1: Discuss the difference between constitution and constitutionalism

The word “constitution” is often used as a synonym for “constitutionalism.” In reality, however,
these two terms are not the same. The constitution of a country is its written document that
defines how it will be governed. Constitutionalism refers to the belief that those who govern
should obey the rules set out in this document. What does this mean? It means that
constitutionalists believe laws created by elected officials should be limited and protect
individual rights as laid out in a country’s constitution.

In contrast, those who support a more laissez faire government believe that officials should be
able to make any law they want as long as it does not violate the constitution. This is because
they believe that the people are best served when officials have a lot of freedom to create laws.
While there are benefits and drawbacks to both systems, constitutionalism is often used to
describe the belief that laws should be limited.

Every country must have a constitution as the constitution helps and guides in governing a
country. History tells that since the origin of the countries there have been some kinds of rules
and regulations to maintain the order and harmony. In every country be it democratic or
despotic it is essential that rules must be accepted which would decide the role and
organization of political institutions in order to save the society from anarchy. And now, in
modern states these rules took the appearance in the form of a constitution

1.2 Meaning of a constitution

 A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or precedents of a particular entity that shall
help in understanding how it is supposed to be governed. The constitution is a set of
fundamental laws that the government, as well as any individual, shall follow. It offers a way
to govern a country.
 It is the supreme law of the State. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority
underlying the existence of the State. It provides the framework for the organization of the
State Government. A constitution is a basic design, which deals with the structure and
powers of the government. It also includes rights and duties of citizens. Sometimes it is

1|Page
 found in an established body of rules, maxims, traditions and practices in accordance with
which its government is organized and its powers are exercised.
 The Constitution of a country is its written document that defines how it will be governed. It
lays out the basic rules and principles that all officials must obey. This includes the structure
of government, individual rights, and how laws can be created. The Constitution can be
amended over time to reflect changes in society.

1.1 Main elements of a Constitution

 Preamble: This is a statement that explains the purpose of the document.
 Articles: These are the main sections of the Constitution and outline how the government
will work, individual rights, and other important aspects of the country.
 Amendments: These are changes to the Constitution that have been approved by the
government.
 Supreme Law: This is a term used to describe all of these documents together as one whole
unit that needs to be obeyed by everyone in a country.

1.2 What is Constitutionalism?

Constitutionalism refers to the belief that those who govern should obey the rules set out in this
document. This means that constitutionalists believe laws created by elected officials should be
limited and protect individual rights as laid out in a country’s constitution. In contrast, those who
support a more laissez faire government believe that officials should be able to make any law
they want as long as it does not violate the constitution. This is because they believe that the
people are best served when officials have a lot of freedom to create laws.

Constitutionalism is the governing law that helps regulate the functionality of the government.
As such, constitutionalism sets the standards of actions for the government. It indeed sets
limitations to the government. Constitutionalism defines the action of a government as legitimate
or not

1.3. Basic features of constit utionalism

 The belief that government officials should obey the rules set by their country’s
constitution.
 Limiting laws to ensure they do not violate rights or take away freedom from individuals.

2|Page
  Protecting individual rights so people are free to live according to their own choices and
beliefs without interference from elected officials.
 The idea that the people are best served when officials have a lot of freedom to create laws.
While there are benefits and drawbacks to both systems, constitutionalism is often used to
describe the belief that laws should be limited. This means that constitutionalists believe elected
officials should only make laws that do not violate rights or take away freedom from individuals.

1.4 constitutionalism vs constitution

 The main difference between Constitution and Constitutionalism is that the Constitution
is created by the government, but the Government itself is controlled by
Constitutionalism which sets the limitation to its powers and authorities. The latter is
indeed the law that allows people and the government to follow the rules and principles
set by the constitution.
 The term “constitution” and “constitutionalism” are obviously not the same and it can
be very difficult to understand their differences if a clear explanation of the both is not
given. Recently, a law student from one of my Facebook groups for law sent me a
message, requesting that I should kindly differentiate between the two. Consequently, I
decided to share my knowledge through my blog so that more students will also get to
read this work and understand the similarities and differences between constitution and
constitutionalism.

