Corruption in Ethiopia

Corruption is dishonest or fraudulent conduct by those in power, typically involving bribery. It is the process by which something, typically a word or expression, is changed from its original use or meaning to one that is regarded as erroneous or debased. In Philosophical theological, or moral discussions, corruption is spiritual or moral impurity or deviation from an ideal (Wikipedia 2014). Corruption may include many activities including bribery and embezzlement (Wikipedia 2014). Corruption is illegitimate use of power to benefit a private interest (Morris 1991). Corruption is an action to (a) secretly provide (b) a good or a service to a third party (c) so that he or she can influence certain actions which (d) benefit the corrupt, a third party, or both (e) in which the corrupt agent has authority (Senior 2006).

Corruption is of many types or classes. There are petty, grand, and systemic corruptions. Corruption in Ethiopia which is to be discussed in this topic cuts across all the three. Systemic corruption is the type which has spread throughout a country or society and is taken as part of the everyday way of life of the people, including corruption as one of the symptoms of organized crime. Corruption is named petty when it occurs at a smaller scale and within established social frameworks and governing norms. Corruption is classified as grand when it is witnessed at the highest levels of government in a way that requires significant subversion of the political, legal and economic systems. Corruption that takes place in the Federal House of Senate is classified as grand corruption.

Ethiopia is an African country that has “benefited” enough from corruption. It has a total population of 82.9 million (2010 population), life expectancy of 58.12 years (2009 data), Infant mortality rate of 67.8 (per 1,000 live births - 2010), and Literacy rate of 29.8% (2008). Corruption is perceived in all parts of the country and the masses are the people suffering most from such issue’s consequences. The government of the country is the most corrupt as corruption is observed in the public sector.

The citizens of the country have shown their bitterness on the level of corruption in the country through various means. They expressed these through dialogue, online publications, social media networks like

Facebook, Google Plus, Twitter and some other means. The youths, adults and even the small children in the country know that the system of their country is corrupt.

Ethiopia ranks high in corruption. This is observed in some documentation made by various organizations. Transparency International report showed that there are high corrupt practices in the country. Corruption Perceptions Index (2013) ranked Ethiopia 111 out of 177 in terms of transparency. This implies that Ethiopia is the 66th most corrupt nation (Based of 2013 report). Out of the 177 countries surveyed by Transparency International, Ethiopia found itself among the countries with less transparency. Ranking the country in terms percentage, it was ranked 33% in terms of transparency by the same organization. In academics, the score is graded as fail, meaning that there is minimal transparency in Ethiopia and high corruption.

In the year 2014, Transparency international released another data on the corruption ranking of nations. From the ranking, Ethiopia scored 110 out of the 175 surveyed countries. The report shows that Ethiopia was the 65th most corrupt country in the world. The result shows that Ethiopia improved in 2014. In Sub-Sahara Africa, Ethiopia was the 28th most corrupt in the continent.

There are many causes of corruption in Ethiopia and the possible solutions to curb the corruption in the country. These causes and possible solutions which are capable of reducing the rate are to be explained in the body of this topic. Corruption in government and that among the citizens are to be reduced if the prescribed solutions are integrated and applied.

It is not only all about corrupt practices among nations but also the consequences of the corruption. One thing is to buy dwarf goats and another thing is to feed because they cannot go hungry for all the years. Corruption which has been “bought” by many countries has given “birth” to lots of dangers. This topic will go further to discuss the consequences of corruptions among nations. Under the subheading, it is not only about its consequences in Ethiopia but covers that of other corrupt countries.

Can the government of Ethiopia do without bribery? Can they do without embezzlement of public fund? Can the government of the country succeed without taking advantage of those in middle and lower class? Can the Ethiopian government give accurate yearly monetary report without telling tall story on mismanagement of fund? The government is so corrupt that any citizen who classifies his or herself as a politician is seen as “bag of corruption”.

According to clerk Gascoigne, spokesperson for Global Financial Integrity (GFI), the organization’s latest available research data show that the amount of money that Ethiopia lost to smuggling of cash out of the country, both by the government and private sector between 2001 and 2010, totals 16.5 billion U.S dollars (Tadias Magazine 2013).

