes use of the potentials inside constituencies for self-sufficiency.

Facilitates income generation possibilities.

Defines the boundaries of responsibilities between different categories of CSOs.

The Proclamation prevents MBS from mobilizing funds for the promotion of democratization.

The restrictions on resource mobilization negatively affect development activities & public interests.

The limits placed on rights promotion and empowerment call into question the purpose of MBS.

The absence of an umbrella youth organization at national level.

Addis Ababa Women’s Association (AAWA)

Many donors who are interested in working with us are bared form doing so because of the Proclamation.

The complex and multi-faceted problems of women could not be addressed due to financial constraints.

These issues can hardly be treated with membership contributions only.

Addis Ababa Youth Association (AAYA)

The Proclamation promotes self-sufficiency and sustainability.

Permits revenue generation and public collection.

The restrictions imposed on resource mobilization for the purpose of democratization paralyze the activities of MBS.

Persisting negative community attitudes about youth organizations dating from the era of the Derg.

The culture of voluntarism not being promoted and sufficiently developed.

Amhara Women’s Association (AWA)

Low level of awareness regarding the possibility of bringing about change through associations.

Financial problems caused by the failure to pay membership fees.

The problems of human resource and lack of professional staff particularly at grassroots levels.

Amhara Region Youth Association (ARYA)

The financial constraints of the associations have become aggravated by the Proclamation.

The difficulty of carrying out the association's activities with membership contributions, partly because members default on the payment of fees.

Government sector offices and charity organizations want to use youth associations for promoting their own agenda.

Lack of trust by donors and members because of problems related to transparency and good image.

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MBS Opportunities Challenges

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Women’s Association

The Proclamation enables involvement in IGA programs and fund raising activities through public collections.

Makes it easier to strengthen institutional capacity.

Default on the payment of membership fees because of low awareness and lack of trust on the association by the members.

Problems related to transparency in financial management, and irregularities involving the elections of leadership and indefinite stay in office.

Regional authorities who abuse their positions to influence the association in favor of their own political agenda.

Benishangul-Gumuz Region Youth Association

Limited numbers of charities involved in promoting youth interests.

Low awareness among youths about the significance of membership in youth associations.

Resource constraints make it difficult to carry out awareness raising work to change youth attitudes in this respect.

Capacity limitations at the lower tiers of youth association.

The discouraging effect of the attitudes by the regional authorities toward youth associations.

Teachers Associations

The Proclamation permits involvement in the promotion of democratization, but imposes restrictions on access to the required resources.

No government body that effectively supports CSOs and MBS. Lack of readiness on the part of state organs at different levels to ensure the rights and interests of MBS.

Forces MBS to become dependent on state resources and support, resulting in the compromise of their independence and becoming vulnerable to state control.

View of teachers associations by government bodies as a threat.

Low awareness of members about their association.

Inadequate commitment of the membership to the association.

Not being able to effectively operate at the grassroots because of financial constraints.

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6. Participation of MBS in their Legally Sanctioned Spheres of Activity

The Proclamation empowers MBS actively to participate in the process of democratization, human right advocacy and the promotion of good governance. However, neither the leadership nor ordinary members of the MBS consulted believed that there had been any change in their activities as a result of the Proclamation. Essentially, those organizations which worked in these areas before, continued to work in them today; those which did not before, have not recently begun to work in the newly permitted areas. This was true both among organizations aware and unaware of the Proclamation details.

For instance, the Tigray Youth Association (TYA) and Women's Association of Tigray (WAT) continue to play a similar role in voter education and election monitoring as before. They stated that the activities were and continue to be incorporated in their strategic plan and management (SPM) documents and implemented as part of their annual plans.

However, their involvement in these areas suggested the need for further enhancement and capacity, which they can no longer seek from foreign funding sources as a result of the 10% rule, which limits the amount of Ethiopian society funding to 10% from foreign sources. Thus, in many respects they are likely to be less well equipped in future to engage in these areas.

The study also attempted to find out if the associations under study have made any changes in their article of association owing to the enactment of the Proclamation. The response obtained show that most did not carry out any such reviews and those which did so, only to matters related to sources of income8. Only the Tigray Youth Association, during its 6th annual conference in 2002 E.C, discussed the implications of the Proclamation and decided to strengthen its income generation activities to cope with the restrictions on accessing foreign sources. The results of this decision are reflected in Article 7, Sub-article 13 of the 2002 E.C memorandum of the association.

6.1. Participation in Voter Education

The youth and women associations in the study regions confirmed their participation in the process of the 2010 parliamentary elections conducted at federal and regional levels. The purpose of their educational and sensitization campaign, as they put it, was to enhance the involvement of the members in the electoral process both as voters and candidates, and make sure that those parties/candidates who ascend to leadership positions are the ones who promote the interests of women and youth. To that end, the MBS used various means to sensitize their respective constituencies. The main campaign strategies used in voter education include:

8

Given the fact that all of the associations have, as part of their original mission, included matters of governance and democratization, it is understandable that

they did not need to modify their articles of association, particularly the sections dealing with the associations mission/objectives.

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Organizing panel discussions where parties/candidates popularized their platforms or agenda,

Producing and distributing fliers on the significance of the elections,

Street-to-street and house-to-house sensitization urging residents to turn out for the elections and contribute to the peaceful conduct of the process.

Concerning participation in voter education, the Vice Chairperson of the Women's Association of Tigray (WAT) made the following remarks:

On the same note, the Chairperson of Bahir Dar Town Youth Association observed:

6.2. Election Monitoring

The MBS covered in the study all reported active participation in the 2010 elections in the role of observers as part of the Consortium of Ethiopian Civil Societies for Election Observation (CECSEO). The Consortium, which was organized at the federal and regional levels, consisted of different organizations such as associations of teachers, journalists, workers, war veterans, youths, and women. In preparation for their deployment as election observers, training of 3-5 days was conducted for representatives delegated by the MBS on electoral law, observers' roles and code of conduct.

