Student response to the Zamacha showed that the younger, educated civilian population was more radical than the government. Yet, it was not in the countryside but in the cities where the contradiction was played out. On July 26, 1975, the government issued Proclamation Number 27, which nationalised urban land but allowed individuals the ownership of one house and the use of as many as 500sqm for residential purposes. Additional dwellings were confiscated, and rents were sharply reduced, especially for low-income families. The proclamation also provided for the establishment of neighbourhood organisations, or kebeles, the urban equivalent of the Peasant Association. The kebele collected all rent on small homes and used the proceeds to finance social services for its members. The latter included all adult persons who lived within the precincts of the kebele, and they elected a policy committee responsible for the organisation's functions.

Source: A History of Ethiopia
Copyright 1994 Harold G. Marcus