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286 Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia
Although most corrupt activity in the land sector occurs at the implementation
stage, the level of corruption is influenced strongly by the way
policy and legislation are formulated and enforced. This influence can take
many forms. For example, the capture of state assets by the elite can
occur through the formulation of policy that favors the elite. Other
examples are (a) inadequate provision of resources to institutions mandated
to administer land under generally sound policies or (b) abuse of
power where policy is weak or unclear.
Methodology
The data for analysis was gathered by conducting interviews with key
stakeholders, reviewing key documents and information from the media
and the Internet, and implementing an assessment of land governance
using the Land Governance Assessment Framework (LGAF), which
involved expert investigations, expert panels, and sampling (see box 7.2).
This assessment has been undertaken quickly and draws heavily on the
LGAF assessment, the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission
(FEACC) investigations of corruption in five subcities in Addis Ababa,
and interviews with key stakeholders.
Overview of Findings
The key areas of corruption in the land sector in Ethiopia are these:
• Capture of assets by the elite and senior officials. Elite capture is facilitated
by a weak policy and legal framework and poor systems to implement
existing policies and laws.
• Corruption in the implementation of land policy and laws, particularly
through the following:
° Institutionalization of informal fees. The FEACC investigation of
corruption in five subcities in Addis Ababa concluded that it was
“nearly impossible to a get a plot of land without bribing city administration
officials.”
° Fraudulent actions of officials to allocate land to themselves in both
urban and rural areas and to housing associations and developers in
urban areas.
° Willingness of officials to defraud or respond to bribes or nepotism to
overlook virtually all specified restrictions and requirements,
particularly in Addis Ababa, which has seriously undermined the
enforcement of land use plans, lease conditions, and building and
construction codes in urban areas.