administrative matters arising from the location of the city of Addis Ababa within the State of Oromia shall be respected. Particulars shall be determined by law.” 161. Although a law detailing the particulars of the relationship between Addis Ababa and the regional state of Oromia is yet to be enacted, CRM consultations revealed healthy inter-governmental cooperation between the federal government, the state of Oromia, and the Addis Ababa City Administration in fashioning out the practical and policy implications of these constitutional provisions on the special status of Addis Ababa as capital city. Illustrative of this healthy cooperation are arrangements for networking services like social and physical infrastructures between the Addis Ababa City Administration and the State of Oromia. These networks create beneficial multiplier effects for the development of a number of cities in the State of Oromia, adjoining Addis Ababa. A typical example cited were irrigation projects implemented by the City Administration of Addis Ababa in neighbouring cities in the State of Oromia for water supply to the city of Addis Ababa, with the Addis Ababa City Administration supplying the cities with free water in return. 162. While noting significant achievements in decentralisation, inter-governmental cooperation, and popular participation, the CRM also notes major challenges posed by: (a) capacity and resource problems at all levels of government; (b) lingering political problems relating to the conduct and management of elections such as the tension between the rights of Nations, Nationalities and Peoples, on the one hand, and the civil and political rights of individuals, on the other, reflected in the debate between equity (representativeness) and merit as a criteria of appointment/promotion in the public services, and seemingly intractable intrastate conflicts over land, grazing rights, and water; (c) the scourge of corruption; and, (d) the occasional highhandedness and intolerance of local ruling party cadres at all levels. III. Recommendations 163. The Panel recommends that: • Ethiopia enhance and strengthen the institutional and resource capacity of the Parliament, the Human Rights Commission, the Ombudsman and the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia so that they can carry out their respective statutory mandates effectively. [Government, Legislature] • The All-Party/National Conference as a confidence- and bridgebuilding strategy, convened well ahead of the 2010 general elections, - 88 -