The President of the Amhara Region Teachers Association stated that the regional consortium of civil societies deployed 8,000 election observers, of whom 2,767 were members of the Regional Teachers Association. Likewise, the Tigray Teachers Association

During the 2010 elections, we provided awareness raising education to the youth on the characteristics of democratic elections, the rights and obligations of youths to participate in the elections as voters and running candidates, the essence of electoral discipline, and the role of youths in ensuring that the conduct of the election is peaceful and democratic. For this purpose, we have undertaken training on electoral law, code of conduct agreed by the ruling and opposition parties, and the role of election observers. Subsequently, we have cascaded the trainings to the leadership and members at Woreda and grassroots levels.

As an association, we have actively participated in the 2010 elections by sensitizing our members within the structure of the association down to the grassroots. We have tried to make women voters conscious that their participation is vital to ensure that females hold leadership positions and play an active part in decision making processes. We have achieved encouraging results. A significant number of women were elected into office in regional and national parliaments, 49% and 37% respectively. In Woreda and Kebele councils, women comprise 50% of the candidates elected. Women hold executive offices in regional and Woreda cabinets, 37% and 50% respectively.

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deployed 1,000 election observers who monitored the process at polling stations around the region, together with observers who represented other organizations making up the regional consortium of civil societies. In the case of the Benishangul-Gumuz Regional Teachers Association, the president stated that 40 teachers were deployed to observe the elections at eight polling stations in Assosa Town, the regional capital, in conjunction with representatives of other associations constituting the consortium of civil societies in the region.

According to the President of the Addis Ababa Youth Association, 1,100 of its members were assigned to observe the elections at polling stations across the capital with financial support worth Birr 200,000 channeled through the consortium by the Electoral Board. In Bahir Dar Town, the Youth association assigned 15 youths to participate in election monitoring at five polling stations.

The Electoral Board is the main government stakeholder for MBS, in relation to democratization, voter education and election monitoring processes. The Electoral Board considers MBS as strategic partners, whose role is crucial to the conduct of elections, among other aspects of the democratization exercise. According to an expert at the Board, the significance of MBS relates to the vast size of their constituencies. As a result, they are in position to carry out voter education campaigns and deploy election observers in large numbers. Secondly, the expert stated that MBS play a role in contributing to the national effort of building a conscious and vibrant political community. Thirdly, through MBS feedback from monitoring the elections, they provide inputs to the Electoral Board, to enable it to gauge its performance and adopt any useful remedial measures for future elections.

Accordingly, the position of the Electoral Board is that empowering MBS to exercise such roles and responsibilities is a positive development. The steps taken in this direction need to be strengthened, according to the expert. The Electoral Board currently provides some capacity building support, in the form of training of trainers (TOT) on electoral law, political party registration proclamation, and electoral code of conduct for political parties. They also supply MBS with relevant materials and financial support is provided to MBS which propose to cascade the awareness and knowledge to members at regional and local levels.

6.3. Challenges Encountered in Carrying out Voter Education and Election Monitoring

The MBS indicated that participation in voter education and election monitoring is not part of their core programming, and is not managed on the basis of advance planning. Instead, the trend has generally been that when elections are approaching, the MBS are prompted through formal communication to participate in the process, without adequate prior planning and preparation for the engagement.

In reaction to this state of affairs, the expert at the Electoral Board stated that it was up to MBS to prepare proposals for elections work and seek support from the Board. The Board can then react to requests for funding or other support, such as voter and ethical education manuals. However, one MBS experience found that despite submitting a project proposal to the Board, the proposal was rejected. An informant from the Women's Association of Tigray

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stated:

Resource constraints are considered the most important challenge facing MBS in this role. Soliciting and securing funds from external sources is proving difficult, particularly for MBS registered as Ethiopian Societies and unable to access more than 10 per cent of their funds from foreign sources.

The Vice Chairperson of Yeka Sub-City Youth Association in Addis Ababa pointed out that if they manage to secure foreign funds, they are mistrusted by the local administration. But their close relationship with government makes it more difficult to access foreign sources support:

Involvement in the democratization and electoral processes as a civil society presents a serious challenge. An informant of the study in the Amhara Women's Association describes the challenge as follows:

The expert of the Electoral Board also stated that MBS should try harder to win the trust of their members and mobilize the resources required for such activities from their members,

The existing local context requires MBS to engage in democratization and election practices under the close watch of government functionaries, and acting as government affiliates. So sensitive are these spheres of activity that if MBS were to work with the opposition and other interest groups, they would come under threat. As far as women's rights are concerned, the government prefers the issue to be understood and pursued in the context of women's participation in development endeavors, access to health and educational services and other benefits. .

Local support is not forthcoming for the activities we plan to undertake in connection with elections. If we solicit and secure financial assistance from private individuals or organizations, the administration tends to associate us with forces opposed to the ruling party. On the other hand, because of our affiliation with the administration, opposition groups have a tendency to be cautious about our motives. For this reason, there is no alternative for us other than to engage in activities related to democratization and elections on voluntary basis and the limited resources available in the association.

In response to a call by the Electoral Board, we prepared and submitted a project proposal for participation in the 2010 elections. The proposed activities included organizing public forums to educate Association members and the wider community on issues related to elections, the training and deployment of observers, and use of various media to sensitize and broaden public awareness regarding elections. However, the request was not granted due to budgetary constraints. Previously, funds were obtained from European Union for the purpose of carrying out such activities, which was not the case during the 2010 elections.