The government instead of supporting and empowering the citizens of the country to live better lives is busy sucking them like a blood-sucking demon. This is expressed through an author, Yilma Bekele, in a topic titled “Welcome to Ethiopia, let me have your bag”. The author revealed many things on how the government is not helping matter in the country. At a point, the author stated: “Thus the Saudis kicked our people from their country; they killed some, raped a few but in the end allowed them to gather their belongings and transported them home. The Ethiopian government waited with open hands and robbed them of their last shred of dignity as a welcome gesture” (Yilma Bekele 2013).

It is true that police are called to serve the citizens of any country were they are working to secure lives and properties of the people. In Ethiopia, the reverse is the case as they who are called to protect are agents of destruction. They have raped many who have nobody to speak for them because they were given guns by the corrupt government. It does not only stop in rape but they have harassed many young ladies in the country sexually.

The policemen in Ethiopia are not free from taking of bribes and many of them believe they cannot survive without bribery. This is why many of them who are working as commissioners take injustice as justice. When offenders are imprisoned, they can easily find their ways even without receiving the quality of punishment demanded by the law so far they have the bribe to give to the officer at the top position.

The ruling party in Ethiopia use the corrupt police force to carry-out their dirty functions. An Ethiopian police is ready to commit crime in as much he is ordered by an officer in the ruing government. The Federal Police serve the TPLF party that is in charge of our country. Meles Zenawi set up the Federal Police to be accountable to him and his party and used this force to quell down any kind of native unrest against his group. The Federal Police is the most fearsome weapon of the TPLF party (Yilma Bekele 2013).

It is not only the Ethiopian government and the Police force of the country that are corrupt, but also the education sector of the country. Things are not going properly well in the country’s education sector and that contributes to the weakness of the graduates from tertiary institutions in the country. There are general problems with education sector of Africa, and Ethiopia being part of this continent has corruption as one of its problems.

The head of various schools in Ethiopia are corrupt men and women. What happen when they are allocated fund by the government of the country to update and equip the schools? Some of them do not utilize the money appropriately for what they are meant for; rather some portion of such money goes into their private accounts for private use.

The universities in the country have been crying for years for proper funding to ensure a better platform for the university undergraduates, while the funds that were released before were not properly utilized. The professors and top officials in the universities shear government money which they suppose to use for the maintenance of the universities as if they are sharing public meat.

What of lecturers that harass students sexually? Many female students in the universities in Ethiopia today have not graduated because they refused to yield to the demand of their lecturers. Those who willingly gave their lecturers what they needed are given good grades notwithstanding that they did not merit them.

There are many causes of corruption in Ethiopia. These causes are to be discussed under this subheading and until these causes are put in place, corruption in the country will be reduced and the citizens of the country will have a little relief. Hence the major causes of corruption in Ethiopia are:

· Unemployment

· Poverty

· Selfishness

· Frustration

· Bad government

There are many businesses that go on in Ethiopia that are corrupt. On many occasions have people complained that the products they bought from their sellers did not give the service they needed.

Some businessmen in Ethiopia travelled abroad to import fake products into the country in the name of original. Sometimes they use stickers on the products which make the products to appear like original but inside are full of nonsense. The businessmen of this class see this as a normal thing and do not classified them as corrupt act.

Unemployment occurs when people are without work and actively seeking for job (ILO 2013). Unemployment is defined as the state of being without a paid job (Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary, Fifth Edition). It is one of the major causes of corruption in Ethiopia. When citizens who are qualified and are up and doing applied for jobs for months and they are not issued the jobs, they might indulge in corrupt actions to earn their living.

Out of the 33, 088, 792 economically active population of Ethiopians, 1, 653, 686, are unemployed (ILO 2009). The unemployment rate for urban areas is estimated at 20.6%, which is about ten times higher than in rural area (2.6%). The high unemployment rate can push the citizen into crime.

Unemployment has caused youths to get involved into dirty businesses which are corrupt. They were forced to take part in such because of the economic hardship of the country, and they have calculated things they are to cover in future time. The Ethiopian youths who find themselves into drug trafficking could be as a result of unemployment.

Who can help the poor Ethiopians? What will they do when they have nothing to eat or drink to keep life going? Will they fold their hands and keep watching when the government and capable men fail to help them?

