Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia - Ethiomedia

CHAPTER 9
Corruption in the Mining Sector:
Preliminary Overview
Introduction
The mining sector in Ethiopia is relatively undeveloped and does not
form a significant part of Ethiopia’s economy. However, the country is
rich with mineral resources, and both the Ethiopian government and
national and international mining companies wish to see a major expansion.
Mining is a relatively high-risk sector for corruption, and thus any
increase of activity inevitably carries with it both an increased risk of corruption
and an increase in the amounts potentially lost to corruption. It
is therefore vital for Ethiopia’s future prosperity that mining activity be
increased in a manner that minimizes the opportunities for corruption.
This analysis of the mining sector in Ethiopia was commissioned to assess
the current level of corruption in the sector and to recommend improvements
in management controls and other preventive measures that could
minimize corruption in the future.
This chapter draws on fieldwork conducted by Neill Stansbury in 2009 and is supplemented
by additional internal research.
Although this chapter results from studies completed by January 2010, the process of checking,
reviewing, and securing agreement for publication was finally brought to conclusion
only in late 2011. The chapter is therefore put forward with the caveat that while it reflects
the situation at the time of the study, some details will have understandably changed.
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