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Rural Water Supply Corruption in Ethiopia 129
can be entirely misleading, especially in a sector as complex as the water
sector, where there are so many different interactions and so many institutions
with different perspectives and motivations. The written record is
also an unreliable source on such a sensitive matter: facts and perceptions
about corruption are not generally recorded, and even where they are, the
facts are often in dispute, and researchers have little way of determining
what is actually happening. Moreover, physical audits of exactly what was
constructed are expensive and time consuming, hence rarely undertaken.
In short, to take our knowledge of the water sector forward, one priority
is to document more cases of actual corrupt practice in the sector to set
those cases alongside what potentially could happen. Research approaches
must take into account the myriad types of interactions throughout the
entire value chain of decisions made by actors at varying levels. A comprehensive
approach would also study the written record; analyze the perceptions
of the variety of stakeholders along the entire length of the value
chain; and, where possible, investigate what was actually built as well as
what monies were spent against what had been commissioned.
Ethiopia’s Water Sector
Water plays a pivotal role in Ethiopian society and is an input to almost
all production. Water is also a force for destruction: floods and droughts
account for major swings in economic growth and significant losses of life
and wealth. Unmitigated hydrological variability is estimated to cost the
economy one-third of its growth potential (World Bank 2006b). Yet
Ethiopia’s investments to mitigate these impacts and use its considerable
water assets for power, food production, livestock, manufacturing, and
improvements in health and livelihoods have historically been limited. 3
In recent years, the government of Ethiopia has recognized the scale
and importance of the water challenge in Ethiopia and has embarked
upon a wide range of water investment programs in the following areas:
• Water supply and sanitation. Priority has been given to water for human
development and for livestock use, with a core focus on low-cost
groundwater development for urban and rural supply. The Ministry of
Water Resources (MOWR) has, over the past half-decade, led a process
of studies, policy, and strategy development, resulting in much-improved
sector coordination, institutional reforms, significant increases in water
and sanitation coverage, 4 increased financial allocations, and the development
of an ambitious plan not only to meet the water and sanitation