Ethiopia records high in poverty level. It is one of the world’s poorest countries with per capita income of USD 200 ranking 169 out of 177 countries measured on the current United Nations Human Development Index of 2007/08 (ILO 2009). According to World Bank Data, 29.6% of Ethiopians were poor in 2011. In 2013, Ethiopia ranked 171 out of 184 countries surveyed by the International Monetary fund in terms of richest and poorest countries of the world (IMF 2014). This implies that Ethiopia was the 13th poorest country in 2013.

Poverty is a disease as people commonly put it. The poor have no say in any community in the world. When the poor talks in any community meeting, the rich says: can the poor bring up any idea that will be of help?

A poor can become angry and the anger when matures results to hunger. Then the hunger can make him get involved in criminal act, which is corruption in the topic under discussion. Many who are armed robbers in Ethiopia today where poor and what lead them to such behaviour was poverty. The poor can agree to work as political thugs and commit crime in the process just for them to get paid.

The word “selfishness” has cause a lot of problems to the planet we are living in today. Some wars between nations can be traced to selfishness as the cause. Men kill their fellow men because of selfishness as they want to have everything as theirs.

Ethiopians who are into drug trafficking which is considers as crime do not border on the negative effects of the drugs on those that will take them. Their main aim is to do the job and get paid at the end without considering on whether those who will take them go mad or not. There are many who are acting abnormal all over the world as a result of what cocaine has caused them.

On a very good condition, no rational man or woman will like to be addressed as an armed robber. In that same manner, no rational human will be happy to wake up in the mid night, carry his rods (guns), and jump to highway to attack travellers and rob them of the money they have for their individual needs. Some join armed robbery because of frustration.

An interrogation with an armed robber caught by policemen in one African country had this to say: “I wasn’t an armed robber but I joined the group because of frustration”. He went further to say that he was a university graduate but found himself in the group because of frustration.

Abortion is a criminal act, yet Ethiopian women on daily basis are aborting young babies because they feel they will be hindering them from their activities. Induced abortion is corrupt practice and most aborted babies are product of unwanted pregnancy. Some get unwanted pregnancies because they were frustrated and wanted to make money through prostitution.

Some citizens of Ethiopia are willing to shoot top officials of Ethiopia’s People’s Revolutions Democratic Front (EPRDF) if given the opportunity because they are the cause of high corruption rate in the country. Their high numbers is observed in the House of Representatives and also in the Senate.

Because they occupy large number of positions in the country, leadership in the country is like a family business. They make policies at ease without considering the opinions of the people they lead. EPRDF has lasted in leadership position of Ethiopia for years, and they use their position to oppress the citizens. The bad government controls judiciary. There is no justice in the Court of Law because the bad government of the country use its power to pull others down and do anything they want to do.

Ethiopian corrupt government is busy embezzling the country’s fund because nobody will talk. Any who makes attempt to talk could be silently eliminated by the wicked government. The fund which is to be used for public good goes into the pocket of the politicians.

Corruption cannot be wiped out entirely from any country irrespective of the magnitude of “holiness” practiced in the community. This subheading addresses possible solutions to reduce corruption in Ethiopia. Hence, solutions to corruption in Ethiopia are:

· Self-satisfaction

· Employment generation

· Youth empowerment

· Proper funding of tertiary institutions

· Skill Acquisition

· ICT exploration

· Free Press

· Setting up strong anti-corruption agency

· Media Sensitization

What shall it profit a man to use his power to get everything that belong to a community, utilize them alone, and later die without leaving with any of the acquired/stolen properties? Being contented with whatever one has is a very good point that will help in reduction of corruption in Ethiopia, and things properly put in place.

It is true that the government of the country which includes the president, governors, senators, ministers, and others get involved into corrupt practices in the country, all their involvement in the practice will be a history once they understand what it means to be self-satisfied and put that into practice. Being contented will make Ethiopians to see crime as something that does not worth getting involved in.

Any government that wants to reduce the level of corruption in the country should make effort to see that there are enough jobs for the citizens; otherwise, corruption will continue to grow as the masses indulge in corrupt systems to make money through cut-corners. If the seller markets loaves of bread to the people, he can sell a week expired bread to a costumer because he knows that it will be hard for him to make another to buy new ones. But creating jobs will help the seller to make more money and forget cheating.

