54 pc Pakistanis against accepting bribe by public servants: survey

[LahoreEstate]

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
ISLAMABAD: More than half (54 per cent) of all Pakistanis are against public servants accepting bribe under any circumstance, 16 per cent find it acceptable under compulsion, while the remaining 30 per cent claimed to be undecided on the subject.

The data of the Gilani Research Foundation survey carried out by Gallup Pakistan also revealed that 46 per cent of the respondents believe that paying bribe to any public servant in order to get some work done is wrong and objectionable, while a significant 27 per cent consider it acceptable. The remaining 20 per cent were unsure.

A nationally representative sample of men and women from across the country was asked to comment on a scenario that they were presented with. The scenario read as follows.

“Imagine a friend of yours wants to open up a shop for which he needs to apply for a business license from a local public office. At the public office, the official looks at the application and mentions how complicated it can be to get a license. He complains about the workload and how much paperwork it takes to provide the license. Your friend, the shopkeeper, is worried that his application for a business license may be rejected. He offers a payment to the official and in return the official issues the license. We would like to know what you consider to be a form of bribery and what you consider to be acceptable in such scenarios.”

The respondents were then asked, “Was the public officials’ behaviour acceptable?” Fifty four per cent said it is not acceptable whereas 16 per cent said that it is alright for the officer to take money, 30 per cent were unsure or gave no response.

A proportionately higher percentage of urbanites (62 per cent) than ruralites (51 per cent), and men (62 per cent) than women (47 per cent) said the public official’s behaviour was not acceptable.

In a follow up question, respondents were asked, “Was your friend, the shopkeeper’s behaviour acceptable?” Forty six per cent said no, 27 per cent said it is acceptable, while 27 per cent did not have an opinion or gave no response.

A proportionately higher percentage of urbanites (29 per cent) in comparison to ruralites (26 per cent), and men (30 per cent) than women (23 per cent) said the shopkeeper’s behaviour was acceptable.

The data also showed that comparatively more adults of 51+ years of age expressed that such behaviour was tolerable. To find out what the public thought of such a payment made by the shopkeeper to the public official, the respondents were asked, “Was the payment made by the shopkeeper a bribe?” Sixty six per cent said the payment made is a bribe while nine per cent said that it is not, 25 per cent did not know or gave no response.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=194774