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given their freedom and independence are at risk once they accept government funding.

6.4. Participation of MBS in future elections

The information obtained from the leadership suggests that MBS are intending to participate in Woreda and kebele elections due in 2012. But the type and degree of preparations they

are making vary. They are set out in the table below.

Table 6:1 Summary of Issues on Future Engagements in Election Monitoring by MBS

Regional state

Type of MBS and Preparations Underway

Women association Youth Association Teachers Association

Tigray Voter education and election monitoring incorporated in SPM and 2012 annual plan.

Preparation for fund-raising underway.

Project proposal prepared for this purpose.

Voter education and election monitoring activities incorporated in SPM and 2012 annual plan.

Elections at Woreda and Kebele levels said to be not competitive, and no need for early preparation.

Waiting the approach of elections, and instructions from the electoral board.

Addis Ababa Voter education and election monitoring incorporated in SPM and 2012 annual plan.

Voter education and election monitoring for the next municipal election incorporated in SMP and annual plan.

Waiting the approach of elections, and instructions from the electoral board.

Amhara Voter education and election monitoring incorporated in SPM and 2012 annual plan.

Voter education and election monitoring incorporated in SPM and 2012 annual plan.

Elections at Woreda and Kebele levels said to be not competitive, and no need for early preparations.

Waiting the approach of elections, and instructions from the electoral board.

Benishangul Gumuz

Waiting for the approach of elections, and instructions from electoral board.

Waiting for the approach of elections, and instructions from the electoral board.

Waiting the approach of elections, and instructions from the electoral board.

6.5. Role of MBS in Promoting Good Governance

The findings of the study show that MBS contribute to the promotion of good governance in three important ways.

6.5.1. Representation in local governance

Through persistent efforts, MBS have managed to secure positions of non-voting members in regional, Woreda and kebele councils. In Tigray Region, a ratio has been set for the

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representation of MBS in these councils, where up to 30% of the seats in the respective councils are reserved for unelected MBS representatives. In Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions, no more than two senior figures of the leadership are granted the status of non-voting councils members. In Addis Ababa, women and youth associations have lately been granted the right to be represented in the city council.

The MBS take advantage of this opportunity to voice the concerns and interests of their respective constituencies on the council forums. They use the place they occupy at the councils as a tool to expose corrupt practices and miscarriage of justice perpetrated against their own members and other citizens in urban and rural areas. For instance, the Chairperson of the Tigray Youth Association said the following:

6.5.2. Anti-corruption education

Through awareness creation and education concerning corruption, MBS promote good governance by establishing and operating in anti-corruption and ethical committees in schools and the structures of their respective associations. The committee members attend training organized by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and the Institute of Ombudsman in Addis Ababa or regional capitals.

Both informants from the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (FEACC) and the Institution of the Ombudsman believed MBS have the potential to play a strategic role in the fight against corruption and administrative injustice. The advantage of MBS is that they can reach much of the population easily and effectively through their organizational structures. Additionally, they say that MBS members consider good governance issues affect them directly and so they have an interest in supporting them. They stated that MBS therefore produce tangible results if given proper training.

According to the group informants from FEACC, the commission has set up joint forums with a range of associations including MBS. The aims of these joint forums are to organize ethics and anti-corruption awareness raising trainings and campaigns, help improve accountability and transparency within the associations, and provide limited financial support to the associations made available from the Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) fund. As a result of this training, members of women and youth associations have exposed land-related illegal and corrupt practices.

The MBS representatives play an active role in the effort to rectify injustices by providing tip-offs regarding acts of corruption and rent seeking. Especially the representatives bring to public attention and voice the grievances of rural women and young farmers who are victims of abuses and corruption related to land administration. Similarly, the violations of rights involving youths and women employed in factories and business enterprises, unemployed youths seeking access to micro finance and credit services, and others facing risks for their roles in promoting good governance are exposed and brought to attention in the council meetings.

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The informants at the Federal Institution of Ombudsman noted that the office conducted training of trainers (TOT) on good governance and youth voluntarism campaign in 2010 and 2011 to participants drawn from federal and regional youth associations. The training issues constituted the purpose, responsibilities and achievements of the Institution of Ombudsman, the concepts of good governance and the principles of voluntarism. As a matter of policy, the Institution of the Ombudsman provides MBS with technical support in the form of TOT and training materials, rather than budgetary support.

6.5.3. Anticorruption research

By conducting research on corruption issues and disseminating the findings at workshops and symposiums, MBS contribute to the enhancement of good governance practices. Findings of research conducted by the Amhara Teacher Association on four selected Woredas in South Wello Zone were presented at a symposium attended by teachers and

relevant authorities.

The Ethiopian Human Rights Commission also collaborates with MBS, currently women associations, in the pursuit of its stated aims and missions. According to the Commission's Head of Coordination for women, children and vulnerable groups, achievements arising from this collaboration include the improvements observed in ensuring the property rights of women in Tigray, and the curtailment of early marriage as one of the harmful traditional practices in Amhara. The Commission has conducted two rounds of training of trainers (TOT) for the Addis Ababa Teachers Association, and it is about to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Ethiopian Teachers Association (ETA) on human rights issues.

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7. Collaboration between Mass Based Societies and other Organizations

This section discusses the relationship between MBS and other CSOs, and how MBS perceive their comparative advantages and disadvantages.

7.1. Financing and support through Bilateral programs and foreign charities

As pointed out in Section 3 of this report, all the associations covered by this study collaborate with bilateral organizations, foreign charities, and even individual donors. The most common areas of collaboration include HIV prevention, reproductive health, income generation, as well as environmental protection/natural resource management.