Creating jobs by both capable individuals and government will get the masses busy and have their payments at the end of every month or day. There are many resources in Ethiopia that has not been explored. Government should develop such places by employing experts that will do the job and when developed, the citizen can be employed in those areas.

Youth empowerment and development is step to ensure nations future prosperity. Prosperity in this context includes prospering in the fight against corruption and social vices. Empowering the youths will keep them busy in what they do and from there generate money for tackling their daily expenses.

But, is youth empowerment meant to be carried out by the government alone or by individuals? Youth empowerment is every ones duty and not for the government alone. A rich man in any community can pick some youths and empower them financially or academically, which are among the types of youth empowerment.

Empowering the youths will impact much good in them and reduce corruption through social vices and drug trafficking. When Ethiopian youths are empowered, the government will benefit from it because after success from the empowered, they will be capable of creating more jobs for the masses and in return assist in fight against corruption.

Improper funding of tertiary institutions, where students study, is a general disease that the entire Africa countries have been suffering from for years. It is one of the problems with the education sector of Africa. There are challenges in the education sector of Nigeria too, which is the most populated in the continent. Poor practical backup in Ethiopian universities is never a “new story”.

Funding universities and colleges in Ethiopia will equip the graduates with the appropriate skills needed to succeed in the labour market. Installing quality machinery for those in science is a welcomed idea as that will assist students to learn and practice what they were taught. When things are put in place in the education sector of Ethiopia, students will get jobs or even be self-employed after graduation, which will prevent them from getting involved in corruption which can be due to unemployment.

It is clear to both the young and the old that acquisition of lucrative skills is very necessary in life. Importance of skill acquisition should not be neglected or underrated in any way. Nobody can clearly explain the power of skill acquisition all over the world. Skills have “catapulted” many citizens from rags to riches and it can do the same to Ethiopians which in turn will help in curbing corruption in the country. Bill Gate (World Richest Man) echoes round the world today because he acquired important skills in computer related area.

There is no how an individual who works and get paid properly through his acquired skill will think of using corrupt tricks to extort money or embezzle other people’s fund. A balanced and “correct” Ethiopian citizen that makes it through his or her skills may not pray to join corrupt political party in the country which will lead him or her into corruption as there is every possibility that he or she will dance to the tone of the bad government.

ICT stands for Information and Communication Technology. It includes the use of internet and other products of technology to communicate information to the masses. There are many things that should be explored which can help reduce corruption in Ethiopia. There are number of ways through which ICT can be used to reduce corruption in the country.

Publication of online news which addresses the government and the citizens of the country are likely to reduce the rate at which corrupt practices grow in the country. The government should open account using social media sites like Facebook and Twitter through which the masses says their views on the wrong policies and practices that the government indulge in. With this means, the government will one day have a rethink on the opinion of the masses.

Furthermore, seminars on how to use Information Communication Technology to earn money should be organized and sponsored by the government of the country. Experts who are good in the field of Information Communication Technology should be hired and well paid so that they can give up to 80% of what they know in the area. With this, the citizens will become self-employed and can even earn from home. Examples of jobs which can be explored through Information and Communication Technology are online writing, online book publication and promotion, photo and video editing, internet marketing, web and application designing, e.t.c.

Online writing has made many in the present world rich. This includes writing on ones hosted website, and on revenue sharing websites without paying money. There are many revenue sharing sites where peoples write and get paid per month when they reach minimum payout. Hubpages is the best among all of them. Ethiopians can signup on Hubpages and publish information that will expose the government and the citizens corrupt states which in turn reduces corruption and at the same time earn money, or write on any topic that is of interest to them.

Allowing news publication companies to be saying the truth about the high level of corruption in the country is a welcomed idea, and that will one day attract the interest of international bodies to interfere on the situation. Government should not attack or restrict press companies from telling the world how corrupt practices are taking the stage in the country.

When the government is exposed, at a point, they will begin to ask themselves questions. Nigeria was once very corrupt, but with the help of press companies which are not fully restricted, the situation is getting improved; though not completely. There was a time when hijacking of ballot boxes during election and rigging in election was normal thing in Nigeria. With expression of Nigerians through press media, international bodies interfered and this lead to improved transparency in the last election that lead to the government of President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria. Indeed, press media is a good arsenal when it comes to fight against corruption.

