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368 Diagnosing Corruption in Ethiopia
supply processes, including in particular the award and execution of the
2006 vendor financing and equipment supply contract. The scope of the
audit and inquiry should include an examination of the following issues:
• Whether and, if so, why the 2006 financing and equipment supply
contract was placed
º without an effective competitive tender for the financing component;
º without a competitive tender for the equipment supply; and
º as a single large contract.
• Whether the current equipment supplier has supplied or is supplying
the equipment to the ETC at genuinely competitive prices. In this
regard, comparable prices of other suppliers should be examined as
well as the actual prices at which the supplier is supplying the same
equipment to other customers.
• Whether the supplier has supplied or is supplying equipment of suitable
quality to the ETC. In this regard, comparable quality of other
suppliers should be examined as well as the actual quality that the supplier
is supplying to other customers.
• Whether there is any evidence of irregularities in the procurement,
terms, or execution of the contract. Any possible suspicions should be
referred to the FEACC and to the anticorruption authorities in the supplier’s
home country. In particular, the reported audio recording that
allegedly relates to a corrupt act should be investigated by the FEACC
and by the anticorruption authorities in the supplier’s home country.
The method and results of the audit and inquiry should be made fully
available to the public. If any wrongdoing is established, it can be appropriately
dealt with. If no wrongdoing is established, and if the audit and
inquiry are genuinely independent and public, the perceptions of corruption
and wrongdoing that surround this contract will be removed and a
significant contribution made toward restoring public and stakeholder
confidence.
Recommendation 2: Apply, develop, and build confidence in ETC
procurement processes.
• Enforce minimum standards of procurement, consistent with the Public Procurement
Proclamation. The ETC is reportedly not subject to the Public
Procurement Proclamation, under which it is a criminal offense not to
follow the procurement procedures contained in the proclamation.