Have you paid a bribe last year?
by Georg Neumann on 10:00 am on Wednesday, 3. June 2009 | 5 Comments
Have you paid a bribe in the previous 12 months? This is one of the multitude of questions Transparency International asked more than 73.000 people in 69 countries to address, in the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer, published today, 3 June.
The Barometer is a global public opinion survey that looks at perceptions and experiences of ordinary people related to corruption. It asks people which institutions are perceived to be most compromised by corruption, their views on the private sector and of the effectiveness of their government’s attempts to fight corruption. The survey draws attention to the damaging effects corruption can have on everyday lives. The results are sobering.
Worldwide, more than 1 in 10 people reported paying a bribe in the 12 months prior to the survey. In Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Uganda, this number amounts to more than 50 percent of respondents reported having to pay a bribe.
These are the numbers. But how does this relate to you? We wanted to hear the stories behind the numbers, and the impact of corruption in your life . Prior to the launch we have asked you to share with us your personal experiences of bribery. What we received from you were some very personal stories that had one aspect in common: frustration. When reading through your comments, it becomes clear that as a victim of corruption you quickly feel frustrated and helpless when trying to do something about it. And corruption can find root everywhere, whether it is when having to pay a bribe to receive your vital medication or medical attention, applying for a passport or driver’s license, or simply trying to open a flower shop.
In the Global Corruption Barometer, we also asked if people filed a complaint after having to pay a bribe. And only one in five did so. When asked why they did not present a formal complaint, every second Barometer survey respondent responded that it would not have been futile. Every fourth respondent felt the process would have taken too much time, while every fifth, were even afraid of reprisals as a result of their complaint. In my view, this is a depressing result and a warning call to governments, companies and civil society organisations to ensure that functional and effective mechanisms are in place.
One place for victims of corruption to turn is one of the over 40 Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres worldwide, run by Transparency International’s national chapters in a growing number of countries around the world. The Centres educate citizens about their rights and avenues for legal recourse, and provide legal advice on pursuing corruption complaints.
The Centres educate citizens about their rights and avenues for legal recourse, and provide legal advice on pursuing corruption complaints. The results of the Barometer clearly show the need for more of these contact points and mechanisms in more countries.
Here are the other key results coming out of the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer:
- 68 percent of respondents saw political parties as corrupt, and 29 percent saw them as the single most corrupt institution in their country. The civil service and parliament trailed political parties, perceived by 63 and 60 percent of respondents respectively as being corrupt. Half of respondents said they saw the private sector as corrupt, an increase of 8 percentage points over five years ago.
- In roughly a fifth of the countries and territories surveyed, including countries home to some of the world’s major financial centres, such as Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Switzerland, respondents identified the private sector as the most corrupt institution.
- Across the board, low-income respondents were more likely to be met with bribe demands than high-income respondents
- Only three in ten respondents believed their government’s efforts to fight corruption were effective, although opinion in Sub-Saharan Africa was notably more positive than in other regions.
The complete report is available here. Do also have a look at the press release, and the In Focus section on Transparency International’s website, summarizing the results. Information is also available in Spanish and French.
How do you see the findings? Let us know.
Tags: ALACs > bribery > complaint > corruption > Global Corruption Barometer > opinion > survey > victims
Comments
5 Responses to “Have you paid a bribe last year?”
Leave a Reply
Projects
June 3rd, 2009 @ 1:53 pm
[...] This post was Twitted by anticorruption – Real-url.org [...]
June 3rd, 2009 @ 10:40 pm
“55% of respondents in high-income countries report common for bribes to influence policy-making process! ” WOW!
Is the US Lobby system a form of authorized bribery?
The Lobby System disenfranchises all citizens by allowing corporation to essentially write or re-write favorable legislature.
Is this corruption? State Capture by powerful oligopolies?
Antitrust laws have been severely weakened by these oligopolies monopolistic tactics and by the strength perpetual corporate immortality and rights of citizenship.
President Obama must follow through on his promise to reform (remove) the Lobby System that legitimizes corruption and undermines democracy world-wide.
June 4th, 2009 @ 2:29 pm
[...] Have you paid a bribe last year?, by Georg Neumann [...]
June 18th, 2009 @ 6:12 pm
How is the family of humanity to sensibly organize to respond ably to the human folly, avarice and stupidity that is now being consciously perpetrated by those few million greedy people who possess a lion’s share of the world’s wealth and the power it purchases? After all, a tiny minority is primarily responsible for the Earth being ravaged and threatened as a fit place for habitation by our children.
When are the morally bankrupt, super-rich Masters of the Universe among us to be held to account for having disgracefully institutionalized the ‘goodness’ of their pathological arrogance, conspicuous consumption and excessive hoarding for the benefit of none others than themselves and minions? For many too many economic powerbrokers and their bought-and-paid-for politicians
short-term financial gains, power accrual, economic expediency and political convenience have directed their thought and behavior.
Perhaps it is time for many ordinary people not only to deploy these words from Mohandas Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world”, but also to live out this great man’s example of principled, peaceful, refusal to submit to arrogant, dishonest, avaricious and dishonorable authority that is relentlessly degrading Earth’s frangible environment and recklessly dissipating Earth’s limited resources in our time.
Perhaps honesty, more transparency, constructive personal action, accountability and necessary social change are in the offing.
Scientists have a duty to warn and to inform; leaders of the family of humanity have a responsibility to act with moral courage and a willingness to do the right thing. At least some scientists appear to be doing their duty. Except for a precious few, great human beings like President Barack Obama, the human community appears to be virtually bereft of adequate leaders.
November 17th, 2009 @ 11:49 am
[...] problem though. Transparency International conducts an array of global research, such as the Global Corruption Barometer, a world wide public opinion survey, and the Bribe Payers Index, which measures the likelihood of [...]