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Thu, Feb 09 2012
Survey: One in four Bulgarians had to offer a bribe in 2009
Rouslan Stefanov
Photo: Georgi Kozhouharov
Photo: Julia Lazarova
One in four Bulgarians had to offer a bribe in order to get a service performed by state administration this year, a survey conducted by the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) think-tank and polling agency Vitosha Research said.
The 12th annual survey, entitled System for Monitoring of Corruption, was presented on December 7 2009. A total of 25.8 per cent of Bulgarians have offered a bribe in January-October 2009, the survey said.
The rate is lower than the 31.1 per cent recorded in January 2007, but above the 21.5 per cent recorded in August 2008. The reason for the sharp decline after 2007 was Bulgaria's membership of the European Union, Dnevnik quoted CSD's Rouslan Stefanov as saying.
According to CSD, corruption has been so widespread that it has become commonplace for Bulgarians.
What remained as the biggest challenge for the country's anti-corruption efforts in 2009 was the lack of any sanctions against top-level corruption activities in the executive branch of power.
There was political will for dealing with the problem, but it took more than political declarations and legal changes to deal with corruption. What had to be achieved was a mechanism for the application of the existing anti-corruption regulations, CSD said.
Results will come once Bulgaria started applying the five main steps of its anti-corruption policy. These were: Undertaking new initiatives in limiting corruption and having a centralised decision-making structure; adequate study of the reasons for corruption practices; mobilising the public's resources in support of anti-corruption measures; imposing real sanctions in the process of fighting corruption; and continuity of anti-corruption efforts.
The year 2010 would be crucial for Bulgaria's anti-corruption efforts, Stefanov said, as the European Commission is expected to publish its next interim report on Bulgaria's judiciary and fight against organised crime in February.
This report would be a technical one, but a report in June would give the EC's real assessment of Bulgaria and its fight against corruption and organised crime.
The 12th annual survey, entitled System for Monitoring of Corruption, was presented on December 7 2009. A total of 25.8 per cent of Bulgarians have offered a bribe in January-October 2009, the survey said.
The rate is lower than the 31.1 per cent recorded in January 2007, but above the 21.5 per cent recorded in August 2008. The reason for the sharp decline after 2007 was Bulgaria's membership of the European Union, Dnevnik quoted CSD's Rouslan Stefanov as saying.
According to CSD, corruption has been so widespread that it has become commonplace for Bulgarians.
What remained as the biggest challenge for the country's anti-corruption efforts in 2009 was the lack of any sanctions against top-level corruption activities in the executive branch of power.
There was political will for dealing with the problem, but it took more than political declarations and legal changes to deal with corruption. What had to be achieved was a mechanism for the application of the existing anti-corruption regulations, CSD said.
Results will come once Bulgaria started applying the five main steps of its anti-corruption policy. These were: Undertaking new initiatives in limiting corruption and having a centralised decision-making structure; adequate study of the reasons for corruption practices; mobilising the public's resources in support of anti-corruption measures; imposing real sanctions in the process of fighting corruption; and continuity of anti-corruption efforts.
The year 2010 would be crucial for Bulgaria's anti-corruption efforts, Stefanov said, as the European Commission is expected to publish its next interim report on Bulgaria's judiciary and fight against organised crime in February.
This report would be a technical one, but a report in June would give the EC's real assessment of Bulgaria and its fight against corruption and organised crime.
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The Sofia Echo
Here in Holland people that work for the government get paid well, but that does not stop them from stealing from the state. If one steals from the state they steal of the people which is not acceptable. I do not know how politicians in Bulgaria get paid, but I know that if someone is elected in Holland and they are in the government for more than 24 hours and they get kicked out they keep their salary for the remaining time of the 4 years and a complete pension. The pension only is already worth a few million Euro’s. [...]
Read the full comment This is legal theft. This is even worse than a little levas here and there in Bulgaria.
Lol,
Pat, I am just attempting to introduce some contex.
I think the idea of paying for preferential treatment is very human and if you don't have established legal ways of doing it, people will do what ever it takes.
This is not a story about some Bulgarians time spent in the USA. It is a story about coruption in BG. Don't try to distract us with your tales of woe in the USA.
The rest of the story: The other 75% needed no governmental services during this time.
"Hey Valeri
What is your views on this subject? This is the very reason why people are sceptical of the judicial system with in Bulgaria."
Oh, they should be skeptical about much in BG, as well as in most other countries. We have problems for sure. The stabber's case though has nothing to do with corruption. It's a case of a man with a violent past, ending (hopefully) his life of crime in BG as opposed to any other place, really and it's a blessing for some poor Australian white trash walking around unsuspectingly. [...]
Read the full comment He would've killed down under eventually...
As to bribing:
I lived in the States for many years and have made a point of observing how they function in that regard - not focusing on the US undue, but I've lived longer there than in any other place besides BG.
Bribing is legal in many instances, like contributing to schools can affect your child's life in it. Giving to a fund for families of cops killed on duty, comes with a license plate frame that would get you off from 99% of the traffic violations.
Also hiring lawyers to deal with administrations for you, of any type. It costs more but the effect is the same - you pay and you get your permits/business done faster and ahead of some poor slob who'd be waiting forever, never mind that the same administration is payed for by all in form of taxes...
There's protection money for any one in business in the form of lawyer retainer fees of even in house legal departments. Not to mention crazy liability insurances. It's just more organized, legal and expensive - the essence isn't that much different.
Under the Cover is correct - many of those "bribes" in BG are quite petty.
So, 75% of Bulgarians went a whole year without having to offer a bribe? Sounds pretty good to me.
Only when those arrested and found guilty of corruption are given prison sentences will things start to change. Fines are simply not enough of a detterent.
The length of the sentence is not the effective part. It is the processing through the system, the loss of even the smallest freedom of choice, and the public loss of face that achieves the desired results.
I am so fed up with reading about arrests (some many years ago), with no end trial or even public comment.
Under the covers--The first sentence of this article reads "One in four Bulgarians had to offer a bribe in order to get a service performed by the state administration". Note the part about getting a "service performed by the state administration". I don't think this includes a "thank you" to your doctor. Many of us have encountered the need to entice the administration to accomplish some task that they are required to do.
It is all very well to say that 25% of Bulgarians had 'to offer a bribes' but what these 'bribes' amount to are often trivialities likes a bottle of whiskey for a doctor as a 'thank you' for fast treatment.
Given so many public servants are so badly paid it is hardly surprising such things go on.
In the US very few people pay bribes but they also pay for massively expensive health insurance (which many cannot even afford).
Similarly in the UK there is no 'bribing' but [...]
Read the full comment taxes are very considerably higher than in the Bulgaria.
Surveys needs to be made of bribing - such as payments to change the zoning of land from agricultural to building - but inflating the actual extent of bribery does not help identifying the areas where it seriously undermines governmental processes.
Five years ago we bought a property in Bulgaria and spend the summer months in the country. We believe that many people like us have benefited the villages we have moved to and given work to locals. The thing that has upset us most of all (and a lot of our English friends too) is the way that we have been ripped off. As soon as people know we are from uk they automatically think we are very rich and will inflate the price to ridiculous levels. We cannot understand why they don't see that keeping a reasonable price would [...]
Read the full comment mean that they would get more work. This problem has made a lot of people sell up and go back home to uk. It's a pity - because Bulgaria is a beautiful country and so are it's people, It's just the greedy minority who spoil it for everyone.
Hey Valeri
What is your views on this subject? This is the very reason why people are sceptical of the judicial system with in Bulgaria.