Setting up anti-corruption agencies is another point which will bridge corruption in Ethiopia. The agencies should not be made up of men from a particular political party. Making the agencies to be composed of men and women from any particular party will make them to cover the corruption committed by government officials.

When the agencies are made up of men and women who do not belong to any party, they are likely to run a good and transparent job. The anti-corruption agency should treat every citizen equally irrespective of whether the offender is a government official or top businessman in the country. Priests who are willing to sacrifice their lives for transparency in the country should be included among the members of the agency if possible.

Media in this subheading implies means of communication especially through radio and television. Sensitizing Ethiopians on the negative impacts of corruption will impact much in curbing of corruption in the country. Anti-corruption bodies should launch programs of this nature when they know they will have the attention of maximum number of audiences listening to radio and television stations including government officials.

This should be conveyed when the national television is broadcasting news. There should be break at a point when the selected members of the group will be called in for the information on disadvantages of corruption in the country and the harms it is likely to cause to the nation if care is not taken. When the program is sponsored for some periods of time, time shall come when Ethiopians including the “dirty” politicians will begin to have second taught on the harm they are doing to the country.

One thing is to sin and the other is the result of the sin committed. Many sin without knowing that the product of the sin they committed will come to them one day if proper amended is not made on time. In the same line, many youths who were not married went to bed together to have wonderful time together as they normally put it without thinking of the result of the wonderful time spent together if no protections were made. After some months, if any of the partners got infected with the present popular disease which has no cure yet, they began to blame each other.

Corruption which is committed by both government and citizens has many consequences. The results are devastating and can keep a country in the state of being a baby from generation to generation without growing. The consequences of corruption are as follow:

· Untrustworthy

· Poor national investment

· Ruins career

· Lost of reputation

· Poor development

· Riot

· Increases cost of Services/products

· Lower quality of products/services

People whose country is labelled highly corrupt are not easily trusted by others no matter how good the persons appear to be. Many persons from highly corrupt countries have lost good friendships that would have assisted them to succeed in life because it is generally accepted by large number of persons that any person from corrupt nation is likely to have “corrupt blood” running in his or he veins.

People from corrupt countries have lost a lot of contract because any from the country is not likely to be trusted. Even when the person is saying the truth, it is taken as lies because the trust is not there due to the fact the corrupt government has painted the image of the country black.

There are many foreign manufacturing industries/companies that have interest to invest into some countries that are pronounced highly corrupt like Liberia, Mongolia, Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Paraguay, Russia, Nigeria, and Zambia, but are afraid because of fear of corruption. The foreign investors are afraid because the corrupt countries may use their bad tricks to pull down their establishments.

A typical example is the experience a Canadian investor in Liberia, Len Lindstrom, had during his company’s investment in the country. He stated the government of Liberia used their corruption to eat his money. This propelled Len to write a book he entitled “Corruption 101-Liberia Style: Let Justice Reign Even if All the Rascals in the World should perish for it”. Quoting a report on how Lindstrom lamented from FrontPageAfrica: “Lindstrom explains that the company waited three years after winning a famous victory in the lower court. The judgement was clear that what Lands and Mines did was illegal, irregular and unlawful and that they should give us back our properties. Then we worked by stipulations with the Ministry of Justice and Honourable Wikins Wright. He looked at the material, he told Lands and Mines, there is absolutely no way we can win this case. It is clear we don’t have one point to argue on. It is wrong, give man back his property, Lands and Mines would not do it. We wrote to the president and everything and nobody took any action” (Rodney 2014).

Any country that has corruption as one of the benefactors will continue to loss investors that would have developed and added value to their country. Investors will also aid in employment generation, but this advantage will be lacking because corruption is the order of the day in corrupt countries. Instead of decrease in unemployment rate of countries with minimal transparency, it continues to increase as foreign investors are not attracted.

This is another bold consequence of corruption. In countries where corruption has been embraced by both the citizens and the government, careers of many have been soiled. People who have wonderful talents were not able to show them because of corruption in the country and bribery that accompanies it.

Take for instance that there are young men who can play football excellently for the national team and bring glory to the country, but because those who area at the top government want their own people to be selected for playing for the national team, the careers of the excellent ones become destroyed.

