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Rural Water Supply Corruption in Ethiopia 155
in oversight and sign-off procedures. Nonetheless, participants highlighted
the need for a larger survey to strengthen the evidence base and
the need for accurate (GPS) recording of borehole locations to ensure
that inspection evidence can be linked with complete confidence to
contract and invoicing documentation.
Corruption evidence: Comparing contracts, construction, and invoices.
Contracts for borehole drilling in Ethiopia typically specify the depth to
which boreholes should be drilled, their diameter, the likely drilling conditions,
and the casing material to be used. 21 Often the type of drilling rig
is also specified (as previously discussed in the “Design, Tendering, and
Procurement” subsection ). Typically, the responsibility for siting boreholes,
supervising drilling operations, and authorizing payment for completed
works rests with the regional water bureau.
The subsections below look briefly at how contract specifications compare
with what was actually built (based on evidence provided by CCTV
footage) and what was finally invoiced by the driller and paid for by the
commissioning agency. Box 4.6 summarizes overall variance (measured
versus invoiced) in the sample, focusing on three cost-weighted indicators:
borehole depth, diameter, and materials. In addition, we look at the
relationship between construction variance (as above), community participation
in water-point implementation, and community perceptions of
construction quality.
Variation between contracted specification and drilled depth. A borehole
had been constructed at each of the locations the study team identified
for inspection. For the 16 boreholes where an estimated depth
had been specified in a contract, few (25 percent) were within 10
percent of the target: most were both measured and invoiced for less
depth.
Given that measured depths, completion reports, and invoices for this
group were consistent, the most likely reason for the discrepancy was that
sufficient water was found at shallower depths and the supervisor suggested
that drilling should cease before the target depth had been
reached, saving time and money. This conclusion is supported by Carter
et al. (2006), which found that reported completion depths in a survey
of rural water supply boreholes across 14 zones in Ethiopia were often
10–20 percent lower than in the design specification, largely because
tenders erred on the side of caution.