7.1.1. Financing arrangements

The study has identified three major ways through which collaboration between MBS and the aforementioned bodies are managed.

1. Organizations or individuals invite or seek out the associations and propose to work with them. This is the least frequent approach, and seems only to occur with the stronger associations which already have a track record of project delivery.

2. Associations identify seek funding related to interests of foreign charities located in their respective regions operate. Securing funding this way requires considerable dedication on the part of the association leaders, as well as personal connections. Clearly this is only feasible in locations where potential donors are actually operating9.

3. Calls for proposals issued by funding agencies. Most of the larger projects run by the associations under study are won through this channel. However, it is only an option for the stronger associations which have access to information on funding proposals, and have professional employees who can produce well written project proposals.

The duration of collaborations has three major categories. These are:

1. From a few days to a few weeks. Examples include the sponsoring of training, meetings, congresses, or other such events by partner organizations.

2. The partnership in the form of grants for projects with duration of up to one year.

9 Leaders of associations in Benishangul Gumuz, pointed out that the region as a whole is not a preferred area of operation for most foreign

charities, preventing any form of collaboration.

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3. Multi-phase, rolling project grants, usually made by the larger international organizations or bilateral agencies for between 3 to 5 years.

Interviews with association representatives both in Amhara and Benishangul Gumuz revealed that the financial aspect of most activities they carry out is handled by donor organizations. Almost all associations lack procurement and financial management staff, there is a lack of official receipts, and an inability to keep accurate track of expenses. An interviewee from the Amhara Region Youth Association explained the situation of his association as follows:

The previous leadership of the association, which was replaced in the congress held in October 2009, frequently failed to keep account of expense. This gave the association a bad reputation and made donors wary of actually transferring funds to the association’s account. Currently, almost all non-governmental donors handle financial matters themselves, doing purchases and payments for us.

One of the activities that requires the highest level of commitment from both partners (including signing of detailed agreements, careful accounting of transactions and auditing) is the actual transfer of funds into the bank account of the association involved. The funds might be released in a single tranche at the outset, or phase by phase. This latter arrangement is seen to give less experienced associations greater flexibility of operation, and allows them to earn valuable experience in financial management.

The above listed areas of intervention are important sectors of engagement for the association under study. Even though the MBS which have reregistered with the Charities and Societies Agency as an Ethiopian society are legally prevented from obtaining more than 10% of their funding from foreign sources, interviewees from these organizations stated that they have so far not faced any problem in relation to the source and proportion of funding for their HIV/AIDS and other development related projects. It should however be noted that a stricter implementation of the Charities and Societies Proclamation might hamper the implementation of such programs.

The information in the table below summarizing major collaboration between MBS and other organizations has some interesting implications. In the first place, few MBS collaborate directly with donors. This may be because of the 90:10 restrictions, given that MBS are by definition Ethiopian societies. It may also reflect the lack of project preparation and proposal development competence in MBS identified elsewhere in this report. For the most part MBS collaborate with other CSOs, who take the lead and use MBS as service delivery partners. A second point is that service delivery activities dominate: other CSOs in Ethiopia see MBS as effective delivery partners with reach. Thirdly, there are a number of activity areas which have phased out. Almost all of these are advocacy, rights and conflict related areas, which are proscribed areas for Ethiopia Resident and Foreign charities, even though MBS can still operate in these areas. CSO partners of MBS in these areas have had to withdraw from such activities due to the 10% rule once fixed term contracts ended, and there is no evidence that MBS have been step in to substitute for their Ethiopian resident CSO partners to ensure that this work continues.

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Table 7:1 Summary of Major Collaboration between MBS and other organizations

MBS Partners Area of intervention

Women’s Association of Tigray (WAT)

UNICEF Income generation

OXFAM Goat feeding and restocking, cash for work, dam construction

Alive and Thrive Child nutrition

Irish Aid Supplementary feeding, leadership training, income generation activities (IGA)

L10K Maternal mortality reduction

dvv international Adult education

Tigray Youth Association

Pathfinder International, Ethiopia

Reproductive health, Orphan school support and IGA for orphan youths

CRDA HIV/AIDS based community conversation, Educational support and IGA for orphans

Action Aid Ethiopia Democracy and Human Right (phased out)

Ethiopia Road Authority Prevention of HIV/AIDS and STI

USAID through REST Leather gathering

UNMEE Human right and HIV/AIDS (phased out)

European Union Civil Society Fund

Civil society capacity building

USAID TransACTION Program

HIV/AIDS prevention, care, support, and treatment services for Most At Risk populations

ICCTDA Establishment of ICT Centers

UNDP Local economic growth

Addis Ababa Youth Association (AAYA)

UNICEF Organizational capacity building

UNESCO Organizational capacity building

Initiative Africa Youth life skill development education

Amhara Women’s Association (AWA)

Pathfinder Reproductive health, eradicating harmful traditional practices, girls education, support for female students

dvv international Adult education, skill training

UNICEF Income generation activities for women

National Coalition for Women against HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS prevention, eradicating harmful traditional practices

Amhara Region Youth Association (ARYA)

UNICEF Capacity building

CBM HIV/AIDS prevention (phased out)

Benishangul Gumuz Region Women’s Association

Initiative Africa Conflict resolution, women empowerment, capacity building (phased out)

Benishangul Gumuz Region Youth Association

Poverty Action Network Conflict resolution (phased out)

Action Aid Ethiopia Good governance (phased out), organizational support

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7.2. Collaboration with Regional and National Government Bodies

Several national and regional government bodies were identified by interviewees as key partners of the associations under investigation. These include the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman, the National Electoral Board, and regional micro and small enterprise development agencies, housing development agencies, city administrations, and sector bureaus.

