An ethnography of mechanisms employed by the government to hold NGOs in Ethiopia accountable: the case of child focused social protection providers

Abstract

This article provides an ethnographic description of accountability mechanisms employed by governments of developing countries to hold NGOs accountable taking the Ethiopia as a case. It is based on interviews and Focus Group Discussion with key informants with firsthand experience in implementing the mechanisms. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using hyper research research software. The resulting description indicates that instead of serving their overt objective, which is to ensure the accountability of NGOs, institutional rituals and institutional and elite interests were forces that sustained the accountability mechanisms. Setting up and refining a central monitoring and evaluation system to ensure upward accountability and, erecting structures for ensuring downward and horizontal accountability were finally proposed to maximize accountability of NGOs in Ethiopia.