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The
following section is mainly consisted of part, full or summaries
of articles taken from newspapers.
La section suivante est essentiellement constituée d'exraits,
de la totalité ou de résumés d'articles
issues de journaux .
12
/ 19 / 2002 IRIN
The
Article: "Corruption index highlights perceptions"
A
report by Transparency International Zambia has highlighted public
perceptions about corruption in the country, but its veracity
has been questioned.
Transparency
International Zambia executive director Christine Munalula told
IRIN: "We wanted the perceptions of the general public on
the prevalence of corruption in institutions they have daily dealings
with: the police, schools, local courts, passport office etc.
"Our
government has committed itself to fighting corruption, we wanted
to use it [the survey] to monitor whether corruption is [perceived
to be] getting better or worse."
Hospitals
and clinics, the Lusaka city council, Zambia Revenue Authority
and the customs office were all perceived to have a high level
of corruption. The public also did not believe that corruption
levels had lessened, she added.
French
news agency AFP reported that Zambian police had reacted sharply
to the report, dismissing it as biased.
"They
[Transparency] already formed that opinion even before the survey
was commissioned," AFP quoted police spokeswoman Brenda Muntemba
as saying.
Munalula,
however, has defended the report. "It gives an indication
to the relevant departments as to how the public perceives them
so they can respond and develop strategies to change that perception.
"The
police have reacted very strongly over being the ones identified
as most corrupt but the purpose [of the survey] was not to embarrass
them but to give them an indication of how the community perceives
them. If the population they are serving sees them as corrupt
they should investigate strategies of changing that perception,"
she noted.
Financial
institutions such as commercial banks, "ranked very low"
in the survey, Munalula added.
"Older
and less educated people are, in most cases, the most vulnerable
victims of corruption," the report said. While petty corruption
was most commonly manifested in "getting school places, pension
payments ... and at [police] roadblocks".
The
report noted also that "in general, most respondents believe
individuals enter politics not to serve the country but to fulfil
their own personal agendas, such as self-enrichment". >>>>>
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