Sectoral Intergovernmental Relations in Ethiopia Federation: Normative and Empirical Considerations

Abstract

Policy overlap or functional interface is inevitable in all federations. In Ethiopia, federal sectoral offices depend on the regional state institutions to execute most of their policy, programs, and decisions. The policy overlap and functional interface demands the entrenchment of sectoral forums that facilitate interactions, consultation, and cooperation between federal and state sectoral offices to deal with functional interface and spillover. Yet, formal sectoral forums are not institutionalized. Previous studies reveal that there is no much study that shows how sectoral relations and interactions are conducted in various policy sectors. This article examines sectoral IGR using the practices of selected federal-state and interstate sectoral relations. It reveals that the established formal sectoral IGR forums have remained dysfunctional. Yet, there are several informal sectoral meetings (conferences) between the federal and state sectoral institutions or among state sectoral bureaus. The vertical sectoral meetings are organized by the federal sectoral offices which also set the agenda of the meetings. The federal sectoral personnel are also overrepresented. These matters negate the co-equal status expected in federal-state relations. In most of the sectoral IGR, there are no written rules that regulate their meetings and decision-making procedures except the relations that exist between the Ministry of Health and state health bureaus regulated by an internal bylaw. However, horizontal sectoral relations are regulated by interstate agreements.