LXX. The land issue, perhaps more than any other policy issue, is hotly contested. A fierce political debate about the appropriate land tenure policy is raging. The debate has largely been carried out along two diametrically opposite arguments concerning property rights to land. The Ethiopian government continues to advocate state ownership of land whereby only usufruct rights are bestowed upon landholders. The government’s position that emphasises the social function of land is challenged by advocates of a privatisation of property rights – most prominently, the Ethiopian Economic Association (EEA), some political parties in opposition, and a number of donor agencies. These tend to argue that state ownership of land prevents the development of a land market, discourages farmers to invest on land, and thereby holds down land productivity as well as encouraging unsustainable land use practices. LXXI. An assessment of the land policy debate in Ethiopia by the APR Mission reveals that there is an unfortunate focus on ownership issues and a dichotomy of views on state versus private ownership. . Everyone agrees on the overall aim – to boost pro-poor agriculture-led growth – and this is echoed in policy documents and discussions from all sides of the debate, but what to do about land and land tenure remains a sticking point which urgently needs to be tackled. LXXII. Ethiopia has to make some hard choices in the near future about its land policy. What is needed is a careful and deliberate initiative, backed by research, to identify an appropriate and pragmatic policy mix that could address the weaknesses of land tenure policy and its consequences. Corruption LXXIII. There are varying opinions among stakeholders about the existence and magnitude of corruption in Ethiopia. In spite of disagreement on this score among them, the stakeholders agree that corruption is a major problem which requires collective action by all strata of the Ethiopian state and society. Notable sources of corruption were generally identified with tax collection, the police, extreme poverty, and poor governance at the level of wereda administration. LXXIV. While there is no consensus among Ethiopian stakeholders on the importance and the spread of corruption, there is recognition of the role that institutions like the FEEAC play in combating it. However, even if the Ethiopian Government did take significant steps to combat corruption with the creation of the FEEAC, there is need to improve such structure and complete the whole institutional infrastructure for fighting and preventing corruption. The FEEAC needs to be more independent to avoid the perception that it is being used as a tool to harass political opponents; and there is need to deepen the independence of the - 38 -