Local Self Government Sector Integrity and Capacity Assessment
2009
themselves in a situation where they were being requested to pay a bribe than had the citizens in either the central or northern regions (Chart 12). Based on respondents’ answers, employees in construction inspection, communal inspection, municipal window services and urbanism had in the majority of cases sent requests for bribes. The aforementioned bodies were reported by citizens from northern municipalities as being the highest percentage. It is significant to the data that 44% or 106 respondents, who reported that some employees had asked them a bribe, did not want to state for which service it had been asked. This is particularly characteristic for citizens in the southern region. Chart 11:
Has a local governmental employee requested a bribe from you?
Chart 12: Has a local governmental employee requested a bribe from you (region)? 94.1
92.2
100.0 8.9
Yes
86.4
80.0 60.0 40.0 91.1
No
20.0
13.6
7.8
5.9
0.0
Centre 0.0
20.0
40.0
60.0
80.0
100.0
North
South
Yes
No
Respondents who found themselves in a situation where they were asked for a bribe, most often they accepted to respond to the request (36.9% or 89 out of 241 respondents who stated that one of the local self government employees had asked him/her for a bribe). However, regarding the way that respondents reacted to such a request, it is important to state that almost every third respondent (70 respondents) refused to answer this question (Chart 13). Observing the results given on a region by region basis, the answer structure was such that respondents living in southern municipalities refused, at a level above the national average, to give a bribe (38.6%), whilst respondents from the northern and central municipalities accepted to meet such requests (37.2% and 37.1% respectively)(Chart 14). Chart 13:
How did you react to the request to pay a bribe?
Chart 14:
40.0
37.2
How did you react to the request to pay a bribe (region)? 36.6
37.1
34.9
38.6
34.0
36.9
Accepted
27.9
30.0
34.0
Refused
28.9 24.8
20.0
10.0 29.0
Don't want to answer
0.0 0.0
10.0
20.0
30.0
40.0
Centre Agreed
North Disagreed
South
Don't want to answer
The key activity in the fight against corruption is to report the request for the bribe or any other corrupt behavior. However, despite the fact that citizens are aware of the negative effect of corruption Directorate for Anti-Corruption Initiative 17