BY JENNIFER MULLEN

As a native of Ethiopia, Berhanu Mengistu is no stranger to radical political changes. His witnessing of the overthrow of Ethiopia's King Haile Selassie and the devastating rule of the military punta brought the Old Dominion associate professor of public administration permanently to the United States in 1976.

In 1997, his love for his homeland and his desire to teach and train took Mengistu back to Africa after more than 20 years to teach, research and ultimately assist another government in the throes of reform the Republic of South Africa.

This spring, Mengistu published "Spend and Deliver: A Guide to the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework" with Laura Walker, provincial budget director for the Republic of South Africa's Ministry of Finance. The booklet, which was presented to the country's Parliament and reprinted for distribution to its citizens, is a simplified explanation of the medium-term expenditure framework budget that South Africa adopted. It is a culmination of Mengistu's yearlong work as a Fulbright fellow in South Africa, where he taught at the University of the Western Cape in 1997.

"While I did not really have a specific agenda, I went to South Africa with the intention of being very involved in teaching, training and scholarly activities. And while I went with no conscious expectations, I must say that I was somewhat surprised at what I found," recalled Mengistu, who has been a member of the Old Dominion faculty since 1985.

"I thought that the apartheid system would have created more developed social and administrative infrastructures. It turned out that most of their investments concentrated on physical infrastructures, albeit in selected areas only."

In addition to teaching two classes at Western Cape, Mengistu wanted to be more involved in the democratic reform. A colleague suggested he speak to someone at Idasa, an institution established during the apartheid era to push for democratic reform. With the downfall of apartheid, the agency, which published Mengistu's booklet, changed its focus to assist with the government transition.

As a consultant for Idasa, Mengistu was tasked with adapting the medium-term expenditure framework budget to fit South Africa. He also trained government leaders in managing development and taught council members from the less-developed communities how to read and prepare government budgets.

"This framework was designed and perfected by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. So we didn't create the framework; we looked to see how we could adapt it to the South African condition. Any budget must fit the country it's used in," he said.

His reputation grew and as a result he was invited to participate and present at conferences and training workshops across South Africa.

"It was a wonderful experience for me and I learned a lot," said Mengistu, who noted that he attended some high-level government sessions.

His and Walker's work was first presented to Parliament's Finance Committee, which then recommended that the printed piece be given to all members and sold publicly. A colleague recently wrote Mengistu that the booklet was widely circulated in relevant Parliament committees during the deliberations preceding adoption of the country's 1999 budget.

The work has been so well received that the pair now has a book contract with another South African publisher to write a college textbook on budgets, and Mengistu has a number of offers from South African universities and Idasa to return for more research.

"All things considered, I think I have come away with a positive experience and a better understanding of South Africa," said Mengistu.

"It's a complicated country. When you are in a Cape Town shopping mall, you can't really tell if you are in Northern Virginia or South Africa. But you drive 30 kilometers and crisis begins," Megistu observed. "But I have tremendous confidence in the people I know and worked with there that they will be able to pull it together and move forward."