Getinet Fantahun

Assesing Actors, Roles and Power in Ngos: the Civil Society Lawmaking Process Getinet Fantahun

Constitution sets out the relationship between an individual and the government and defines the power of the state and agencies. It also forms the foundation of public life and regulates the relationship between those who govern and those who are governed. This necessitates the participation of the entire citizenry in the constitution making process. According to the Ethiopian Constitution, government not only shall at all times promote the participation of the people in formulation of national development policies and programs; it shall also have the duty to support the initiatives of the people in their development endeavors. In countries like Ethiopia, economic development and democracy cannot be fully achieved without popular public participation in socio economic and political life of the country. The announcement of the CSOs Proclamation No.621/2009 in Ethiopia was greeted with mixed feelings, incomprehension and indifference by the population and various actors in the process. Actors in the CSOs lawmaking process definitely had different views, whatever view one holds; the underlying ethos is that popular citizen participation is the most acceptable root to development.