The partnership between MBS and sector bureaus (such as the partnership between education bureaus and regional teachers associations, between youth and women’s associations and bureaus of women, children and youth) tend to be ongoing, involving almost constant support from the sector bureaus to the associations.

Moreover, MBS, in collaboration with various government bureaus facilitate scholarship opportunities for disadvantaged youths; arrange tutorial classes during summer vacations by mobilizing volunteers, organize various clubs to actively involve youths in social activities, mobilize members to play an active role in environmental protection (tree planting during the rainy season), encourage youth participation in promoting local peace and security through community policing, and organize clean-up campaigns.

Collaborations with the other government offices and sector bureaus, however, tend to be project or event based. For instance, both youth and women’s association work with city administrations, regional micro and small enterprise development agencies, housing development agencies, and bureaus of agriculture.

The most common project-based collaborations are with the regional HAPCOs (HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Offices), which often allocate funds they have obtained from donor agencies to these associations for projects such as HIV/AIDS related community conversations, supporting orphans, and awareness raising.

In addition to the above areas, the associations also work with national government organizations. For instance, both the Tigray and Amhara women’s associations are running a project funded by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission on issues related to protecting the rights of women and children in general and to supporting the associations in their endeavor to fight against harmful traditional practices.

The table below summarizes the different areas of collaboration between the MBS in the study and different governmental bodies. As with the areas of collaboration with development partners and CSOs, it is striking that service delivery collaborations are so prominent.

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Table 7:2 Summary of Areas of Collaboration between MBS and Governmental Bodies

Governmental Body Area of Collaboration

Federal government organizations (Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, the Ethiopian Institution of the Ombudsman, the National Electoral Board, federal and regional ethics and anticorruption commissions)

Protecting human rights, good governance, voter education, election observation, fighting corruption through schools and community based awareness campaigns and setting up anti-corruption club

Regional HAPCOs Community conversation and youth dialogue based HIV/AIDS Prevention, voluntary counseling and testing, HIV/AIDS related care and support

Sector Bureaus (education bureau, bureaus of women, children and youth)

Material support, some financial support, and provision of working space, support to associations.

MBS involve in the implementation of the missions of the bureaus

Other regional and city government offices (micro and small enterprise development agencies, housing development agencies, city administrations, agriculture and rural development bureaus, justice bureaus, health bureaus, etc)

Employment and income generation of women and youth through skill training, providing loans, availing working space and employment opportunities

Provision of trainings on gender issues, harmful traditional practices, etc

Environmental protection and natural resource management

7.3. Collaboration with CBOs

MBS do not collaborate with community based organizations such as iddirs, coalitions of iddirs, or neighborhood development associations. An interviewee from Tigray Youth

Association justified this by saying that the need to cooperate with CBOs had never arisen as the association itself can reach to the grassroots and successfully carry out its activities. It was also pointed out that CBOs often have very specific and focused agendas of their own, very different from that of the association under study, and thus present few opportunities for cooperation.

7.4. Desired Areas of Support from Donor Organizations

Organizational capacity building through provision of training is the single most important area of support from donors identified by the study. Particular areas of training needed include operational skills (such as accounting for expenses, human resource management, office administration, project management, developing action plans, and monitoring and evaluation); human and financial resource mobilization, including techniques of mass mobilization, lobbying, and developing project proposals.

In addition to the above long term areas of intervention, some MBS expressed an immediate need for support in strengthening their head offices through the provision of

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office supplies and equipment, as well as training in their use. Given most communication with donors is electronic - calls for project proposal are announced over the internet, - there is a considerable need for computers, laptops, and mobile or office-based internet.

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8. Conclusion and Recommendations

8.1. Conclusions

In this section, we set out some conclusions from the study. This is the first piece of factual information about this important area of civil society, since the Proclamation. MBS are an important segment of civil society, because they are singled out both in the Proclamation and GTP to work in certain key areas of democracy, electoral education and governance. Most stakeholders have certain assumptions about the interests, capacity and effectiveness of MBS, but these may not have been based on detailed understanding based on evidence.

8.1.1. The State of Mass Based Organizations

The associations in the study are all established with the goals of protecting the rights of their members and assuring that their members benefit politically, socially and economically. All associations have an impressive (if not always functional) structure that starts at their respective regional capitals and extends down to the Kebele, school, qushet,

or even group levels. This gives them very effective reach, which is of particular value in terms of service delivery. MBS have a large number of members, though they are largely passive. There are constant struggles to get members to pay membership fees, and three are consequent financial and cash flow issues for the MBS.

While the teachers associations covered by the study have resources and capacities more or less comparable to each other, the women’s and youth associations can be placed on a continuum. The associations in Tigray were the strongest and best organized, followed by those in Addis Ababa and Amhara respectively. The associations in Benishangul Gumuz were the weakest. Among other things, historical and geographical factors are at play here. The long history and strong link with TPLF-led rebel movement of the associations in Tigray; and the central location of the associations in Addis Ababa are advantages for these associations. There can be no generalizations about the capacity of MBS, and potential partners need to be careful not to make assumptions about this.

The MBS under study have multiple sources of funding including project grants f rom government and non-government organizations earmarked for specific tasks, membership fees, and property rent. However, the very low amount of income from membership fees and property rent has forced these associations to rely on the good will of their regional government and sector bureaus for their office space and day-to-day administrative support needs, which can be operationally advantageous, but links them closely to government and can, bring conflicts of interest.

Most MBSs have some professional staff, but usually they are too few with respect to the scale of their operations, and these full time staff are usually concentrated in the regional capitals and sometimes at zones but rarely at lower levels.

