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276 Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia
what many stakeholders view as a lack of effective competition, with
Chinese contractors dominating the international market and a limited
set of domestic contractors dominating the national market. A preliminary
study of unit output costs in these two markets appears to confirm
the possibility of restricted competition, though no specific evidence of
related corrupt practices was identified.
Drivers of Corruption
The drivers of corruption in Ethiopia’s construction sector are complex
and interrelated but can be grouped into overlapping categories related
to deficiencies in accountability, capacity, and trust.
Success on a project can be attributed to the combination of these
factors:
• Capacity makes performance possible by ensuring the availability of
sufficient resources, well-defined procedures for the management of
those resources, and adequate training to ensure that proficiency is
achieved through practice.
• Accountability makes performance happen by ensuring that there is
adequate transparency to allow for objective assessment of performance
against agreed-on performance standards.
• Trust makes performance efficient by giving contractors the confidence
in the market that allows them to invest in increasing their
own capacity.
Conversely, deficiencies in accountability, capacity, and trust can serve
as drivers of corruption risks. A lack of capacity makes corruption possible,
a lack of accountability makes corruption happen, and a lack of trust allows
corruption to take root.
Figure 6.5 presents nine such drivers of corruption, as identified in this
study.
The Ethiopian government is already actively engaged, to varying
degrees, in addressing most of these drivers. The recent decision to join
the pilot phase of the CoST initiative is potentially highly significant as
an important, though in itself insufficient, step toward improved
accountability in the sector. It will not fully address the growing risk of
spreading corruption as spending levels continue to outstrip management
capacity.