Besides poverty, unemployment and the political crisis, the population started to mention also corruption among the main problems faced in the country. Almost 80% of the respondents of the sociological survey “Corruption in the local public administration” said this phenomenon is a major and pressing problem. The results of the survey commissioned by “Contact Center” to the Center for Sociological Investigations and Marketing CBS-AXA were presented in a news conference at IPN on April 20, IPN reports.

Asked how they would define corruption, over 30% of those polled said this is ‘money given to someone unjustly’. Presenting the results, Vasile Cantarji, of CBS-AXA, said that most of the perceptions of corruption correlate with the offering of money in exchange for services, including in justice and medicine, for solving problems or for promoting someone to a post.

According to Vasile Cantarji, it is worrisome that about ¾ of the population perceive corruption as a traditional phenomenon in society, while the presents given to doctors for consultations are not regarded as acts of corruption. This is a relic of the Soviet past. Over 57% of those polled consider the government pretends to be fighting corruption. The causes for the extension of corruption are diverse. But most of the respondents said the corrupt persons are not held accountable, the justice sector is not reformed and corruption persists in state institutions.

Most of those surveyed believe corruption is present in the institutions of the central administration and at the local level. The fact that most of the respondents consider that both those who give bribe and those who take it are to blame for the frequency of the acts of corruption is a positive thing, stated Vasile Cantarji.

As regards confidence in institutions, over 40% of the respondents said they have confidence in the mayor’s office, over 36% trust the education institutions, while about 35% - the health facilities. The justice sector, Parliament and Government are the least trusted. However, some of the institutions that do not enjoy confidence are considered responsible for the fight against corruption.

Vasile Cantarji also said that 20% of those questioned consider corruption cannot be combated and this is worrisome. 31% of the respondents said corruption will always exist, but can be reduced, while another 31% believe that this phenomenon can be substantially reduced. Only 11% consider corruption can be fully rooted out.

The survey was conducted between January 28 and February 4 in the districts of Telenesti, Calarasi, Rezina, Criuleni, Cimislia and in Balti municipality. There were held 601 interviews. The margin of sampling error is 4%. The poll was carried out within the project “Transparency and accountability of local authorities through CSO - mass media joint activities” that is implemented by the National Assistance and Information Center for NGO in Moldova “Contact”.