Enhancing ethics in the Ethiopian civil service

Abstract

The Ethiopia Government as part of its programme of political and economic rehabilitation has embarked upon a major reform of the civil service. One of the six key areas that the government's Taskforce on Civil Service Reforms (CSR) identified in 1994 as requiring special attention is ethics, especially for top Management level officials. The Ethiopian Government requested the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) to assist it, specifically, in the area of ethics. ECA appointed a consultant to study the empirical conditions, morale and conduct of the Ethiopian civil service and make recommendations on how the conduct of civil servants might be improved. The consultant was specifically requested by the Ethiopian Government to draw on contemporary international experiences in submitting his recommendation. This document is the outcome of the study.