Traditional Forms of Secular Associations

There are three popular forms of civil associations in Ethiopia, namely Debo, Idir and Iquib. Debo is often of a feature of rural communities. Idir and Iquib are the two most prominent institutions. Probably Idir is the oldest and the most widely diffused of the ‘modern’ association in Ethiopia, (Levine 1970:277) with records dating back to 1916 in a place called 'Lukanda Tra', on the western fringe of Addis Ababa. (Sumba 2006) It originated among the Gurage tribe and became popular and more widely adopted during the Italian occupation (1936-1941) when many people were killed and had no relative to bury them. (Levine 1970:277) It is also a rural phenomenon for example, in the former Wello province, funeral services were provided by Kires (another name for Idir). Therefore Iquibs and Idirs are found in both urban and rural parts of the country but they are found on a less sophisticated scale in rural areas compared to their urban counterparts. Modernised, federated Idirs are emerging in the city but in the countryside they are almost nonexistent (Sumba 2006).

The local people themselves select the leadership of these organizations. These organizations may have either written or oral rules defining procedures of their

operation. In most urban areas, Idir and Iquib do have written laws defining the conditions of membership, contribution and payment. They might also be registered with the association registrar (Aredo 1993:86).

Social ties are very important in Idir. A member is required to attend meetings, to be present on funeral ceremonies and visit sick. The by-laws of Idir are backed by the threat powerful social sanction and fines. Idir is also one of the forms of informal finance in Ethiopia. Though mainly meant for the burial of the dead when first started during the Italian occupation, it is a type of insurance scheme that assists the bereaved financially and materially. (Degefe and Nega 2000:340) The membership may be recruited on the basis of family, friends, neighbourhood and place of work.

It is quite common to find people belonging to more than one Idir at a time. In principle, membership is open to all irrespective of social class, gender, religion or ethnic origin. It is not uncommon to find government ministers, parliamentarians, an internationally renowned artist, university professors, high-profile members of media, woman whose livelihood is based on selling the local beer Tella/Tege, both Muslim and Christian petty traders, and majority of ordinary citizens to be members of an Idir. What makes Idir a very interesting and powerful institution is that its by-laws are equally applicable to members from all walks of life. However, there are cases where Idirs are organized following ethnic lines, workplace or women only Idirs. The most common type of Idir is the neighbourhood Idir where membership is determined by geographical proximity. Members are expected to take care of all practical matters relating to burial, including announcing the death of one of its members, pitching the Idir tent in the courtyard of the house of the deceased where the bereaved family will receive the respects and condolences of relatives and friends. The Idir also lends out its (communally owned) cooking and service utensils during the three days of mourning after the funeral. The Idir members, mainly women, prepare simple meals and serve drink (often coffee) for the neighbourhood and visitors that come to the wake. The Idirs donate a fixed amount of cash to the family of the deceased to cover miscellaneous expenses related to the funeral and the mourning rituals. Idirs have written rules and regulations and are organised with a specific leadership structure. Usually there is a well-known and respected Idir chairman (called Idir dagna or the Idir judge) who presides over Idir meetings.

Monthly contributions are paid at meetings to a person elected as the cashier or treasurer and there is a secretary that keeps the roster of members.

Idir membership provides an individual with a sense of confidence and assurance of help during tragic event or the death of family member or him/herself. It is also a source of social prestige and is considered one way of being a responsible community member.

Idir management is transparent, accountable and cheap. Idir is a very important social institution in which most people participate. The Idir is perhaps the most egalitarian and democratic grassroots level institution in Ethiopia. It cuts across ethnic, religion and occupational boundaries. Thus it has great potential for the social and political development of country (Aredo 1993:86). Until now there has been no sign of a modern institution that could potentially overtake the fundamental functions of Idir which include mainly taking care of funeral and comforting the bereaved.

The monthly contribution that members pay varies from one Idir to another. There is great variation among the Idirs with regard to how prosperous they are, which depends mostly on the income levels of their memberships. A number of them have developed into virtual savings societies, with investments in small businesses.

