Towards a History of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in Ethiopia since the 1960s

Ethiopia is one of the poorest countries in the world.Since the mid-twentieth century, it has been recurrently hit by severe droughts and famines.Attempts have been made since the 1960s by successive governments to tackle the problem of poverty and famine among the rural population which unfortunately did not yield a substantial breakthrough.The efforts of the government to ameliorate the conditions of Ethiopians were supported by non-state development actors, of which Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are currently the most visible part.Concentrating on selected cases of national and international NGOs, this study examines the role played by NGOs in the fight against rural poverty since the 1960s and the changing circumstances in which they operated.More specifically, it explores how NGOs managed their difficult relationships with state actors and with each other with a view to advancing their cause.Thus, this study investigates the contradictions and collaborations NGOs have had with successive governments, international funding agencies, and project participants.In doing so, the varying interests as well as the activities of the different parties that have affected the discourses and outcomes of NGO's involvement in development activities are examined.These aspects are Chapter One Background to the Study Problem StatementToday it appears odd to think of "development" in the developing world without due regard to Non Governmental Organizations (from now on NGOs) 1 .This prominence of NGOs has triggered a debate on the capability of NGOs to manage "development".Many Western governments, multilateral organizations, church institutions, and other interested groups presently advance the view that NGOs are effective and efficient in meeting "development" goals, and are thus credible actors 2 .These groups have in recent decades attributed to NGOs many vertues; it is widely held that in dealing with "development" problems, NGOs have the advantage of being independent, small scale, participatory and non-bureaucratic.In 1983, the President of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) summed up the positive attitudes that many Western governments and private institutions hold toward NGOs in the following way:NGOshave some very practical, as well as visionary virtues: they are human, personal and unbureaucratic; they are low in cost and high in dedication; they are flexible, fast and innovative; they can work effectively in fields and places where governments cannot operate; they have the knack for building partnerships and for getting aid to the grassroots, to those who need it most 3 .The above list of organisations and their representatives have added to this list of attributed virtues by arguing that NGOs are likely to identify local needs and constraints much better than local governmental organizations 4 .Favorable views of NGOs and their activities are subject to serious questions.To begin with, some of the qualities attributed to NGOs could be interpreted as weaknesses.Shaldon Annis argued that "small scale" could mean "insignificant", "politically independent" could imply that NGOs were "powerless" or "disconnected" and "low cost" could mean that they were "underfinanced or poor quality" 5 .Moreover, some studies conducted on the performance of NGOs have shown that NGOs 1 Tegegne Teka, International Non-Governmental Organizations in Rural Development in Ethiopia

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