The associations collaborate with both governmental and non-governmental organizations, on projects of varying durations, areas of operation, and sizes. Service delivery areas

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dominate, and common areas of collaboration include HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support, social and economic development, environmental protection and natural resource management. There is also collaboration on good governance and democratization.

Regarding MBS-donor relationships, the youth and women associations in Tigray and Addis Ababa maintain strong ties with donors that date back prior to the Proclamation. The strong relationship is attributed to the MBSs’ trustworthy track records and well-entrenched organizational structures that extend to the grassroots. Partnerships are weaker in Amhara and Benishangul-Gumuz regions due to limited capacity and experience of the MBS in resource mobilization, the small number of larger charities which operate in these areas, and, in some cases, limited donor activities in these areas.

8.1.2. MBS and the Charities and Societies Legislation

Proclamation No. 621/2009, contains specific provisions concerning MBS, which are meant to empower them to exercise their roles and responsibilities in areas of democratization, good governance and human rights. However, MBS pointed out that - despite being major stakeholders directly affected by the Proclamation - they were not consulted in the drafting process. Some of them suggest their non-involvement calls into question the intention to facilitate MBS's contribution to national development.

MBSs face new funding challenges under the Proclamation, where they access to foreign funding is limited by the 10% rule, if they choose to register as Ethiopian societies rather than resident societies. Nevertheless, government officials maintain that the Proclamation opens up and facilitates opportunities for MBS that did not exist before. Officials hold the opinion that MBS may now engage in local resource mobilization schemes such as public collections and revenue generation, which reduce their dependence on external support and thereby enhance their independence and sustainability. However, other TECS research on CSOs and income generation suggests most charities and societies are struggling to make any revenue from these sources. No MBS in this study was succeeding in raising significant revenue from these sources.

8.1.3. Participation of MBS in Voter Education, Election Monitoring, Good Governance and Rights Advocacy

MBS state that they have not been informed of their roles and responsibilities for voter education, election monitoring, good governance and advocacy, within the framework of the Proclamation. At this point, it would be useful if Agencies working in what can be called the accountability sector (for instance, the Ombudsman, Human Rights Commission and Electoral Board) provided them with some awareness and training, and sought to understand how they can best collaborate in promoting democratization, good governance and the respect of rights.

For this reason, their participation in the processes of democratization, voter education, election monitoring and rights advocacy are, to date, no different than was the case prior to the Proclamation. They have been active partners with the Electoral Board in supporting voter education and voter monitoring, but there are signs that their involvement may be

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curtailed as the Proclamation 10% rule starts to impact on their operations, making them unable to expand and consolidate work in these areas.

With regard to promoting good governance, MBS are very active in exposing corrupt practices through their representatives in local governance structures, and conducting relevant research as in the case of some teachers associations. In collaboration with the Ombudsman and Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, youth and women associations have mobilized their members for the fight against corruption and administrative injustice, by conducting training and educational campaigns.

On the basis of memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the EHRC, women associations in Tigray, Amhara and Addis Ababa, are providing training to their members on issues identified to be major concerns of women such as harmful traditional practices and gender-based violence. The Ethiopian Teachers Association is about to sign a MoU with the Commission to receive a grant for a rights based project.

MBS in the study regions are planning to participate in municipal, Woreda and kebele

elections due in 2012. To this effect, they are making preparations, albeit to varying degrees. Voter education and election monitoring-related activities are included in some strategic plan and management documents and annual plans for 2011/12.

8.1.4. Opportunities and Challenges of MBS

MBS are well placed to partner with government, donors and other CSOs in service delivery areas, and are involved in a wide range of service delivery activities. They partner with many different CSOs in service delivery, and their effective and long reach from regions through Woreda to kebele levels and below is one reason for this. MBS are less likely to

collaborate directly with donors. This may be because of the 90:10 restrictions, for those registered at the Agency, but it also reflects the overall lack of project preparation and development competence in MBS. Most MBS do not have the capacity to engage with donors.

Over and above the service delivery areas, MBS are well placed as partners in social accountability areas and also in anti-corruption activities. There may even be a potentially greater role for MBS in exposing corruption and maladministration, as opposed to human rights or election-related activities. Although donors have not engaged extensively with MBS on this to date, it is clear that they are potential partners in these governance related activities. However, the concern about the lack of capacity and the lack of independence of some MBS from government is a potential constraint.

The lack of capacity, which inhibits efficient execution of projects and programmes is a further challenge faced by many MBS. There is a shortage of trained staff with the expertise in project management, resource mobilization, and the administration of finance. The absence of infrastructure and poor office facilities at local levels are challenges, especially

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in the case of MBS in Benishangul-Gumuz and Amhara regions.

Effective partnerships with MBS are not only hampered by weak capacity. MBS also find themselves in conflict of tersest. Most of them review support from the government – in many cases support in kind without which they could not operate. But this is seen to compromise their independence, and can discourage involvement of other CSOs, donors, and indeed their own members. However, if they adopt to prominent a challenge role, in particular if that is funded by donors, their relationship with the authorities can e compromised, and they could lose their legitimacy to engage in governance-related interventions. The scope for engaging MBS in political governance and democracy issues needs to be thought through very carefully by donors and other partners.

Key government bodies (the National Electoral Board, Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, and the Institution of the Ombudsman) agree that MBS can make important contributions towards the democratization process and the promotion of good governance, given their structures and membership. They consider it as a step in the right direction that the Proclamation empowers MBS to play the role of key actors and allies in this effort.

