Commission Delays Long-Awaited Prosecution Mandate

The draft Ethics & Anti-Corruption Commission law tabled to parliamentarians last week has excluded a mandate to prosecute — the addition that initiated the revision. Forwarded to the standing committee for legal, justice and democracy affairs at parliament, the draft instead includes changes intended to align the Commission with the country's ongoing reforms and strengthen its institutional independence.

The draft proclamation, which had been under amendment for nearly a year, proposes to have its budget and the salaries of its employees approved by the parliament instead of the Ministry of Finance and the Civil Service Commission, respectively.

The revision, which initially intended to bring back the powers of prosecution from the Police Commission and the Office of the Attorney General to the Commission, was postponed until after a study takes place, according to Tesfaye Shamebo, research & training director at the Commission.

"The study will assess which body is more suited for the role," said the Director, who explained that the Commission's work had slowed down since the mandate was shifted in 2015. "It was also intended to restore public faith in the institution, but it will have to wait until the study is conducted."

The ethics liaison or directorate established across all public offices, which used to report to the head of the institution it is located in, will also now report to the Commission. The latest draft proposes to assign the Commission full administrative control over these directorate offices.

The Bill also aims to bring clarity and strengthen the mandate of some other issues that have been blurry in the past. Preparing a National Anti-Corruption Policy & Strategy has been explicitly listed as the duty of the Commission. The mandate has been unclear in the past, and this has been a major reason for the lack of a national policy, according to Tesfaye.

The Commission is tasked with administering a software database that will enable not only asset registration of public officials but also access to the register. If approved, it will enable the Commission to present this data upon request from law enforcement authorities.

Presented to the parliament in June, the draft law proposes the creation of Commission offices in the administrative zones of Addis Abeba and Dire Dawa and the regional states to ensure comprehensive work.