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BERLIN, June 3: Distrust of business has risen in the wake of the financial crisis and about half those surveyed around the world see the private sector as corrupt, watchdog Transparency International said on Wednesday.

A survey by the Berlin-based group showed that 53 per cent of respondents believed the private sector to be corrupt, up from 45 per cent in 2004.

In roughly a fifth of the countries and territories surveyed, including financial hubs such as Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Switzerland, the private sector is seen as the most corrupt institution.

“These results show a public sobered by a financial crisis precipitated by weak regulations and a lack of corporate accountability,” said TI chairperson Huguette Labelle.

More than half the respondents in TI’s 2009 Global Corruption Barometer, which surveyed over 73,000 people from 69 countries and territories, believe companies use bribes to influence public policy.

Private sector bribery of policy-makers is seen as a particularly serious problem in newly independent states such as Georgia and Armenia, but it is also seen as a major issue in North America.

“But we also see that the public is willing to actively support clean business,” said Labelle. “What is needed now is bold actions by companies... to report more transparently on finances and interactions with government.”

Half the respondents said they were willing to pay a premium to buy from companies free of corruption.

Political parties, however, are still seen as the institution most tainted by corruption, closely followed by the civil service.

More than one in 10 respondents said they had paid a bribe in the past year, with the police seen as pocketing the most illegal money, the Transparency International said.

Low-income households were the most likely to face demands for bribes, compounding their difficulties as jobs and incomes dwindled in the economic downturn, it said.

“As economic growth shifts into reverse, poor households are increasingly forced to make impossible choices in allocating scarce resources,” said Labelle. “Do parents pay a bribe so that a sick child can see the doctor or do they buy food for their family?”

Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Uganda were the most affected countries, with more than 50 per cent of their respondents saying they had paid a bribe in the past year.

Most of those polled felt that existing channels for reporting on corruption were ineffective, and fewer than one in four who paid a bribe in the past year lodged a formal complaint.—Reuters

Our Reporter in Rawalpindi adds: The Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) said resistance towards anti-corruption measures from public servants has pushed Pakistan to its position as one of the most corrupt countries perceived to be a breeding ground of terrorists.

TIP chairman Syed Adil Gillani said that corruption in spending the $11 billion aid given by the United States from 2002 to 2007 for fighting terrorism had not only led to failure of the effort, but caused suicide bombings, which had never occurred in the country earlier.

KARACHI: Pakistani people perceive that public officials and civil servants are the most corrupt in the country, forcing a significant number of those polled to pay bribes to get their work done in the past 12 months, a global survey revealed on Wednesday.

According to the results of the 2009 Global Corruption Barometer of Transparency International (TI), 40 per cent of Pakistanis considered civil servants as corrupt. And it seems they have little place to go, as the bureaucracy is trailed by Parliament and Judiciary - perceived corrupt by 28 per cent of respondents cumulatively.

Frustrated naturally by such malpractices, up to 18 per cent of Pakistani respondents said they had paid a bribe in the last 12 months, the survey showed. And it looks like the trend is likely to grow, as 51 per cent of Pakistanis polled said they thought government's action in fight against corruption was "ineffective". Elsewhere in the world, distrust on businesses rose in the wake of the financial crisis and about half those surveyed around the world see the private sector as corrupt, the watchdog said.

The survey by Berlin-based group showed that 53 per cent of respondents believe the private sector to be corrupt, up from 45 per cent in 2004. "These results show a public sobered by a financial crisis precipitated by weak regulations and a lack of corporate accountability," said TI Chairperson Huguette Labelle. More than half the respondents in TI's 2009 Global Corruption Barometer, which surveyed over 73,000 people from 69 countries and territories, also believe companies use bribes as sweeteners to influence public policy. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression has prompted calls to increase transparency in business and financial services.

KARACHI (June 04 2009): The private sector uses bribes to influence public policy, laws and regulations, believe over half of those polled for 2009 Global Corruption Barometer. The Barometer, a global public opinion survey released on Wednesday by Transparency International (TI), also found that half of respondents expressed a willingness to pay a premium to buy from corruption-free companies.

"These results show a public sobered by a financial crisis precipitated by weak regulations and a lack of corporate accountability," said TI Chair Huguette Labelle. "But we also see that the public is willing to actively support clean business. What is needed now is bold action by companies to continue strengthening their policies and practices, and to report more transparently or finances and interactions with government."

The Barometer, with more than 73,000 respondents drawn from 69 countries and territories around the world, also found the poor to be disproportionately burdened by bribe demands. And it found that government efforts to combat corruption are generally perceived as ineffective, in addition to high levels of perceived corruption in political parties, parliaments and the civil service.

TI Pakistan Chairman Syed Adil Gilani said that the resistance towards anti-corruption measures from the public servant had pushed Pakistan to its present position as one of the most corrupt country and also perceived to be a breeding ground of terrorists.

Corruption in spending the 11 billion dollars aid given by US from 2002 to 2007 for fighting terrorism, has not only failed, but in fact it has caused suicide bombing, which has never occurred before 2002.

Political parties and the civil service are perceived on average to be the most corrupt sectors around the world Fieldwork was conducted between October 2008 and March 2009. As a public opinion survey, the Barometer reflects the views of a representative sample of each country's population aged 16 and over. In each country, the polling method was based on local conditions. Methods included face to face, telephone and online interviews.

Government anti-corruption efforts seen as ineffective Most of those polled also felt that existing channels for making corruption-related complaints were ineffective. Fewer than one in four who paid a bribe in the past year lodged a formal complaint, demonstrating serious deficits in the perceived legitimacy and effectiveness of channels for reporting and addressing bribery.

"Governments must listen closely to what ordinary people are reporting or face the consequences of an increasingly alienated and distrustful citizenry, said Labelle. Echoing the findings of past editions of the 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 parities, perceived by 63 and 60 percent of respondents respectively as being corrupt. The media, while not perceived as clean, scored best with just over 40 percent of respondents labelling the sector as corrupt and with only six percent seeing it as the single most corrupt domestic institution. Public demand for greater integrity in government and business.

The tragically familiar stories of this year's Barometer are the negative perceptions of public institutions and government anti-corruption efforts, and low-income households saddled with petty bribe payments for ostensibly free services. New this year was the increasingly critical view of the private sector and a public motivated to pay a premium for clean business. The 2009 Barometer makes clear that both the private and public sectors have a great deal of work to do to win back the public trust.-PR