Another instance is in a situation whereby experts who can help networking company in computer related areas are wanted in the establishment. If the employer demands that any who is coming for the job must give bribe of large amount of money, and those who know best on the area are not chosen because they could not pay such amount, what it implies is that the careers of such persons become wasted if the system continues like that.

Reputation is the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something. When any person is marked with bad reputation, hardly will people believe the person or have any official something to do with him or her. In the same way, countries that have bad reputations are seriously blaming themselves because of many reasons. If any person from any country with bad reputation travels to another with less corruption, people see such person as terrorist in their midst.

Bad reputation has hindered many persons from where they suppose to be. In the world of Information and Communication Technology, bad reputation which is a consequence of corruption, has prevent many from being paid money through PayPal, which is the fastest online paying system. Countries that are not yet approved by PayPal could be as a result of corruption in the countries.

African continent is the most corrupt and the poorest developed in the world. The reason for the poor development is not far from the high level of corruption in that part of the world. Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, and other African countries have been in the state of developing instead of developed because they have been eating from the same plate with corruption. Canada and other countries with higher transparencies than most African countries are developed today because countries invest and developed the countries with less stress.

Can the technological advancement and development of some countries that are less corrupt be compared with that of countries that are highly corrupt? Even if fund is allocated to a minister of corrupt country, he must in one way or the other think of how to cut some part of the money to enter into his personal account. He may do this by either having it as a deal with the company that will work on the technological advancement in the country or through other channels.

Riot is a violent disturbance of the peace by a group of people. Many riots have eaten people’s heads and are of high increase in some countries which are not organised to some extent. In rioting, the youths and the adults usually get involved but that which involves the youths is usually more aggressive.

Corruption has resulted to many riots that are going on in some countries. This had been reported by many newspapers and through online publications. In some cases, some lives were lost as many decided to die in peaceful protest against the crimes committed by the government than to stay alive and suffer from what bad government has caused the country. Some who died in riot against the government came from gun shots of armed forces that work with the government.

As stated before that the fear of corruption which is capable of pulling down any business can prevent investors from investing in any particular country, those who gathered the momentum and invested increases the cost of their products or services so that they can be able to stand and move forward even when duped by corrupt government or individuals. This in some cases is added as the security cost.

Furthermore, as corrupt practices are observed among corrupt businessmen in corrupt countries, they tend to increase the selling price of their goods or services to make much money. Under normal circumstances, the goods will be sold at lower prices but corruption is the major reason for the increase in the selling price.

The sale of inferior products/services is common in corrupt countries because the entire system is full of “dirty business games”. Because the minds of the businessmen and women are covered with devilish trick, they use the tricks to make many profits by giving away low quality products/services to people.

In Nigeria, a typical business man is capable of mixing chalk to produce drugs which the masses will drink. The masses go ahead to buy the fake drugs as they do not know how and where the drugs were produced. Because of this, the drugs do not give the quality of service expected from them. Some electronics dealers that market phones in Nigeria claim to be offering promo while they are busy selling poor quality phones to people which do not serve for long time. In fact, it is one of the challenges in Nigeria.

Conclusion

Corruption is a bad thing and does not worth practicing. In this topic, discussed is corruption in Ethiopia, which is a country located in Africa. In the country, the corrupt government is also fighting corruption by setting up anti-corruption bodies. In summary, corruption in Ethiopian government, education, police, and that among the businesses in Ethiopia were discussed. Further discussed were the causes, solutions, and consequences of corruption. The ranking of corruption in Ethiopia was also discussed.

References

• Global Finance (2014), The World’s Richest and Poorest Countries

• International Labour Organization, ILO (2009), Unemployment in Ethiopia

• Morris, S.D. (1991), Corruption and Politics in Contemporary Mexico. University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa

• Rodney D. S. (2014), They Ate My Money: Fraustrations of Angry Foreign Investor in Liberia

• Senior, I. (2006), Corruption - The World’s Big C., Institute of Economic Affairs, London

• Transparency International (2013), Corruption in Ethiopia

• Wikipedia (2014), Corruption in Ethiopia

• Wikipedia (2014), “Corruption” retrieved on October 2014

• Yilma Bekele (2013), Welcome to Ethiopia, let me have your bag

• Yilma Bekele (2013), Bahr Dar and the wonderful art of silence