Corruption, the truth of life

PanARMENIAN.Net - According to three surveys conducted in Armenia from 2008 to 2010 by Caucasus Research Resource Centers-Armenia (CRRC) jointly with the USAID Mobilizing Action Against Corruption (MAAC), 82% of the respondents believe that corruption is a serious problem, while 65% of them consider it to be a normal phenomenon. Besides, 31% of respondents said that the lack of another way for problems resolution forces people to pay bribes. Another 28% of Armenian respondents think that bribes speed up problems resolution, while 13% of them said that bribes are paid to avoid punishment.

Education, healthcare, police, juridical and electoral systems as well as tax service are considered to be most corrupt.

According to Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center (Transparency International Armenia), in the opinion of half of Armenian respondents, the level of corruption in Armenia increased, and only 15% of them think that it had decreased in the past three years.

The results of the survey conducted in Armenia from June 10 to 20, 2010 show the most corrupt area in Armenia to be the education system, followed by police and judiciary. In addition, 22% of Armenian respondents paid bribes within the 12-month period, preceding the survey. It is worth mentioning that his is a sharp decline compared to 2009 when the figure was 43%.

The Armenian government’s anti-corruption measures were considered as ineffective by 53% of respondents, and as effective – only 27%. According to 27% of respondents, it was neither effective, nor ineffective. In this aspect, this is a slight setback, as in 2009 48% of respondents considered the Armenian government’s actions as ineffective, and 38% - as effective.

Struggle against corruption should be systematic and covering all fields. However, this is impossible in a country where impunity reigns.