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HIGHLIGHTS
IN DETAILS...
TI
publishes new Corruption Perceptions Index 2002 --
The TI Corruption
Perceptions Index 2002 ranks 102 countries. Seventy countries
- including many of the world's most poverty-stricken
- score less than 5 out of a clean score of 10. Corruption
is perceived to be rampant in Indonesia, Kenya, Angola,
Madagascar, Paraguay, Nigeria and Bangladesh, countries
with a score of less than 2. Countries with a score of
higher than 9, with very low levels of perceived corruption,
are predominantly rich countries, namely Finland, Denmark,
New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore and Sweden.
Some changes highlighted
in the CPI were identified by Peter Eigen. "In the
past year, we have seen setbacks to the credibility of
democratic rule. In parts of South America, the graft
and misrule of political elites have drained confidence
in the democratic structures that emerged after the end
of military rule. Argentina, where corruption is perceived
to have soared, joins Panama, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua,
Venezuela, Bolivia, Ecuador, Haiti and Paraguay with a
score of 3 or less in the CPI 2002."
While some countries in
transition from communism - most notably Slovenia, which
has a cleaner score than EU member countries Italy and
Greece - are perceived to be increasingly less corrupt,
many countries in the former Soviet Union remain ridden
with corruption. "The recent steps by President Vladimir
Putin to introduce tax reforms and new laws fighting money-laundering
are beginning to show the prospect of a lessening in perceived
corruption in Russia," explained Peter Eigen, "but
the CPI 2002 indicates that Russia has a long way to go
and remains seriously corrupt, together with Uzbekistan,
Georgia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Azerbaijan,
all of which score less than 3 out of 10."
More information
Freedom House releases
a new Nations in Transit 2002 Report --
Nations
in Transit, published annually by Freedom House, is the
only comprehensive, comparative, multidimensional study
focusing on 27 former Communist states. This year's study
reveals that the worst conditions for economic and political
freedom persist in Central Asia.
Get
Report
Croatia:
Fighting
Corruption in Croatia: Small Businesses are Corruption's
Biggest Victims --
Corruption is the biggest
obstacle to developing small and medium companies in Croatia,
says a survey conducted by Hands, the non-government organization
that undertook the study. As many as 86 percent
of those interviewed have encountered corruption either
as victims or eyewitnesses.
The survey, recently presented
to the public, was carried out from September 2000 to
November 2001. About 4,500 entrepreneurs were asked to
fill out a questionnaire, but only 108 agreed to take
part.
Marin Mostarcic, leader
of the How to Cope with Corruption Project, says that
one-half of the interviewed business people admitted to
having resorted to bribery, aware that it was illegal,
but stressed they still would report instances of corruption
if they could do it anonymously.
They admit to giving bribes
during public auctions, when closing business deals and
to obtain loans.
The survey shows that 77
percent of entrepreneurs do not trust the legal system,
citing the ambiguity of laws and enforcement as the main
reason. They say large companies, inspectors and local
authorities are the most corrupt.
Very few mentioned travel
at the expense of their company, VAT and income tax scams,
gifts to business partners or sales of stolen goods as
forms of corruption.
A recent study on corruption
in Croatian state institutions, completed in February
2002, shows that one in six Croatian citizens was directly
and clearly asked by a traffic police officer to pay in
exchange for him turning a blind eye to a traffic violation.
The incidence of such cases
has fallen eight percent compared with February 2001,
when about 25 percent of all interviewed people had a
similar experience. This year's study, however, has shown
that a number of physicians, as well as state and private
company managers, are asking for bribes.
Every tenth citizen said
he/she had to bribe a physician in order to exercise his/her
right to a specific type of treatment or medical service.
According to a survey taken
in Croatia and seven other Eastern European countries
by the Bulgarian Vitosha Research and USAID, Croatian
citizens say the most corrupt professionals are police,
physicians, municipal clerks, customs officers, judges
and lawyers.
The survey shows that people
are increasingly losing trust in politicians, and the
number of those who perceive this group as very corrupt
increased eight percent in 2002 compared to 2001.
Most people are convinced
that corruption and bribery have roots in the former socialist
system.
Another thing that the
survey shows is that there are some positive effects in
the struggle against corruption. All respondents said
instances in which they were asked to pay or advised to
bribe officials in order to obtain an otherwise free service
have become less frequent.
Source: Beta
News Agency 18 Aug 2002
Macedonia:
New
International Crisis Group report reveals "endemic
corruption" in Macedonia --
Corruption in the Republic of Macedonia is endemic, especially
among the leading authorities, the International Crisis
Group [ICG] claims in its latest report on Macedonia.
The report entitled "Macedonian open secret: How
corruption is leading the country to collapse", which
Dnevnik managed to obtain exclusively yesterday, says
that corruption can not only reduce economic progress
and "feed" organized crime, but also increases
the risk of political and social instability.