Prosperous Idirs have also contributed to the construction of schools, clinics, water facilities and roads, as well as other social amenities (e.g., communal baths, toilets etc.). The Idirs are involved in, for example, HIV/AIDS campaigns, in providing home-based care for AIDS patients, or in incorporating support of AIDS orphans.

Some rich Idirs may be able to take on such tasks, but there are also many poor Idirs that are reportedly on the verge of collapsing due to increased mortality rates caused by the AIDS pandemic.

Idirs cooperate with public structures to deal with other socio-political activities.

Local governments sometimes force Idirs to mobilize their members for the purpose of implementing certain programs that are believed to affect national interest (e.g., elections and resource mobilization to defend the country), to certain local projects such as road improvement, settling disputes, etc. For example in the 1970s, in Addis Ababa, parliamentary candidates used these early forms of civil organizations as forums for reaching the local population. The then municipality also established contacts with many Idirs to ensure local participation (Pausewang 1983:189 cited in Abate 2005: 168). However, cooperate with the government, especially during the time of the military socialist administration, is often far from voluntary.

Recently Idirs are beginning to shoulder many of the responsibilities of NGOs or rights-based organizations and thereby transforming themselves into modern civic institutions. (Rahmato 2004) Idirs are currently working with both formal NGOs and other non-state actors as well as the government in various activities of a broadly public nature like HIV/AIDS prevention and control. (British Council:

2004) The influential and credible position Idirs hold at the grassroots level has attracted NGOs to work with them. The Idir has also been considered by NGOs as a possible instrument to reach the poor. (Degefe and Nega 2000:341) They have attracted a lot of interest and attention among local and international NGOs as viable and often well-organised community- based organisations. Mostly of the time NGOs take the initiative to work with Idirs, there are only few cases Idirs themselves approached NGOs to work together. Hence international and local NGOs like the Agency for Cooperation and Research Development (ACORD), the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat (ECS), the Habitat International, the Hope Enterprise, the Integrated Holistic Approach Urban Development Program (IHA-UDP), Mary Joy, Concern International Ethiopia, Love to Human Beings Ethiopian AIDS Prevention Society (LHEAPS), to mention just few are working with Idirs helping them assume other socio-economic activities. Thus, in recent years the Idirs have become involved in a range of activities that include founding kindergartens, horticulture, cattle fattening, dairy farming, and income generating activities such as carpentry, basketry, and metal works (Hagos 2002). Recently some Idirs have even started revisiting their missions and revising their by-laws so that they address development issues. Some even have started to rename themselves so that their new name reflects their fresh role in development work. Some Idirs had changed their constitution and federated Idirs are emerging in the cities(Sumba 2006).

The significance of the involvement of Idirs in activities other than their traditional funeral related functions is debatable. Organizational growth is a natural process that can not be avoided and some scholars argue that though it is not surprising to see Idirs growing in size and functions through time, their current involvement in community development projects and programs is a healthy and desirable process.

However, it could also be argued that making Idirs assume activities other than their traditional functions undermines their historical and traditional roles and values in the society and make them less flexible, less adaptive, less accessible and may lose some of their unique features (Sahleyesus 2004: 76, Clark 2000:7).

Debo is also known as Wonfel, Jigge, Wobera, sege, dado, weber, gebo, goname, refdo, galgale and mesoit depending on the geographic area. Debo is a characteristic of rural, agricultural communities organizing to help each other in farming activities, during preparation of the land, sowing, weeding, and harvesting.

Debo is a system of mutual aid among farmers with the main objective of improving productivity (Mequanent 1998:508-509). Debo or Wonfel is invoked when there is a considerable amount of plowing or harvesting to be done and a group of men in a given area take turns working on each other’s land.( Levine 1970: 247, Adal 2000:138) Each individual member of the Debo is expected to pay back the favor when other members need similar support. Sometimes members may help each other in house construction or organizing communal or religious feasts. It is a form of lose association that can be formed and dissolved from time to time for the purpose of labour, farm equipment, and farm animals sharing. Farmers who benefit from the help of others provide food and drinks. The elderly, disabled, sick, widows, as well as families whose bread winner is away for a credible reason during the time of labor will be supported by Debo. This type of community support is a kind of community safety net that may not be necessarily returnable if the person concerned is weak or unfortunate (Sahleyesus 2004:73).

