The rate of corruption in Slovakia has decreased, but branched into some different fields, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index/CPI) for 2007, which Transparency International Slovensko (TIS) made public on September 26.
TIS president Emília Sičáková-Beblavá said that people viewed the judiciary, health care system, police and local administration as hubs of corruption.
"According to the survey, which the FOCUS agency carried out for TIS, corruption is among Slovakia's most serious problems. The survey also revealed that every fourth citizen has bribed someone,” Sičáková-Beblavá said.
The CPI monitors the situation in 180 countries, using a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 being the highest and 10 the lowest. Slovakia had 4.9 in 2007, putting it 49th, which was worse than both Hungary and the Czech Republic. TIS is also critical of the Government’s neglect in battling corruption and recommends that a high-quality anti-corruption program be prepared. However, no such document has been created so far. Slovak Justice Minister Štefan Harabin's doubt about the importance of Slovakia's Special (anti-corruption and organized crime) Court was also viewed negatively. In addition, TIS criticized the fact that no recordings have been made of Government sessions.
This is the tenth year the CPI has been measured in Slovakia. In 1998, it reached 3.9, while in 1999 it was 3.7. The figure in 2000 was 3.5. Within the EU, only Italy and Greece ranked as more corrupt than the union’s newcomers. From the view of how widespread corruption is, Slovenia and Estonia have the best results among the EU newcomers. Iraq, Myanmar and Somalia are the worst off in this ranking. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