3|Page
2: What is poverty ?discuss the measures of poverty?
Poverty is a multidimensional concept that seeks to measure levels of deprivation encountered by
a person, household or community. Although most of the literature focuses on indicators of
deprivation such as income, food, access to housing and so on, the choice of indicators to
measure levels of deprivation can often be arbitrary and hence may not reflect a full-scale
measure of unmet basic needs in different social contexts. This discrepancy leads to concepts
such as poverty, social exclusion and vulnerability being used interchangeably in development
discourse. While allowing for variations in indicators of unmet basic needs, poverty is generally
considered to be a measure of deprivation of the basic needs that a person, household or
community requires to have a basic standard of living. Deprivation can be measured either in
terms of a lack of resources (eg income, assets), capabilities (eg skills, knowledge, technology)
or both

2.1 What are the different types of poverty?

There are multiple types of poverty.

 Situational poverty 

4|Page
  Generational poverty 
 Absolute poverty
 Relative poverty 
 Urban poverty 
 Rural poverty

Situational poverty is very common and something you or someone you know may have
experienced. There may have been a job loss, a divorce, or maybe a health crisis that caused you
to be economically unstable. We've seen a lot of families who have experienced this during the
pandemic, specifically families who are in service and tourist industries. There are so many
families that were living paycheck to paycheck then had an event like a job loss and became so
much more economically unstable.

Generational poverty is defined as being part of a family that has been living in poverty for
more than two generations. This is different because if you have grown up in poverty, there are
certain thought processes, ways of being, and ways of knowing that will differ from if you have
been brought up say in the middle-class. What we see is you are constantly in survival mode and
rather than being able to plan for your future and problem solve, oftentimes you are living in a
toxic stress kind of environment where you are in survival mode. This can shape a generation
and become a cycle that is very hard to get out of.

Absolute poverty is defined as an absolute lack of resources, including food insecurity. The
United States has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in developing nations. This also
includes homelessness and lack of access to healthcare.

Relative poverty is defined as living at about 50% or below the average income. You may not
be wealthy and might be living paycheck to paycheck, but you have food on the table. However,
in comparison to others around you, you are certainly struggling. Relative poverty usually is not
as detrimental to the health and brain development of a young child, but the emotional aspects
can take a toll.

5|Page
The final two types of poverty are urban poverty and rural poverty. I live in Mississippi, for
example, and rural poverty looks a little different than it does in urban areas. In rural poverty,
one of the main issues is there isn't access to high-speed Internet. When the pandemic took
children out of schools, I would see parents lined up at schools picking up giant packets of
worksheets for four and five-year-olds. If you were in an urban center, you might be meeting on
Zoom with your teacher online instead of doing the worksheet packets. People in rural areas are
often isolated and lack access to technology, childcare, and education. In urban areas, you may
have more structural issues such as housing and safety issues, overcrowding, and sanitation. 

It's really important for you as a teacher or someone who works with children to really
understand the different types of poverty. One of the things that I try to do when I talk to people,
especially those who haven't experienced poverty, is first and foremost to explain that poverty is
about the lack of resources. Many children who grow up in poverty are very much loved and the
families have many strengths..

The World Bank Organization describes poverty in this way:

“Poverty is hunger. Poverty is lack of shelter. Poverty is being sick and not being able to
see a doctor. Poverty is not having access to school and not knowing how to read. Poverty
is not having a job, is fear for the future, living one day at a time.

Poverty has many faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been
described in many ways.  Most often, poverty is a situation people want to escape. So
poverty is a call to action -- for the poor and the wealthy alike -- a call to change the
world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to education
and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in their communities.”

2.2 Measuring poverty

Measuring poverty Income poverty measurements generally use the physiological deprivation
model1 to assess lack of access to economic resources (income) to satisfy basic material needs.
A person (or household) is considered poor if the person’s (or household’s) income cannot
acquire the basket of goods and services used to define a threshold for poverty. The monetary
value of the basket is the poverty line and the population of people and households whose

6|Page
incomes are below this line, is then derived through a head count. While this approach is the
most currently used in household and poverty surveys, it is important to understand that its focus
is exclusively on income and expenditure as surrogates for measuring access to goods and
services. Concerns about its limitations as a tool for assessing people’s level of deprivation has
led to definitions that consider other nonmonetary aspects such as human rights values enshrined
in the UN Human Rights Charter, The UN Development Programme’s Human Development
Index has integrated more dimensions to the income/expenditure measures, notably life
expectancy, educational attainment and a measure of income (GNI Index). Human development
is defined as the process of enlarging people's freedoms and opportunities and improving their
well-being.

