Corruption in South Asia- press coverage 1

Police top corrupt, lower courts next
TIB report reveals

The Daily Star, 18 December 2002

The police department is the most corrupt public institution in the country, followed by the lower judiciary, according to a household survey report released by the Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB) yesterday.

The survey conducted among 3,030 Bangladeshis between November 2001 and May 2002 found the respondents having to bribe the police Tk 2,066 crore during the survey period. Also, the respondents had to pay Tk 1,135 crore in bribes to lower court employees.

The report titled "Corruption in South Asia: Insights and Benchmarks from Citizens Feedback" highlighted the high level of corruption encountered by citizens attempting to access seven basic public services - healthcare, education, police, judiciary, land administration, taxation and power.

The survey was conducted in five South Asian countries - Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Commissioned by the national chapters of the TI, the surveys used same methodology to assess service delivery and corruption.

The survey report revealed that 84 per cent of respondents in Bangladesh who interacted with the police during the past year reported corruption. And 75 per cent reported paying bribe while seeking services in the lower judiciary.

The TIB report identifies the land administration as the third most corrupt public service institution in Bangladesh where 73 per cent respondents reported corrupt practices.

The percentages of respondents who encountered corruption in healthcare, education and taxation services are 55.53 per cent, 39.73 per cent, 32 per cent and 19.25 per cent respectively.
In land administration, officials and employees extracted Tk 1,515 crore in bribes from the respondents during the said period, the survey report said.

In healthcare, more than half the users of public hospitals said that they had to pay bribe to get service.
In education, the TI report mentioned that 87 per cent respondents encountered corruption by the teachers while 40 per cent students were subjected to different kinds of irregularities in the education department.

The TI report said bribe is a heavy financial burden on South Asian households.

Staff Correspondent

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