Armenia among countries with worst corruption problems: report

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine are seen as having the most severecorruption problems, according to a new report by Transparency International.

The report is based on answers of 60.000 respondents from 42 European and Central Asian country.

24% of the Armenian respondents gave a positive answer as to whether they or any member of their household have made an unofficial payment or gift when using certain services over the past 12 months.

The services include the road police, public agencies issuing official documents, the civil courts, public education (primary or secondary), public education (vocation), public medical care, public agencies in charge of unemployment benefits or any other public agencies in charge of other social security benefits.

A key way for citizens to help stop corruption is by stepping forward and speaking out when they see or experience corruption in their lives. Disclosures by whistleblowers and citizens are one of the most effective ways to uncover and address corruption and other malpractice.

Reporting rates are particularly low in Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus, where fewer than one in 10 of those who had paid a bribe subsequently reported it. TI decided to explore the barriers that prevent more people from coming forward to report corruption, seeking to help devise strategies to overcome them.

Citizens in France and Portugal are the most likely to think that it is socially acceptable to report a case of corruption (74 per cent and 78 per cent respectively), with around three quarters or more agreeing; while in Montenegro, Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary, Croatia, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Armenia, Russia and Bosnia & Herzegovina people are far less likely to agree (from 10 to 17 per cent), the report says.