Distrust of business has risen in the wake of the financial crisis and about half those surveyed around the world see the private sector as corrupt, watchdog Transparency International (TI) said yesteday.
A survey by the Berlin-based group showed that 53 percent of respondents believed the private sector to be corrupt, up from 45 percent in 2004.
In roughly a fifth of the countries and territories surveyed, including financial hubs such as Hong Kong, Luxembourg and Switzerland, the private sector was seen as the most corrupt institution.
“These results show a public sobered by a financial crisis precipitated by weak regulations and a lack of corporate accountability,” said TI chair Huguette Labelle.
More than half the respondents in TI’s 2009 Global Corruption Barometer, which surveyed more than 73,000 people from 69 countries and territories, believed companies used bribes to influence public policy.
Private sector bribery of policymakers was seen as a particularly serious problem in newly independent states such as Georgia and Armenia. It was also seen as a major issue in North America.
“But we also see that the public is willing to actively support clean business,” Labelle said. “What is needed now is bold actions by companies ... to report more transparently on finances and interactions with government.”
Half the respondents said they were willing to pay a premium to buy from companies free of corruption.
Political parties, however, are still seen as the institution most tainted by corruption, closely followed by the civil service.
More than one in 10 respondents said they had paid a bribe in the past year, with the police seen as pocketing the most illegal money, Transparency International said.
Low-income households were the most likely to face demands for bribes, compounding their difficulties as jobs and incomes dwindle in the economic downturn, it said.
Cameroon, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Uganda were the most affected countries, with more than 50 percent of their respondents saying they had paid a bribe in the past year.
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