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Corruption in the Telecommunications Sector in Ethiopia: A Preliminary Overview 363
Table 8.1
(continued)
Risk Area 7: Providing Telecoms Services to the Public
In Ethiopia
Current risk in Ethiopia: Low
This is an area of low perceived risk in Ethiopia, not only in terms of total value but also in
terms of incidence. Though there is a general perception that some such corruption is likely
to be occurring, driven in part by low salaries, none of the interviewees was aware of any
specific recent example of a bribe being paid to grant any member of the public access to
telecoms services.
This finding suggests that the incidence of such minor corruption is less prevalent in
Ethiopia than in many other countries. It is all the more remarkable in view of the fact that
the ETC is a monopoly and that demand for telecoms services in Ethiopia has for a
prolonged period greatly exceeded supply.
There were, however, examples of corruption in this area in the recent past:
7c. Bribery by members of the public to obtain preferential access to telecoms services
At a time when there was a shortage of SIM cards, it was reported that some ETC managers
had made SIM cards available to preferred customers in return for a bribe.
In addition, there have been several cases of illegal provision of telecommunications
services in Ethiopia, considered to be corruption in view of potential lost revenue to the
ETC. In November 2008, the FEACC arrested eight individuals, including a foreigner, for allegedly
providing international telecoms services using banned devices. Press reports indicated that
some of those arrested were ETC officials and that the sums allegedly involved were high,
totaling some US$450,000.
Box 8.2
General ETC Safeguards Applicable to All Projects
In relation to all ETC projects, the general measures described below apply.
Overall management of the project is undertaken by the ETC’s project department.
It is overseen by ETC’s project steering committee, made up of approximately
seven members who meet weekly. Major decisions in relation to a project
are taken by the ETC’s management committee. The ETC’s board receives a
monthly report on each project.
To guard against fraudulent issue and pricing of variations, the ETC manages
changes to the scope of work during contract execution (variations) by the following
method:
• A committee is established comprising at least one representative from the project
department, one from operations, and one from planning. The committee
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