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Corruption in the Telecommunications Sector in Ethiopia: A Preliminary Overview 357
Table 8.1
(continued)
Risk Area 2: Design of the Telecoms Network
International experience
Typical international risk: High
Internationally, this is an area of high risk. Bribery can occur in the appointment of the designer, but
this normally involves significantly lower-value contracts. Alternatively, the specification may be
written to give preference to a particular, preferred supplier from whom the official preparing or
approving the specification receives a kickback. Typical areas of such risk include the following:
2a. Bribery of network operator’s employees by consultants tendering for design contracts
2b. Award of design contracts to consultants in whom network operator’s employees or
senior government officers have an interest
Corruption could take place in relation to the appointment of the designer in the same way
that it could take place in the appointment of a supplier (see below).
2c. Elimination of competition through design specifications with associated bribery by potential
supplier of person writing a specification or of senior government officials approving it
An official responsible for a specification may propose that certain equipment be supplied only
by a named supplier, thus creating a monopoly position for that supplier. Bribes may be paid
to the manager of the network operator, or to an independent consulting firm appointed by
the network operator, so that only the supplier paying the bribe could win the tender because
only that supplier will be technically compliant.
In Ethiopia
Current risk in Ethiopia: Medium
In the Ethiopian telecommunications sector, corruption in this area was not perceived to be
widespread. The risk in relation to network design was assessed as medium, although the
following examples were given of such corruption having taken place: 20
2c. Elimination of competition through design specifications
A recent ETC specification listed an item to be procured by competitive tender. The item was
listed with the supplier’s name and a photograph of the item. Competitive tendering for this
item was therefore impossible. There was also a perception that problems in design occurred
partly because the ETC was short of staff with the suitable technical skills to write the necessary
technical specifications.
In the Ethiopian context, a significant risk in relation to network design is considered by
some stakeholders to be state capture, in terms of the following:
• Restrictions placed on the design as a means of providing preferential opportunities
to companies more likely to be sympathetic to government or party interests
• Policy capture that may be well intentioned but that can nevertheless result in similar
opportunities for corruption.
Risk Area 3: Appointment of Equipment Suppliers
International experience
Typical international risk: High
Internationally, this is an area of high risk. Typical areas of such risk include the following:
3a. Procurement procedures bypassed by network operator’s employees
This is typically on the pretext of urgency, allowing sole-source purchasing instead of
competitive tendering.
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