Unlike other CSOs, MBS are generally organized with the support and facilitation of the government. Their structures follow the organizational patterns of government institutions, and they maintain close working ties with the relevant sector ministries/bureaus. For this reason, they find themselves (perhaps inadvertently) under the oversight of the concerned government bodies, which tend to view them as their executive arms rather than independent entities. The nature of their organization and operation therefore limits their freedom to exercise their mandates, and can expose them to pressure to compromise their interests and roles.

Negative attitudes of constituencies about associations, and lack of trust in their leadership and internal governance constitute other key challenges faced by some women and youth associations. Related to this is the undeveloped culture of voluntarism, which explains the reluctance of constituents to register with and serve in the associations. In this connection, the work being done by the Institution of Ombudsman to enhance the knowledge and practice of voluntarism deserves to be mentioned.

8.2. Recommendations and next steps

Based on the study findings, we put forward the following recommendations with a view to informing policy formulation regarding MBS, and collaboration between these organizations and development partners, including government and other stakeholders.

There are some quick administrative and practical issues that can be dealt with quickly by

the Charities and Societies Agency:

If MBS are to play an active role in their legally allowed spheres of operation, it is essential that they are well-informed about their responsibilities. The Agency and

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concerned regional government bodies should hold workshops targeted at MBS, to make sure that MBS are aware of their mandates in the context of the Proclamation;

The Agency requires further guidance from Government policy makers and MBS themselves concerning the nature and scope of MBS, and which charities and societies should be registered under this category.

There is a wide range of more fundamental recommendations emerging from this study. A number of different partners will need to be involved in discussions to enable these to be taken forward:

For Government Institutions

Government institutions like the Electoral Board, Human Rights Commission and the Ombudsman should provide MBS with support to enable them more smoothly and effectively to engage in governance and democratization issues. The federal and regional governments are also recommended to encourage MBS to engage in income generating activities.

There needs to be a longer planning period put in place by the Electoral Board, to ensure that MBS have the time to apply for funding for support activities and to receive the necessary capacity building and training.

The Democracy and Good Governance Section of the GTP and the corresponding policy matrix stress the need for greater participation of the public in promoting democracy and good governance. In this line, it is vital that the Electoral Board considers working together with and supporting MBS particularly in increasing public awareness.

The Human Rights Commission, the Institution of Ombudsman and Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission should do more to work in collaboration with wider segments of the constituencies of MBS. They should consider making accessible their support services (training of training programs and project grants) to MBS operating at federal and regional levels. The FEAC should take steps to strengthen its joint forums with professional associations and MBS.

In line with the GTP, administrations at the regional, Woreda and kebele levels should

encourage the participation of women youth and professional associations, in the formulation of policies, decision making, and evaluation. Actions such as including representatives of MBS in standing committees of councils and council meetings should be strengthened.

For Mass Based Societies

MBS must work toward restoring their image and reputation, and regaining trust. To that

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end, they should adopt measures to increase transparency in the areas of financial management and in the election of leaders, and need to keep to the limits of office terms for elected leaders.

To increase membership, MBS should raise constituency and community awareness regarding the importance and benefits of being associated with MBS. They should keep up-to-date database on membership, establish means through which members are justly rewarded for their participation in the affairs of their association, such as competitions and award certificates for outstanding service. They should also consider how they can provide their members with specific benefits, to encourage members to stay active and interested.

Volunteerism should be viewed as the foundation on which MBS continue to exist and thrive. It is recommended that MBS design and implement strategies to promote the spirit of volunteerism among their constituencies and beyond, so that individuals join and serve their associations by devoting their time and expertise more out of commitment than financial remunerations.

MBS need a common platform to voice their concerns in a collective way, such as a national network or federation, under whose umbrella the MBS may work together to promote their common agenda.

Essentially all of the recommendations for MBS will be enhanced by a focus on capacity building, whether self generates, supported by government bodies at different levels or by donors.

8.2.1. Next steps

Donor agencies, particularly CSSG members, need to consider which modalities and type of funding are most suitable to help MBS, to help address their capacity limitations, and enable them to undertake their activities with a high degree of efficiency. The capacity building programs organized for MBS by various partners to date have been largely ad hoc and piecemeal. Because of this, the impacts that they had on the capacity of MBS have been difficult to ascertain. Donors need to build the specific comparative advantages of and the constraints experienced by MBS into their civil society capacity building programming.

Given close and positive collaboration between the National Electoral Board, Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Institution of the Ombudsman, and Ethiopian Human Rights Commission and MBS, donors need to work more closely with these bodies, and should seek this opportunity to make funds accessible to MBS through such government institutions.

Next steps for CSSG include:

Discussion within their agencies, with others who have interests in the areas of democracy, social accountability and governance, to identify whether partnerships can

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be built with MBS and how their capacity might be built.

Identification of agencies which are not active members of CSSG but who have a strong interest in areas of democracy, social accountability and governance, to develop their understanding of MBS and how they might be more effectively collaborated with.

Discussions with other DAG groups to ensure that this study is passed on to them, and that MBS become more prominent in their thinking;

Use of CSSWG and other high level groups to take Government's thinking about MBS and their roles forward;

Develop a partnership with the Democratic Institutions Program (DIP) to identify how these recommendations can be taken forward. DIP is a prime partner for this research and implementation of its recommendations as it brings together almost all of the key stakeholders in the areas of democracy and governance: The National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, Ethiopian Institute of the Ombudsman, The Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, and Parliamentarians. Furthermore, by virtue of its UN membership, Ethiopian organisations such as MBS have legitimate access to global resources channeled through different UN agencies, even if they are Ethiopian societies, because UN resources should not be viewed as external.

Work with other existing and planned projects to build capacity in civil society (such as CSSP and the EC Task Force) to identify how capacity needs of MBS can better be addressed;

Liaise with agencies involved in social accountability programs such as the World Banks´s PBS social accountability program, to build their understanding of MBS and to identify how they can be supported to become more effective partners in these areas.

