This story at the BBC, on Ethiopia’s “passion for bureaucracy,” really hits the mark, and can perhaps give a little glimmer into what it is like to work or try to get anything done here.
Keep in mind that, though the writer doesn’t mention it, Ethiopians in general seem to have very little compunction about forgery, and the U. S. Embassy rates Ethiopian visa applicants extremely high in the fraud category. They always come in with all the right stamps, but who knows who actually stamped the damn thing. Bureaucrats will also take their stamps with them as they leave the office, as controlling information and supplies that are necessary to get the mission done is the Ethiopian equivalent of tenure: i. e. “you can’t fire me, because I am the only person who knows all the mission-critical information.”
But hey, you don’t become a bureaucrat in Ethiopia because you are fond of working!
