Coalition 2000 Makes Public A New Survey About Corruption BTA - 2000/2/11
Policemen topped the corruption scale, leaving doctors and
customs officers a close second and third, a survey conducted by
the Coalition 2000 NGO showed in January.
Answering the question, "If you were asked for something to
have a problem of yours solved in the past year, it was by a...",
23.4 per cent of 1,144 respondents aged 18 or over said it was a
policeman. Doctors and customs officers figured respectively in
20 per cent and 19.8 per cent of the answers. Further down the
scale came judiciary officials, businessmen and municipal office
workers. Parliamentarians trail the table with 1.9 per cent.
There have been some positive developments in the Customs,
although customs officers still project a negative image, said
Alexander Stoyanov, Director of Vitosha Research. Corruption is
identified as the fourth most important problem in Bulgaria after
unemployment, low incomes and poverty. In September 1999 poverty
was considered a less important problem. The desire to get rich
quickly, low wages and imperfect legislation are the main factors
for the spread of corruption, respondents said. On the whole,
the corruption situation is unchanged or slightly better,
Stoyanov commented. The downward trend in the tolerance for, and
susceptibility to, corruption has continued for several months
now. The susceptibility to corruption index dropped from 4.9 per
cent in June 1998 to 3.2 per cent in April 1999 and 2.9 per cent
in January 2000. However, Bulgarians assess corruption as
widespread, which is not true but makes them offer bribes, said
Stoyanov. Public opinion ranks customs officers as the most
corrupt officials (77 per cent of respondents), followed by
lawyers, the tax authorities and policemen. Teachers and
journalists are the least corrupt. Corruption is rife in the
Customs, the Privatization Agency and the tax authorities, while
the Presidency is the least corrupt institution, according to
most people. The index of the pressure by civil servants
demanding bribes remains stable. Nearly half of respondents said
they did not give bribes to public servants over the past year.
The level of involvement of the public in corruption activities
between June 1998 and January 2000 remained more or less
unchanged. People say bribes remain an effective means of
solving one's problems. On the whole, they are sceptical about
the ability of the public to cope with corruption, which is the
most persistent mindset.