THE GUARDIAN – One in four people in the world paid a bribe in dealing with public services and institutions in the past 12 months, according to a global corruption survey.
In the world’s largest assessment of public opinion on the subject, Transparency International found that political parties are considered the most corrupt institutions, followed by the police, the judiciary, parliament and public officials. Religious institutions are seen as the least corrupt.
Transparency International says its annual survey shows a crisis of trust in politics and real concern about the capacity of institutions responsible for bringing criminals to justice.
“It is the actors that are supposed to be running countries and upholding the rule of law that are seen as the most corrupt, judged to be abusing their positions of power and acting in their own interests rather than for citizens they are there to represent and serve,” said the global corruption barometer, a survey of 114,000 people in 107 countries.
Politicians could lead by example by publishing asset declarations for themselves and their immediate family, suggested Transparency International. Political parties and individual candidates should disclose where they get their money from to make clear who funds them and reveal potential conflicts of interest. (more)
