as infrastructure, human development, rural development, human security, and capacity building. New elements include a renewed focus on growth, specifically in private sector and urban development, industry, and agricultural commercialisation. These innovations reflect both new thinking on the need to rebalance the growth strategy and recent developments, such as the privatesector led growth in the floriculture sector, and the apparent stagnation in urban poverty reduction. 354 Further, and in addition to PASDEP, each region of the Ethiopian Federation has a 5-year development (strategic) plan aligned to PASDEP and MDG-compliant. Regional plans clearly spell out state policies and strategies in the different sectors (poverty reduction, education, health). At the woreda level, plans are prepared every year to feed directly into the regional development plans. These plans are put together through wide consultations with NGOS, CSOs, at the woreda and kebele levels. 355 As at federal level, government agencies, NGO’s, donors, and other stakeholders are jointly responsible for implementing state plans and programmes. In this regard, planning in Ethiopia and in the regions is both top-down and bottom-up. The planning committee, made up of NGOs, CSOs, the private sector, and the regional council (MPs), is key to the planning processes. After consultations at all levels and with different stakeholders, the final plan document goes to the regional council and parliament for approval. Similarly, a number of standing committees in the regions (across sectors) oversee developmental issues at grassroots levels. Members of these committees visit woredas on a regular basis to conduct needs assessments and monitor the progress of the plan, and budget implementation. The committee reports back to the regional assembly (Parliament). Ethiopia’s strategy is to democratise the development process so as to accomplish holistic, human-centred development rather than the sole pursuit of macroeconomic growth. In the Africa’s Alternative Framework to Structural Adjustment Programme (AAF-SAP)and the African Charter, the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) strongly advocates for people-centred development. Expenditure Framework 356 Fiscal policy implementation in Ethiopia guides resource envelopes to a selection of priority areas within the MEFF, the PIP and PASDEP. This translates into federal and regional state budgets for each financial year as the vehicle for operationalising the MEFF. The CRM observed that over the years, government has increasingly involved a wide spectrum of society and all concerned stakeholders - right up through the kebeles and woredas - in the budget process. Hence the budget process has become quite elaborate. It starts with the call letter to all public bodies by MOFED in November 25 of every financial year - 149 -