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230 Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia
could help agencies monitor their own progress as well as identify areas
needing more attention.
Ideally, future surveys would also examine some of the areas not
addressed here: traditional dispute resolution, sharia, social courts, and
the remaining organizational themes. This recommendation does not
stem from strong suspicions that all those areas feature corruption but
simply from concern about the thoroughness of analysis.
It is understandable, especially for the courts, why they do not discuss
corruption: to admit its existence is to lay oneself open for outside
interference. One suspects a similar logic lies behind the various
offices’ “inability” to come up with precise figures on complaints
received. However, admitting a problem and at the same time outlining
a program for its resolution may be less dangerous because that
would indicate the agency is on top of the matter. Aside from improving
current perceptions, such a stance could also help fend off any
emerging problems.
A few of those interviewed believed that the corruption situation in
Ethiopia’s justice sector was getting worse, and although this was a
minority view, it is not entirely without foundation. As the agencies
increase their size and recruit more widely, they will face problems of
monitoring performance or running adequate background checks on new
members. Thus, minor problems would escalate into major ones if strategies
to prevent this are not put in place.
Notes
1. Private attorneys, although not government actors, are included because they
are considered “entrusted officials” and commonly must be licensed or recognized
by the state. In this status, they serve as a gateway to purely public
services and thus are critical in defining both the supply of and demand for
the latter (managing what is called a credence good).
2. This is clearly important in Ethiopia because of the major role of traditional
dispute resolution (see Pankhurst and Assefa 2008 for examples, and Turton
2006 is also relevant).
3. The sharia courts now recognized as part of the Ethiopian judiciary—and
thus falling under the supervision of the federal judicial administrative
council—have also been excluded. No data were made available on the
number of cases they handle.
4. Where this number comes from is anyone’s guess, but it is frequently cited in
the literature.