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Cerritelli, W. Emilio, Akalewold Bantirgu and Raya Abagodu. 2008a. Updated mapping study on non sate actors sector in Ethiopia, final report.

Cerritelli, W. Emilio, Akalewold Bantirgu and Raya Abagodu. 2008b. Updated mapping study on non sate actors sector in Ethiopia, final report. Volume II regional reports.

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Federal Negaret Gazetta. 2009. Proclamation for the registration and regulation of charities and societies. Proclamation No. 621/2009.

Haegeman, E. and Kantelberg, R. 2010. Retrospective Baseline of Civil Society in Ethiopia 2003-2008. Civil Society Sector Monitoring and Research Project Ethiopia (CSSMRP). United Kingdom:

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Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED). 2010. Growth and transformation plan 2010/2011-2014/15. Volume I: main text. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Ministry of Finance and Economic Development (MoFED). 2010. Growth and transformation plan 2010/2011-2014/15. Volume II: Policy Matrix. Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

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Websites:

http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/14/content_22259.htm

http://chsa.gov.et/web/guest/announcement/#Announcement

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Terms of Reference

Mass based societies: prospects and challenges

-- TECS Research Project --

Background of the TECS Project

At the High Level Forum between the Government and donor representatives, it was agreed that joint periodic reviews of the impact of the Federal Proclamation on

Charities and Societies (PCS) should take place. In order to establish a robust evidence based and constructive dialogue, it was decided to develop a project that will follow on the developments of the sector and enhance Implementation of the Proclamation. As a result, a Joint Project Memorandum was prepared by the Civil Society Sector Group (CSSG) of the Development Assistant Group (DAG) to be the basis for the Tracking Trends in Ethiopia’s Civil Society (TECS) project. Atos Consulting has been contracted by DFID, to carry out the TECS project. A key concern was that, depending on how the Proclamation is interpreted and applied, whether it will foster the expected enabling environment which would allow a constructive role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in the Government’s recently developed Growth and Transformation plan (GTP), poverty reduction, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and democratization processes. Hence, the purpose of TECS is to create a conducive and enabling environment through

supporting research, dialogue and publication on emerging issues and trends in Ethiopian civil society sector, including those arising from the implementation of the Proclamation on Charities and Societies.

The main TECS outputs are: (a) Effective research to provide policy relevant and

high quality information and analysis of the development and changes within the civil society sector (b) Effective dialogue exists between government, civil society and development partners on the development of the civil society sector, and (c) Dissemination and communication mechanisms supported and established on the development of the civil society sector.

Atos Consulting carried out an inception phase from November 2010 to January 2011, in order to design the key activities for the implementation phase of TECS. Accordingly, it has identified six major areas of research. These terms of reference relate to one of these projects, namely mass based societies: prospects and challenges. This project is being carried in partnership with the Forum for Social Studies (FSS).

Introduction

According to the Charities and Societies Proclamation, mass based societies include women’s and youth associations, professional associations and other similar Ethiopian

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societies (Article 2, section 5). They are organized at the Regional level with branches at the Woredas and kebeles and have an “apex” body at the federal level.

The Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP, English version, November 2010) expects mass based societies, including professional associations, to increase their role in building democracy and good governance, and to enhance their participation in the implementation of the Plan. The participation of CBOS is said to need “further improvement” (page 99). It also states that directives and laws which support the functioning of CBOs and professional associations will be put in place (pages 96-106). Mass based societies are also expected to play a role in economic development.

The Charities and Societies Proclamation states that mass based societies may participate in activities enhancing democracy, good governance and human rights. Article 57, section 7 states that they may engage in strengthening democratisation and elections, “particularly through the process of conducting educational seminars on current affairs, understanding the platforms of candidates, observing the electoral process and cooperating with electoral organs.” The research question here is: how are the societies to avail themselves of these opportunities and what kinds of changes have they made or will they need to make to fulfil their new roles?

The research will be of interest to public bodies, regional and local government agencies, CSO/NGOs, development partners and others.

Objectives

The research will explore new ways in which mass-based organizations (MBOs) are permitted to play a new role in supporting economic development, democracy, good governance and human rights. To that effect it will explore, analyze and document:

The state of mass-based organizations existent in the country today, paying attention to their structure, functions, membership, leadership, recruitment, voluntarism, financial sources, capacity, etc.;

Preparations they are making to undertake voter education and election monitoring in view of the Woredas and kebele elections planned to take place in the coming two

years;

Any capacity they have which would enable them to carry out this work.

The opportunities they had and the challenges they are faced with, to date, in regard to all of the above;

Policy relevant issues, concerns, and recommendations pertaining to the new roles mass based societies are expected to play. It is expected that these issues will address the GTP stated commitment to develop directives and laws, which support the functioning of professional associations.

The research will be conducted with the primary objective of being relevant to policy formulation regarding mass based societies and with a view to how other civil society organisations and development partners might best work with them to enhance their capacity and effectiveness.

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Scope

The research shall deal with mass-based societies, viz., youth organizations, women, and professional association, at the kebele, Woreda, regional and national levels with an ultimate country-wide focus. Yet, for practical reasons, more intensive case studies shall be conducted only in certain selected parts of the country.

The research will also investigate the experience of similar organisations in other countries through a literature review.

Available Knowledge

There appears to be little, if any, by way of research-based knowledge on the state of mass based societies in today’s Ethiopia. This has, however, to be ascertained through the conduct of a proper literature review at the very outset of the study. On the other hand, documentary/archival material in the form of official records and reports are likely to exist, hopefully providing the research with one kind of data/information to work on.