Of the 1,000 respondents, 86% believe the police and public officials were corrupt. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI: According to a public opinion poll by Transparency International (TI) released on Tuesday, corrupt practices, especially among the police and government departments, are perceived to be on the rise in Pakistan.
The survey by Transparency International, a global non-governmental body which studies bribery and corrupt practices around the world, categorised different sectors of the Pakistani society including the police, public officials, political parties, the parliament, medical and health services, the judiciary, the education system, business and private sectors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the media, military and religious groups over their involvement in corrupt practices.
The survey with 1,000 respondents showed that the police department and public officials were the most corrupt with 86 per cent, followed by political parties with 84 per cent, the parliament with 76 per cent, medical services and judiciary with 66 per cent, the education system with 64 per cent and and the NGOs with 62 per cent.
Religious groups were found to be least corrupt with 54 per cent, followed by the military and the media.
The survey also revealed that the most Pakistanis paid bribes when they came into contact with the land services department. Police was second in taking bribes with 65 per cent, the judicial system with 36 per cent, and the education department with 16 per cent.
Results show that 54 per cent of the respondents said that corruption had increased by a large margin in the country, while 18 per cent believed that it had increased a little.
It also indicated a dangerous trend in interactions with the public sector, with almost 96 per cent of the respondents saying that personal contacts were important for getting things done in the public sector.
The results further indicate that both men and women equally (96 per cent and 95 per cent) felt that personal contacts were necessary to get things done in the public sector.
52 per cent of the respondents thought that government actions in fighting corruption were very ineffective while 17 per cent respondents considered them ineffective. Only 14 per cent of the respondents considered government actions against corruption as effective.
The survey showed 59 per cent of Pakistanis were willing to pay more to buy goods from a company that was clean and non-corrupt.
Speaking during a press conference at the Karachi Press Club, Chairman TI Pakistan Sohail Muzaffar stressed upon the government to address corruption with an iron hand as the economic condition of Pakistan was at its lowest due to the rampant corruption in the country.
Muzaffar said that according to the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of 2012, Pakistan was at number 34 out of 180 in the list of most corrupt nations.
Adviser TI Pakistan Syed Adil Gillani said that he expects the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz government to adhere to the promises made in their election manifesto of zero tolerance to corruption in Pakistan.
Corruption on the rise globally
More than half of respondents in a global corruption survey released Tuesday think that graft has worsened over the past two years, and a quarter reported having paid officials a bribe in the last 12 months.
The survey by Berlin-based non-profit group Transparency International also found that people have least trust in institutions meant to help or protect them, including police, the courts and political parties.
Respondents also believed official anti-corruption efforts had deteriorated since the 2008 start of the world financial and economic crisis.
The group's Global Corruption Barometer 2013 is the world's largest public opinion survey on corruption. It surveyed 114,000 people in 107 countries, the group said.
It found that 27 per cent of respondents had said they had paid a bribe to a member of a public service or institution in the past 12 months, revealing no improvement from previous surveys.
The group pointed to a link between poverty and graft. Eight of the 10 countries with the highest bribery rates are African, said a Transparency spokesperson.
In 36 countries, respondents viewed police as the most corrupt, while 20 countries view the judiciary as the most graft-ridden. In 51 countries political parties were seen as the most corrupt institution.
People's appraisal of government efforts to stop corruption was worse than before the financial crisis began in 2008, falling to 22 percent now from 31 per cent then.
Still, the group said that there was a growing will to fight back, with two-thirds of those who were asked to pay a bribe saying they had refused.
"Bribe paying levels remain very high worldwide, but people believe they have the power to stop corruption and the number of those willing to combat the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery is significant," said Huguette Labelle, chair of Transparency International.
She added that "governments need to make sure that there are strong, independent and well-resourced institutions to prevent and redress corruption. Too many people are harmed when these core institutions and basic services are undermined by the scourge of corruption."
COMMENTS (12)
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For a country which is focused on religion you don't seem to have a moral compass - makes you wonder whether your too focused on the words and have missed the intent/big picture.
@obaid: It is a shock that you are shocked.This is the new normal in this part of the world
We already know that. What we need is to chop hands of those who steal.
TI Pakistan, stressed upon the govt to seriously tackle the issue of rising corruption in Pakistan. Corruption has now deeply entrenched in every department, even the department of Hajj and Auqaf is no exception. Corruption started rising astronomically, from the day merit was killed in the name of quota system. Asking the govt to curb corruption is like suggesting to Bull dogs to have their canine pulled out.
FBR is at the top of looting exchequer money followed by DMG, Accounts & Audit should be at third position.
@Dr Ding Dong: I too feel humiliated that Pakistan has once again beaten India hands down.
After the Swiss bank revelations this is another humiliating defeat for India.
police should give some of bribe money to transperancy international to keep them shut up........
TI always gets it wrong. It's the army which is most corrupt but the practices of corruption are so bueatifully institutionalised that they don't appear as corruption. Which country's Naval Chief has a customised 7 series BMW? And why exactly does he need such a car in the first place? This is just one example
The revelation of Transparency International is not new.
Every one knows that all government departments are corrupt and hardly a meager percentage of government officials which are almost negligible are honest.
This is challenge for Mian Nawaz Sharif's government.
If the government will not dismiss the corrupt officials, it will mean that government itself is corrupt.
I would also like to add that people who pay bribes to government officials are also corrupt.
I have never paid a single penny as bribe to any government official. Neither the government officials have the courage to ask bribe from me, as every body knows very well that I am a frequent user of Maula Bux.
Oh dear. I thought the country was also called "The Land of the Pure".
Back to the drawing board for selecting another name.
this news comes as shock to me