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8 Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia
traffic citations)—is the most common, particularly among police officers.
Other forms of bribes, such as those offered or solicited for the
performance of standard duties by courtroom staff, appear to be decreasing
because of an ongoing modernization program that makes such
actions more difficult to conduct without detection.
The study also revealed that political interference in the judicial process
appears to be decreasing, contributing to the overall assessment of
low actual corruption in the sector. But it also reveals significant variations
in system actors’ perceptions about the frequency of corruption.
These differences, and the gap between the perception and the likely
real incidence of corruption, appear to be a function of limited transparency
in personnel policies and the weakness of internal mechanisms such
as complaint-handling and disciplinary offices.
To address these issues, Hammergren recommends that the organizational
complaint-handling and disciplinary offices as well as the FEACC
improve transparency by explaining their criteria for accepting and
deciding on cases and by making the record of their decisions and
actions more accessible. One suggestion is to improve (or in some cases,
create) databases that track the processing of complaints about official
malfeasance (both corruption and other abuses of office), thereby
facilitating more systematic analyses of corruption risks and the identification
of misperceptions and unfounded claims. Such analyses and
identification would enable a more targeted response to problem areas
and provide an informed basis on which to engage the civil sector and
disseminate information.
Hammergren also recommends (a) that independent bar associations
be made responsible for monitoring members rather than (or at least in
conjunction with) the government and (b) that the police and prosecutors
improve their internal monitoring systems to decrease the risk of
bribe solicitation and acceptance.
Overall, the study notes that the Ethiopian government has made
important strides toward discouraging, and reducing the incentives for,
corruption in the justice sector. The author contends it is now time to
develop more proactive responses to identified problem areas as well as
more effective civic outreach.
Chapter 6: Construction Sector Corruption in Ethiopia
Hamish Goldie-Scot provides an initial scoping of corruption in
Ethiopia’s construction sector. Using data from expert interviews,
confidential questionnaires, closed-door workshops, and document