The place of birth in Kafa Zone, Ethiopia

In this qualitative study, I used an ethnographic approach to provide an understanding about the place of birth in rural and semiurban Kafa Zone, Ethiopia. I interviewed women about birth at home and asked what would happen if there were serious problems and a woman was taken to a health facility. The development of health services aimed at reducing maternal mortality implies that the place of birth must change from home to health facility, but the distance from international policy to its implementation is vast and the pathway is not a direct, linear route.

The development of internal auditing in Ethiopia: the role of institutional norms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which institutional norms determine attributes of internal audit practices and how institutional changes explain the development of these practices.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors employed a qualitative research approach based on archival analysis and interview evidence.

Findings – Findings indicate that regulation-based institutional norms explain the adoption of internal audit and the function's characteristics in Ethiopian organizations. Furthermore, innovative introduction of internal audit practices originate within individual organizations and eventually get institutionalized through diffusion. Such innovations are associated with organizational size, top management characteristics, internal audit advancement in technology, and exogenous input from the external environment. Widely accepted internal audit practices, as institutional norms, are not always taken-for-granted at the level of individual organizations. The institutional change perspective enables explaining how new internal audit approaches are introduced to supplant old ones.

Originality/value – This study theorizes the development of internal audit practices from an institutional change perspective. Being the first study to do so, it contributes to the understanding of key drivers of institutional change that initiate new institutional norms that foster the development of internal audit through introduction and diffusion of new audit practices as old ones are deinstitutionalized.

Accounting professionalization amidst alternating state ideology in Ethiopia

Purpose – This study aims to examine accounting professionalization in Ethiopia focusing on how the state, occupational group struggle and transnational accountancy bodies influence the realization of closure.

Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach is employed. Data were collected using document review and oral history approaches.

Findings – Accounting professionalization in Ethiopia was initiated by the state to strengthen the country's financial system. Owing to a change of state ideology to communism in 1974, a strategy of developing accounting professionals as government-employed experts was pursued. The return to a market-oriented economy in 1991 has seen a trend towards a more autonomous accountancy profession. Inflow of UK capital in the early twentieth century and activities of the UK-based Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) in recent decades have influenced Ethiopia's accountancy. Its professional and financial power has enabled ACCA to make arrangements with Ethiopian Professional Association of Accountants and Auditors (EPAAA) and consolidate its position in Ethiopia's accountancy by controlling EPAAA's member training and certification.

Originality/value – The literature on accounting professional projects in developing countries has focused on imperialistic influence in former British colonies. The present study extends this literature by illustrating how British influence has continued to extend beyond Britain's former colonial possessions. This enables an understanding of the dynamics of accounting professional projects in the developing world with analytical dimensions building on the hitherto dominant lens of “formal” colonial connection.

Higher education in Ethiopia : widening access and persisting inequalities

 This Chapter has argued that, even though socially and historically disadvantaged
groups (e.g., geo-politically peripheral ethnic groups and women) have been given a
nominal advantage at the entry point (by slightly lowering admission cut-off points)
and despite the fact that participation has considerably widened, social equity is far
from being a reality in Ethiopian HE. The persisting inequality in the form of high
attrition rates and low graduation rates among females and ethnic minorities, low
female participation in the fields of science and technology, prejudicial views and
hostilities against women and, overall, the subordinate position of women in HE
clearly shows that framing the problem of inequality as a mere lack of access and a
human capital disadvantage is misleading and counterproductive.

The Mengistu genocide trial in Ethiopia

This article analyses the sentencing judgment issued on 11 January 2007 bythe Ethiopian Federal High Court in the case of Mengistu Hailemariam andhis co-accused who had been tried, among others, on charges of genocide andcrimes against humanity. This was the first African trial where an entire regimewas brought to justice before a national court for atrocities committed while inpower. Twenty-five of the 55 accused found guilty, including Mengistu, were triedin absentia (Mengistu remains in exile in Zimbabwe). The trial took 12 years,making it one of the longest ever trials for genocide. In December 2006, Mengistuwas convicted by majority vote of genocide and crimes against humanity pursuant toArticle 281of the1957 Ethiopian Penal Code, which includes ‘political groups’amongthe groups protected against genocide. A dissenting judge took the position that theaccused should have been convicted of aggravated homicide because the relevant part of the provision had been repealed. A few weeks later, the Court, by majority,sentenced the top tier of the accused to life imprisonment, taking into accountcertain extenuating circumstances. If not for these, the death penalty would havebeen imposed. In addition to ensuring some accountability, the judgmentis important for providing an official and detailed account of what happenedin those years in Ethiopia under Mengistu’s reign. Given that in Ethiopia there areno official gazettes where court judgments are published, it is unlikely that the publicwill be able to read the judgment and thus become aware of what had happened.In addition to analysing the reasoning of the court, this article also looks intothe prevailing political circumstances in the country and reflects upon the trialand the reception that this important decision has had, and will receive, in thewider community.

The Trial of Mengistu and Other Derg Members for Genocide, Torture and Summary Executions in Ethiopia

The books argues for the rule of law, respect for human rights and the eradication of a culture of impunity in Africa. it is a product of peer-reviewed contributions from graduates of the Centre for Human Rights, Faculty of Law, University ...

Pastoral Livelihoods in South Ethiopia - Value Chain Assessment of Gum & Resins in Moyale Area

This research assessed the value chain of gum and resins, which are available in four woreda in the southern lowlands of Ethiopia. They are Moyale Somali, Moyale Oromia, Dhas and Dire woreda. The output of this research is the elaboration of three value chains. The first is a general one for all the woreda, while the other two concern the Moyale and Dubluk markets. The assessed products are the gum arabic from Acacia trees and the resin exuded by the dunkhal tree - Boswellia family. The aim of this study was not only to understand the way in which resins and gum gain value through the chain and the profit each stakeholder gains, but more importantly how pastoralists use resin and gum collection to diversify their income. The first chapter analyses what it means to be a pastoralist in the Moyale area and its challenges. The second chapter describes how the policies of the central state influenced the pastoral access to rangelands and water and the way in which this contributed to the increase of conflict among the different groups. A particular focus is on the settlement. The third chapter describes the different ethnic groups living in the studied area and their management system to preserve resources and cope with the dry season. This chapter considers the dynamic evolution of the relations among the various groups in terms of negotiating access to resources while facing political and climatic challenges. The fourth chapter illustrates the physical context and the environment, and the way in which it has been managed in order to preserve the pastoral lifestyle. The fifth chapter describes the characteristics of gum and resins in the studied area. Finally, the sixth chapter describes how the value chain methodology was applied in this specific study and its outputs.