By Samuel Abate
The Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has announced an investigation into the assets of 113 public leaders who registered their wealth during the 2023/24 fiscal year.
Mesfin Belayneh, Executive Director of the Commission’s Corruption Information Management, stated that the commission is conducting wealth verification on these decision-making public leaders due to the questionable nature of their registered assets and based on received suggestions.
Belayneh emphasized that the commission will notify the Ministry of Justice regarding individuals exposed to corruption during the asset investigations.
He also mentioned that publicly disclosing the leaders currently under investigation could lead to them concealing unregistered assets. Therefore, the names of these leaders will be released only after the investigation is completed.
The executive director stressed the importance of preventing corruption and noted that efforts will be strengthened by working closely with the community.
Last week, the commission announced the formulation of a draft regulation aimed at preventing government leaders from engaging in additional income-generating activities.
According to the Federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, this draft regulation seeks to prohibit government leaders from conducting business or similar activities that generate extra income.
Mesfin Belayneh highlighted that government leaders are among the sectors most vulnerable to corruption and emphasized that those making decisions on public resources should focus solely on their governmental duties and serve the people.
Belayneh also mentioned that the commission has prepared a draft of the conflict of interest prevention and code of conduct for senior officials, which has been submitted to the Council of Ministers.
This draft aims to prevent conflicts of interest when leaders engage in additional income-generating activities, potentially leading to the improper use of public and government resources.
Given the importance of this draft regulation, the executive director urged the Council of Ministers to respond swiftly.
Once the regulation is approved, the commission will begin investigating senior public organization managers involved in income-generating activities outside their official duties.
The Anti-Corruption Commission has repeatedly expressed its commitment to registering the wealth and property of government officials, announcing that the assets of more than 180,000 individuals, ranging from district to federal officials, have been registered.
However, the commission noted that while officials, including Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, have registered their wealth in the past, these registrations are not regularly updated.
It is required that civil servants or officials renew their wealth registration every two years. Nonetheless, it has been observed that leaders are not adhering to this renewal period.
Transparency International, an international organization based in Berlin, Germany, conducts annual corruption surveys and publishes the levels and results of corruption in various countries.
According to the organization’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index, Ethiopia ranks 98th with a score of 37 points out of 100.
A score of 100 indicates a very clean exposure to corruption, while a lower score indicates a serious level of corruption.
