Ethnic Federalism in a Dominant Party State: The Ethiopian Experience 1991-2000 Lovise Aalen r 2002: 2

party and various high ranking TPLF officials tried to mediate (Interview,
journalist from a national news agency, stationed in Wolaita, name kept
confidential, July 2000). Finally, the regional government gave in on the
demands from the Wolaita, and withdrew the new language from the
education. After some more rounds, the Wolaita achieved their own zone status
in November 2000 (Interview, Petros Olango, November 2000).
The analyses of Tigray and SNNPRS have demonstrated that the
federalisation of Ethiopia takes different shapes in different regions, both
formally and practically. When comparing the two regions, it is apparent that
the sub-regional units in the southern region are formally more powerful than
their equals in Tigray. The zones in SNNPRS have a legislative council elected
by the people, while in Tigray, the zone is only an executive arm of the regional
council. In the south, the regional funds are distributed to the local units by a
fixed equalising formula, and the zones and woreda can utilise them according
to own priorities, while in Tigray, the distribution of funds is totally decided by
regional level priorities. It seems therefore that the formal local empowerment
in SNNPRS is more of a sub-regional federalisation process, while the
empowerment of lower units in Tigray is equal to decentralisation. The major
reason for this difference is that the SNNPRS is composed of many different
ethnic groups which have a constitutional right to national self-determination.
But despite this, the local empowerment in the south is severely hampered by
interference from centrally assigned party cadres in local affairs. The example
from Wolaita demonstrates that the regional and local EPRDF parties, with
assistance from the centre, have attempted to deny national groups the right to
self-administration, in order to maintain party interests. But the costs of
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“Wogagoda” is a short name for the ethnic groups in North Omo: the Wolaita, the Gamo,
the Goffa and the Dawro (Interview, Daniel Demese, July 2000)). The common language that
was introduced in North Omo was also called Wogagoda. This made people link the language
conflict directly to the political party.

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denying the Wolaita own zone structures were too large, and the regional
government finally gave in on their demands. The ethnic heterogeneity in the
southern region and the fact that many of the national groups do not have own
administrative units, imply that there will be more issues like this in the future.
Whether the authorities will yield to the future demands remains to be seen. In
Tigray, the situation is the opposite of that in SNNPRS. The ethnical and
political homogeneity of the region contributes to a strong regional
government. The regional party is dominant also at the central level, and this
makes it less vulnerable to central interference.