Dar overtakes Nairobi in graft index
Friday, 21 October 2011 10:07
By Florence Mugarula
The Citizen Reporter
Dar es Salaam. Corruption has worsened in Tanzania over the last year, overtaking Kenya in bribery prevalence level, according to a new report.
According to the East Africa Bribery Index (2011) report, Tanzania has moved one place to occupy the third position from fourth last year, a call for the country to revisit its strategies in taming the vice.
Corruption has increased 3 per cent from 28.6 per cent last year to 31.6 per cent this year, a situation observers say is a wake-up call for authorities to step up anti-corruption measures.
According to a survey conducted among 12,924 respondents across Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi, the bribery prevalence level was ranked highest in Burundi at 37.9 per cent while Rwanda retained the most positive outlook at 5.1 per cent.
Kenya recorded an improved ranking falling from the third to the fourth most bribery prone country in the region.
At the institutional level, the police, the judiciary and revenue authority across the different countries were poorly rated, with all the police appearing in the list of the top ten most bribery prone institutions.
The judiciary in Uganda and Tanzania are also listed among the top ten. It also emerged that the level of reportage of bribery cases remained marginally low in the five countries.
The main reasons for this trend, researchers observed, were the fear of intimidation and low confidence in the institutions tasked with receiving graft-related complaints.
According to the report, the law enforcement sector emerged the most bribery prone sector across Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi and Uganda. The health and education sectors were also ranked adversely relative to other sectors.
Reacting to the report, Fordia executive director, Mr Buberwa Kaiza, said the findings showed how serious the problem was in the region. The findings reflected the true perception of Wananchi, he said.
The report establishes that the police and judiciary were the only Tanzanian institutions that were ranked in the top ten worst institutions in East Africa.
The Tanzania police have retained the top position in the country’s aggregate index with a score of 82.7 per cent, a slight improvement from 84.7 per cent last year as the judiciary and immigration were ranked second and third respectively. Uganda police came on top of the EA’s list with 80.8 per cent, followed by Burundi 75, Kenya 68 and Tanzania 62.1.
Assistant Superintendent of Police James Kasusula from Police headquarters said despite the poor ranking, Tanzania police has recorded a number of achievements in the region which must also be appreciated.
“The Inspector General of Police (Mr Said Mwema) is aware of the corruption scandals within the police but we also have strategies to end the problem,” he said. ASP Kasusula added that at least 200 police officers have been transferred from their stations of duty over corruption.
allegations.
The Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), acting director of research and control, Mr Yohana Madadi, said the report was a challenge to every Mwananchi and presented light to the path in the fight against corruption.
“This report imposes on us the duty to act and emphasize on areas that need our attention the most,” said Mr Madali.
However, the former cabinet Minister, Mr Ibrahim Kaduma, said bribery was a result of lack of transparency and increased bureaucracy in many African countries.
He said it would be very difficult to tame corruption in Africa unless each and every Mwananchi respects and adheres to the nation’s code of ethics.
No comments:
Post a Comment