401 Different assessments of corruption in Ethiopia cited by the CSAR have varying conclusions on the level of corruption in the country, suggesting a lack of consensus about the severity of corruption in Ethiopia. The CRM view is that this could be due to a lack of openness in public discussions of corruption in the country. In general, civil society groups and opposition political parties that participated in the APRM country assessment process stressed that corruption in Ethiopia was widespread. 402 On the basis of the information availed to the CRM and in interactions with stakeholders across the country, the CRM takes the view that corruption is an issue of serious concern in Ethiopia. This finding is validated by survey findings from international institutions cited in the CSAR26. For instance, contrary to the CSAR assertion that the Global Integrity Index (GII) places Ethiopia among the least corrupt countries in the world and Africa, recent data from the same source lists Ethiopia as being among the biggest backsliders in its 2008 rankings, having fallen 22 places from its 2006 ranking. 403 As noted above, the negative socio-economic impact of corruption is widely acknowledged. But an issue of interest in this Chapter is the impact of corruption on business in Ethiopia. According to a 2001 survey on 600 firms across the country cited by the CSAR, 78.5 percent of those questioned stated that corruption in the public sector negatively influenced their operations and growth. The survey identified customs services and revenue collectors as the most notoriously corrupt government agencies, with the police and the courts coming next in line. 404 As elsewhere, there are numerous factors widely believed to be the major causes of corruption in Ethiopia.27 This recognition has led to measures aimed at fighting the scourge of corruption involving institutional reform, legal reforms, and social mobilisation programmes undertaken by both public and private bodies, NGOs, and education institutions. These measures seek to address the legal, institutional and social weaknesses that provide opportunities for corruption. 405 At a country level, within the framework of international standards and codes, Ethiopia has adopted several proclamations for effective public financial 26 Ethiopia’s CSAR states that “ in its 2007-2008 annual report, the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report identified corruption as the fourth most problematic factor for doing business in Ethiopia” ….. ….By the standards of Transparency International (TI), corruption in Ethiopia has remained a serious problem over the past few years”. Page 160. 27 According to the Ethiopian Government’s anti-corruption agency, the major causes of corruption in Ethiopia are poor governance, lack of accountability and transparency, low level of democratic culture and tradition, lack of citizen participation, lack of clear regulations and authorisation, low level of institutional control, extreme poverty and inequity and harmful cultural practices. Family and ethnic loyalties and obligations, privatisation, weak financial management, inadequate accounting and auditing, weak legal and judicial system, over regulated bureaucracy, deterioration of acceptable moral and ethical values, unsound policies and inefficient civil service system have also been cited as the primary causes of corruption in Ethiopia. - 166 -