3: What is the cause of migration in our country

Migration is a way to move from one place to another in order to live and work. Movement of people
from their home to another city, state or country for a job, shelter or some other reasons is called
migration.

Ethiopia's strategic location in the Horn of Africa, its long history, and large ethnic and linguistic
diversity make it a melting pot of dynamic cultures and customs. The country is known for its
historical resistance to colonialism, including to Western powers in the 19th century, and was
only briefly occupied by Italian forces before World War II.

In recent decades, economic factors have been the most common drivers of migration from
Ethiopia, followed by political reasons including oppression, insecurity, and ethnic
tensions. Migration is increasingly perceived as the only way out of poverty in Ethiopia,
especially for the rural youth..

Question 4. Mention and discuss the indicators of good governances

The concept of Good Governance includes government, administration, and management, as
well as how to control businesses. Moreover, Good Management can be used within both the
state and private sectors. It is a well-known principle that can be applied in today’s work
administration because it helps to empower and encourage organizations to reach their potential
and to become more effective. This results in the growth of the organization, reliability of third
parties towards the organization, and continuous development. Because the Office of the Civil

7|Page
Service Commission, Thailand (2010) has proposed good governance principles in the form of
regulations to the Office of the Prime Minister and because Royal Decrees were established with
respect to the principles of good administration in 1999, six principles have been recognized.
These are Morality, the Rule of Law, Accountability, Participation, Responsibility, and Cost-
effectiveness (Economy). These principles have been established to support the well-being of the
people and to assist in the achievement of the government’s tasks, making them effective and
worthy. Therefore, the following should be undertaken: 1) no unnecessary work procedures
should be carried out, 2) the government’s tasks focusing on making improvements should be
up-to-date, and 3) facilities for the people, as well as their demands, should be met and regularly
assessed.

4.1 Defining good governance

In the 1990s, the World Bank became the first international institution to adopt the concept of
good governance into lending arrangements for developing countries and introduce the idea to
the general public. In its 1992 report entitled “Governance and Development”, the notion of good
governance was written as the way in which power is used to regulate the economic and social
resources of a country for development.

Now, the term good governance has often been used by national and international organisations.
Good governance aims to minimise corruption, take into account the opinions of minorities,
listen to the voices of the oppressed people in the decision-making process, and respond actively
to the needs of the community now and in the future.

 Eight principles of good governance

Citing from the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific (UNESCAP), the concept of good governance has eight principles.

1. Participation
Participation in the concept of good governance here is an opportunity for everyone to voice
their opinions through institutions or representations. In addition, everyone, without exception,
has the right to freedom of association and expression.

8|Page
2. Rule of law
To implement good governance, the legal framework in the country must be enforced
impartially, especially concerning human rights law.

3. Transparency
Transparency means that every policy taken and implemented by the government must be carried
out under existing regulations. In addition, there must be a guarantee that any information related
to the policy can be accessed by everyone, especially those who are directly affected by the
policy.

4. Responsiveness
Good governance needs institutions and processes to attempt to serve all stakeholders within a
reasonable time.

5. Consensus oriented
This fifth principle is related to the decision-making process. When the decision-making process
cannot accommodate everyone’s wishes, then at a minimum, the decision must be a decision that
can be accepted by everyone and does not harm anyone.

6. Equity and inclusiveness

Good governance ensures justice for the community. Everyone has the same opportunity to
maintain and improve their welfare.

7. Effectiveness and efficiency

Every decision-making process and its institutions must be able to produce decisions that meet
every community need. Community resources must also be utilised optimally by the government.

8. Accountability
All institutions involved in good governance have full responsibility to the public for the sake of
improving the quality of society.

9|Page
Now that we are all presented with an overall understanding of good governance and its
principles, let’s talk about how it’s harnessed at the local level and how the role of local
governments is especially crucial for a city’s development. 

The United Cities Local Governments (UCLG) has  emphasised in the Global Agenda of Local
Regional Governments that effective local governance can be a key pathway to solving the
various challenges in development at the global level. The biggest example is, of course, towards
the achievement of the 2030 Agenda or what we know as the Sustainable Development Goals, as
well as addressing crucial issues such as climate change. Therefore, being the closest to its
communities, local and regional governments have the advantage of putting people at the centre
of every decision-making process.

10 | P a g e