Premier vows to eliminate corruption

Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has pledged to rid Ethiopia of corruption, saying there would be no hiding place for "sleaze and dishonesty". Presenting a government report to parliament on Tuesday, he said his administration was "totally committed" to fighting corruption, and stressed that honest Ethiopians had nothing to fear. His warning comes just weeks after the federal Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission brought charges totalling Ethiopian birr 1.2 billion (around US $150 million) against some of the country’s top businessmen. Among those detained were the general manager of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia and 40 senior managers and 13 businessmen. "This government has been engaged and continues to be engaged actively in bringing to justice those in senior government positions who had a leading role in corruption," he said. "It must however be understood that the objective of our anti-corruption struggle is not to pursue and jail everybody that may have been involved in corruption...without ample investigation and evidence." "The objective is, and will continue to be, to focus on the major hubs and centres of corruption and bring to justice the leading players in these acts and send the message home that it pays to be clean," Meles said. In his speech, the prime minister also said his government was planning to more than double university enrolment within three years. He said more emphasis would be placed on establishing law schools to help raise the level of justice within Ethiopia and to ensure its "independent and democratic" nature. The private and state press are also set for a major overhaul with the government actively "restructuring and strengthening" them. On foreign affairs, he said his government had taken "every opportunity" to ensure a positive outcome in the peace process with Eritrea following the two-year border war between the two countries. Furthermore, he said, his government was working "tirelessly" to bring peace to Somalia by helping establish an "inclusive" regime that could eradicate terrorism in the country. "In this regard, Ethiopia will work strenuously for the implementation of the decisions of the recent IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development] summit, which Ethiopia considers highly significant," he stated.