Edward Joseph, ICG project
director for Macedonia, says, "The country is actually
functioning on the principle of racketeering and the racketeers
are managing to benefit from this. The country is really
functioning as a firm in which a conspiracy among ethnic
leaders is being used to escalate interethnic tension.
This is present at all social levels. The racketeers are
using the rivalry among the ethnic leaders to reinforce
the interethnic tension."
ICG Vice President Jon
Greenwald emphasized, "If we allow corruption to
expand, it will continue to break up Macedonia's brittle
unity and will send dangerous signals throughout the western
Balkans."
The report, whose contents
will be disclosed at a news conference in Skopje today,
details several cases of suspected corruption. The ICG
states that the Macedonian Customs is one of the possible
centers of corruption... The Health Fund is also suffering
from corruption. It takes 5 per cent of the value of the
company that wins the tender on public procurements, which
are then paid to one of the ruling parties. The report
also gives the example of a minister who sold licenses
for meat and cheese imports. The board of Macedonian Telecommunications
is suspected of breaking the principles of the European
Development Bank on the distribution of dividends.
"Only an idiot or
a corrupt government official can sign a privatization
agreement like the one for the sale of Okta," the
ICG report says.
"Most of the property
of this Macedonian bank was transferred to loyal party
soldiers of a ruling party, since the Constitutional Court
ruled that a party cannot possess such property."
The ICG also mentions the case of Macedonia Tabak in the
report, saying that the company was declared bankrupt
and then another firm, Tabak 2000, took it over.
Finally, a month before
the Assembly election, the ICG appeals to every political
party to begin a common and effective fight against corruption.
"It would be a great
mistake if anyone thought that the change of government
after the September election would mean a solution to
this problem," Greenwald stressed. The ICG encourages
the government seriously to reconsider and publicize all
information on suspected cases of corruption, so that
Macedonia's citizens might form their own opinion.
The ICG also recommends
that the political parties adopt a national strategy for
the fight against corruption.
Source: Dnevnik,
Skopje, in Macedonian 14 Aug 02 pp 1, 5 and BBC Monitoring
Service 17 Aug 2002
Serbia: Education
in Serbia: How much for a future? --
Students, pupils, their parents, professors, and the Education
Ministry are all convinced that corruption permeates every
nook and cranny of the education system.
Estimates vary on how widespread
corruption actually is, but surveys show that there is
great disparity among those claiming that bribery does
exist and those willing to admit they offered or were
asked to pay cash in exchange for some services. Still,
what makes education different from the other segments
of society with which it shares a leading position on
the corruption list is its special social role and responsibility.
A survey done this year
by the University Students Association shows that education
now rests on very shaky foundations. Only 32 percent of
all students would not give money for moral reasons to
avoid losing a school year, student loan or a scholarship.
Out of the 4,000 students
who participated in the poll only 11 percent said a student
could pass an exam without resorting to bribery. Only
two percent of those enrolled in the School of Medicine
said that, compared with 27 percent at the School of Mathematics
and Natural Sciences.
A total of 31 percent of
all students believe that passing exams thanks to personal
connections is commonplace, and 57 percent of medicine
students are convinced of this. But 19 percent personally
know professors and teaching assistants who take money
in exchange for good grades. The same goes for 47 percent
of those studying medicine, and nine percent of those
studying mathematics and natural sciences. They are unwilling
to admit they were personally involved in corruption --
only three percent said they enrolled with a little outside
help, but 75 percent have heard of others being enrolled
in such manner...
The Education Ministry
is preparing a plan of action to fight corruption. However,
nobody is willing to disclose any details yet...
Source: Beta
News Agency 05 Aug 2002
Serbia:
Corruption in the Serbian Health System: How Much Does
a Healthy Baby Cost? --
"We plan to have more children," is the most
common answer that journalists receive when they attempt
to get a straight response from parents on corruption
in the fields of gynecology and obstetrics, the sector
of medicine dealing with childbirth. In a country where
more people die than are born every year, this response
obviously serves as an excuse for common people not ready
to discuss this issue openly. The majority of these young
parents will tell you off-the-record about how they were
asked to pay money for services, or how they offered money
of their own accord, to get normal treatment in maternity
hospitals. They, however, are not prepared to divulge
any details on maternity wards or doctors... According
to a recent study by the Center for Investigating Alternatives,
29 percent of the citizens in Serbia reported having been
asked for money or a favor by a physician, last year.
The results of this study also indicate that people have
understanding for people who are "forced" to
make bribes. Half of the respondents said that both sides
-- the briber and the bribed -- should be punished, while
45 percent said only the person who accepted the bribe
should be punished. With people so tolerant of bribery,
it is not surprising that the overwhelming majority would
rather reach for their wallet than make use of their rights,
in situations where their health or the health of their
loved ones is at stake...
Source:
Beta
News Agency 19 Aug 2002
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