The Potential Contributions of Local Culture and Traditional Institutions to Minimize Corruptiona on the Era of Globalization: The Case of ICBOs in Sothern Ethiopia

Abstract

This theoretical and empirical investigation has its own contributions to solve one of critical question of the time: Do local culture, knowledge and traditional institutions (ICBOs) matter to integrate global anticorruption policies with local community in the era of globalization? How? The study is conducted with objectives of assessing the nature, causes and effects of corruption on the development of southern Ethiopia, and to come up with better solutions. The study presents theoretical and empirical evidences that corruption affects the well beings of poor countries through misuse of existing limited financial resources, particularly in southern Ethiopia. Like many developing countries, southern Ethiopia focuses on formal institutions such as anticorruption institutions and laws to combat corruption. The current government of Ethiopia has established ethics and anticorruption commissions at federal and regional levels to implement anticorruption laws and programs. Even though these institutions have been working for long time, corruption has been still one of the main challenges of development in Southern Ethiopia.

After analyzing existing literatures and first hand information from SNNPRS, this thesis develops new approaches towards combating corruption in the public sectors. In addition to secondary sources, primary sources were collected by using unstructured and in depth interviews, group discussions and personal observations during field work in southern Ethiopia. The findings shows that truly independent anti-corruption institutions that focus on informal institutions such as indigenous community based organizations can make tremendous impacts towards increasing effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts in order to minimize or if possible to eradicate corrupt practices in the community. The findings also indicate that local knowledge and cultures play robust roles to integrate global anticorruption policies and strategies with local communities. This glocalization process is important to implement best experiences of global communities in combating corruption with values and cultural practices of local communities in southern Ethiopia. To facilitate this glocalization process and to increase effectiveness of anticorruption efforts in SNNPRS, ICBOs can make tremendous contributions by establishing social capital ties between global best experiences, and local values and cultural practices.

Keywords: corruption, effectiveness, glocalization, social capital, searcher, ICBOs.