THE PRACTICE AND CHALLENGES OF FISCAL DECENTRALIZATION, A CASE STUDY OF GUBERE SUB CITY IN WOLKITE CITY ADMINISTRATION.

Abstract

Fiscal decentralization is look as part of a reform agenda in developing countries to Empowered regional and local governments. It is believed that it betterments the efficiency of public service Delivery through preference deserting and allocation efficiency. According to this idea, this study was conducted to assess the practice and challenges of gubere sub city fiscal decentralization in wolkite City administration. In doing this study, mixed method research design was followed. Subjects of the study were householders and government officials working in gubere sub-city of wolkite city administration. In the study, multi-stage sampling technique was used to select representative respondents. To this effect, one hundred ninety-six participants were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Besides, sub-city Leadership members, revenue and Finance officials to conduct key informant interviews and again focus group discussion participants were purposely selected. The data gathering instruments were questionnaire, key informant interviews and focus group discussion, and document analysis. Data collected from the survey was analyzed using descriptive statistical techniques. The data were analyzed using software Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS V.20). The findings indicates that respondents’ responses concerning autonomy of gubere sub city is not planning budget, not uses own revenue and grants nothing to expenditure assignments. This implies that there is absence of the fiscal decentralization practices. And again the functionalities of institutional and legal frameworks, inter-governmental fiscal relations, challenges, and constraints of fiscal decentralization, were significantly different. In general, the practice of fiscal decentralization in the gubere sub city was nothing as existing institutional and legal frameworks. Respondents stated that gubere sub city administrations had enough revenue base, but not using autonomy and not planning and budgeting, revenue using and expenditure assignment autonomy. Based on the findings of the study, the research hence recommended that existing institutional and legal frameworks are basic issues, so needed to structured fastly. in the other hand that it enables to gubere sub city administrations to generate and utilize sufficient revenues, plan and budget own activities, autonomy of expenditure assignments are please hurry up to practice. Inter-governmental fiscal relations vertical imbalances are better to fix fastly in sub city Administration level.