A ward ( am, ቀበሌ; om, Araddaa; ) is the smallest administrative unit of
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
: a
ward, a neighbourhood or a localized and delimited group of people. It is part of a
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...
, itself usually part of a
zone
Zone or The Zone may refer to:
Places Climate and altitude zones
* Death zone (originally the lethal zone), altitudes above a certain point where the amount of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span
* Frigid zone, ...
, which in turn are grouped into one of the
regions or two chartered cities that comprise the
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
.
Each ward consists of at least 500 families, or the equivalent of 3,500 to 4,000 persons. There is at least one in every town with more than 2,000 population. A district's representative had jurisdiction over to
ward.
The ward, also referred to as a
peasant association, was created by the
Derg
The Derg (also spelled Dergue; , ), officially the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC), was the military junta that ruled Ethiopia, then including present-day Eritrea, from 1974 to 1987, when the military leadership formally " ...
in 1975 to promote development and to manage
land reform
Land reform is a form of agrarian reform involving the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership. Land reform may consist of a government-initiated or government-backed property redistribution, generally of agricultura ...
; they became a key element that the rival
Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party and
MEISON fought each other, and the ruling Derg, to control during the
Ethiopian Red Terror. The
wards were retained as administrative units by the
Transitional Government of Ethiopia upon the conclusion of the
Ethiopian Civil War in 1991; ever since, their administrative role has expanded to include the provision of government services more broadly. As
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human ...
noted,
ward officials determine eligibility for food assistance, recommend referrals to secondary
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...
and schools, and help provide access to state-distributed resources such as seeds, fertilizers, credit, and other essential agricultural inputs."
Structure and functions
The lowest level of local government with limited autonomy there are the kebeles. They are at the neighbourhood level and are the primary contact for most citizens living in Ethiopia. Their administrative unit consists of an elected council, a cabinet (executive committee), a social court and the development and security staff. Kebeles are accountable to their woreda councils and are typically responsible for providing basic education, primary health care, agriculture, water, and rural roads. The kebeles are headed by cadres loyal to the political coalition who see the people's everyday lives. Therefore, they are also excellent for observing movements undesirable for the central government. However, the influence of the bosom is not unlimited and complete. The system is becoming less and less functioning at lower levels in fast-growing urban communities. OPDO in Oromia only introduced the sub-intestinal system in 2001, but it did not fully become operational until the 2005 elections.
See also
*
Subdivisions of Ethiopia
References
Types of administrative division
Subdivisions of Ethiopia
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