Despite the incumbent’s crackdowns on institutional and state-led thefts following the 2018 reform, corruption regardless of its scale still rife in the country. Even worse, it morphed to be national problems posing an imminent and existential threat to the country. Embezzlement of public property and organized corruptions has been one of main sources of grave public resentments that led to popular protests.
Prior to the reform, thievery was wide that it disrupted and delayed the execution of mega projects forcing the country to incur extra resource to make sure the project stay alive. From the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam to other mega projects, corruption was metastasizing throughout public and private sectors. But, the clamp down against corruption institutions on the heels of the reform helped the nation to give a second life to the much-need development projects. Lots of individuals were apprehended and accounts were frozen on charges of organized and non-organized thefts
Yet, again due to the clandestine and complex nature of the misconducts, absence of strong justice system and anti-corruption organs, theft has remained to be one of the major setbacks standing in the way of the country’s socioeconomic endeavors. Lately, Prime Minster Abiy Ahmed admitted that corruption has become a danger to national security as he revealed a formation of ministerial committee.
In his last address to the lawmakers last year, Abiy described corruption as being principal weapon of oppression and robbery in the country.
“A certain group of people is emerging to make an opportunity out of our national predicaments and national challenges. They have converted the uncross able red line of corruption into a red carpet of thievery and are freely swaggering on it,” Abiy told parliamentarians. “Now a day’s corruption has become a threat to our national security. We have been fighting corruption in a concerted manner to prevent it from derailing our journey to prosperity through implementation of reforms and technologies.”
Since then, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced the establishment National Anti-corruption Committee comprising seven members and has established hotline and dedicated telephone for whistleblowers. The committee tasked to coordinate the campaign against corruption, identify corrupt entities and bring them to justice includes the Attorney General and the head of the Ethiopian National Intelligence and Security Service.
And, very recently the Anti-Corruption Committee announced the arrest of corrupt individuals including senior government officials. Among is Tewodros Bekele, Director General of Financial Intelligence Service and other suspects engaged in financial plundering and land grabbing have been detained, according to a local media report.
The committee has also expanded its probe against individuals suspected of committing thefts, crimes, especially in Addis Ababa. Unless the country continues to race against time to combat the cancer, the security of the nation will face unprecedented level of threat. In fact, over the years, we have seen nations including developed ones getting into precarious situations, quagmire of chaos and even state captures resulting in the dysfunction of governments due to organized thefts. But, the impact of the malpractice appears to be more serious in developing countries that have limited resource and more demand for development. For Ethiopia, prevention should be the best policy.
Moreover, the fight against thievery is not only a one time campaign and should not be left to the government only. The government needs to double down its efforts in taking stiff and swift serious measures and put in place comprehensive mechanisms to root out corruption. And, the society should be very much involved in curtailing the culture of corruption because in the end, theft is it pity or grand devours the resource of the country and affect the entire public.
The Ethiopian herald January 13/2023
