management including a code of good practice on fiscal transparency, auditing and accounting standards. But, as discussed in detail in Chapter Five, more still needs to be done to strengthen these measures. The challenge for Ethiopia is to create a corruption-free business environment in order to attract more investment and promote wealth and job creation which the country desperate needs. Box 4: Corruption – an Obstacle to Poverty Reduction? Poverty is a multidimensional phenomenon caused by a plurality of factors. Poverty reduction, therefore, requires a comprehensive approach that is either facilitated or constrained by a range of factors. One of these factors causing poverty and impeding poverty reduction on a massive scale is widespread corruption. No country, whether rich or poor, is immune to corruption. Corruption hurts poor people in developing countries disproportionately. It affects their daily life in many different ways, and tends to make them even poorer, by denying them their rightful share of economic resources or life-saving aid. Corruption puts basic public services beyond the reach of those who cannot afford to pay bribes. By diverting scarce resources intended for development, corruption also makes it harder to meet fundamental needs such as those for food, health and education. It creates discrimination between the different groups in society, feeds inequality and injustice, discourages foreign investment and aid, and hinders growth. It is, therefore, a major obstacle to political stability, and to successful social and economic development. 406 At the institutional level, the GoE established the Federal Ethics and AntiCorruption Commission (FEACC) in May 2001. Since its inception, the FEACC launched a three-pronged attack (prevention, investigation and prosecution) on corruption and some encouraging achievements were made in those areas. In an effort to raise its performance in fighting corruption in the years ahead, the FEACC found it absolutely necessary to enhance stakeholder participation in the fight against corruption. 407 There were also some improvements in the perception of corruption in recent years, possibly reflecting heightened FEACC activity in fighting high-level corruption. For example, in 2006, the agency played a major role in uncovering a corruption scandal within the Development Bank of Ethiopia. This led to the arrest of several senior officials for bank policy violations and illegal overseas transfers.  408 The challenge, however, is to maintain FEACC independence and strengthen its human, financial and material resource capacity, including motivating public service workers. This will be critical to addressing challenges in fighting corruption that fall within the FEACC mandate. Some challenges transcend the mandate of this organisation and require further bureaucratic and legal reforms. Improving the public image of FEACC also requires attention (Box 5). - 167 -