Iquib is an informal ad-hoc association organized by members for the purpose of pooling their savings in accordance with rules established by the group. Members agree to deposit monthly or weekly contributions of a fixed sum with an elected treasurer. Members contribute a predetermined sum of money on a daily, weekly, biweekly or monthly basis (depending on the agreement) and the whole sum of money will be circulated among group members based on a lottery. (Pitamber 2003:14) Iquib was introduced around 1945 (Molla & Digafe, 1996: 21) and it has been a permanent feature of the Ethiopian social and economic space (Geda &

Degefe 2002:17) since Iquib involves not only business (money) relations among the group members but also mutual assistance in times of difficulty. Iquib are not limited by level of income, wealth or residence. They involve people from all walks of life. The purpose of Iquib is largely to pool money together to attend individual or family needs that require large sums of money. The pooled money can be used for consumption or investment purposes depending on the circumstances and objectives of individual members. It has an element of forced saving since default is punishable through a variety of social control mechanisms. People fear the negative public

opinion that could develop as a result of defaulting. Usually members try at all cost to fulfil his/her commitment for it elicits respect from the community.

People working in the same office or company may elect one person that will gather money during paydays. Business people meet every week (rarely daily) and the rotating fund might reach hundreds of thousands of birrs in their case. Although Iquib are primarily meant to serve an economic function, they are used as a social forum at the same time for members to meet each other, exchange ideas, and share refreshments together. Most Iquib define the roles of the chairman and secretary who lead the Iquib, the amount of money to be contributed each week or month and the benefits accruing to office holders. Different studies confirm that Iquib serves the multiple purposes of the poor and better off people. This indigenous system of saving is viable and relevant in both rural and urban area with a very high potential of annual savings since only about 1% of Ethiopian rural households maintain bank accounts. The volume of money revolving within Iquibs is estimated in the range of 8-10% of the country's GDP (Degefe and Nega 2000:340). In a country where modern financial institutions are not available for many, Iquib continues to be a very important institution for people from diverse economic backgrounds. This is supported by a study conducted by Aredo indicating that Iquibs have advantages over the banks for they are more flexible (Aredo 1993:27).

During the Derg regime (1974–1991) most traditional associations were repressed and supplanted by Peasant Associations (PAs) and official co-operatives. They were forced to be resilient in order to withstand governmental and outside pressures which threatened to disband them. However, after almost a century of active state repression, numerous types of indigenous association continue to exist today. For example, despite many years of systematic marginalisation and repression by successive regimes, the Timbaro People of Omosheleko in Southwest Showa Region in Ethiopia retained forms of associations fulfilling social, economic and leadership tasks. Six distinctive forms of Timbaro informal associations were still active even after enforced PAs having been long abandoned following the overthrow of the Derg regime (Fowler 1998: 94-95).

These traditional institutions have immense potential to mobilise people for addressing various problems in the society. In addition to traditional mutual-help institutions, a number of organizations, which are not structurally linked with the

state take part in developmental activities. This is particularly true in the case of regional development associations. The history of regional development associations goes back to the 1960s in the country. For example, the Gurage Roads Construction Organization was one of the first such development associations. This organization has a remarkable record in terms of building infrastructure (Kefele and Dejene 1999). A number of other civil society actors have played critical roles in the development. Self-help groups and networks have existed for generations at the community level. Despite their contribution to the community social life the logic, procedures, and performance of indigenous organizations in Ethiopia has not been well studied. As a result, they remain neglected by policy makers, development NGOs and donors.

4.3 The Role and Structure of Civil Society Organizations in Ethiopia