According to the report, the police, the ministry of lands and the ministry for local government are most affected by corruption. The employment sector is singled out as reportedly commanding the highest bribe size this year, with bribes paid in relation to employment apparently twice as high as bribes paid for business purposes. The report places the average size of bribes paid for employment purposes at Ksh 5,962 (58 Euro) compared to Ksh 3,491 (34 Euro) for business transactions.

Effective policies are “those that give the people and the government the greatest, accessible and affordable services at the least cost in terms of fee and establishment,” said Job Ogonda, Executive Director of TI-Kenya.

Kenyans’ negative perception of corruption has reportedly not changed since last year. According to respondents, the perceived levels of corruption has actually grown worse.

To review the complete report, click here: www.tikenya.org/documents/KenyaBriberyIndex08.pdf

The TII-CMS India Corruption Study 2007 focuses this year on the poor who are more dependant on public services and therefore disproportionately affected by corruption in the public sector. “This kind of corruption denies people their entitlement to basic and need based services, many of which may be ‘free’ by law, resulting in the poor finding themselves at the losing end of the corruption chain”, said Admiral (Retd.) R H Tahiliani, Chair of Transparency International India.

By surveying 22,728 BPL households and examining 11 selected public services where corruption is seen as a barrier to access in households across the states, the study shows that many BPL families, pay bribes to gain access to basic public services. Of all the public services examined, the police were perceived as the most corrupt, with an estimated 2.5 million out of a total of 5.6 million people reportedly having paid some kind of bribe on coming into contact with the police. According to the study, land records and registration services were also noted for their “alarming levels” of corruption.

The study is the third of its kind conducted by TII and the most detailed yet, including BPL households in both rural and urban areas in all 31 states and Union Territories, as well as offering more extensive solutions to the problems. The studies were developed as a tool to sensitise the general public and concerned stakeholders to the effects of corruption and to prompt the government and civil society groups to take up locally relevant action.

TII aims to improve the lives of the poorest by acting as a catalyst and providing the knowledge and leadership necessary to fighting corruption. This will be done by conducting consultation workshops, training and capacity building with various stakeholders. TII will also use the study as a basis for advocacy programmes to raise awareness among people, to empower the poor to stand their ground and demand their right to receive access to the basic services that they are entitled to without paying bribes.

For the full report click here: www.transparencyindia.org/ICS_national_report_2007.pdf

Since June, the organisation was the target of a defamation campaign, which was supported by the government aligned local media. After consultations with the EU Police Mission, TI BiH took the decision to temporarily discontinue the work of the chapter – an unprecedented move – in light of concerns for the safety of its staff.

In a meeting with the country’s acting Chief Prosecutor, Milorad Barasin, the Principal Deputy High Representative, Raffi Gregorian, submitted a letter he had received in February detailing plans to discredit TI BiH. He also expressed support for the chapter, saying: “It is high time to stop the propaganda campaign against ‘Transparency International’,” and stressed that any allegations should be handled by an independent judiciary, in accordance with the principles of due process and impartiality. To date, the BiH prosecutor’s office has not received any official accusations or reports of malpractice concerning TI BiH staff members.

In a message of support for the chapter, TI Secretariat’s Managing Director Cobus de Swardt, said: “It is one of the few times in Transparency International’s history that a national chapter has been intimidated to the point of having to suspend operations. We are deeply concerned and saddened, and stand in solidarity with our colleagues in Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

Other commentators also come out in support of TI BiH. “The campaign against Transparency International needs to stop,” said Wanda Troszczynska-van Genderen, Western Balkans researcher at Human Rights Watch, a human rights NGO. Human Rights Watch has noted that the risk faced by those that confront corruption in the country can be deadly.

In a statement to the media, Doris Pack, the European Parliament rapporteur on Bosnia and Herzegovinia, said: "The EU recently renovated its trust in Bosnia and Herzegovina's potential as a future member of the Union, signing the SAA [Stabilisation and Association Agreements], and this also means that the political authorities will have to eliminate any obstacle to the fulfilment of the political and economic criteria. Obstruction towards the anti-corruption fighters will not be tolerated."

On 23 July, TI BiH's Executive Director Srdjan Blagovcanin was questioned as a witness by the RS Police at the request of the inspectors of the Ministry of Interior of the Republika Srpska. TI BiH views the development as a positive development, although it is unclear why the State level prosecution appointed Entity level police to carry out the investigation, rather than the SIPA (State level) investigative force that is at their disposal.

TI BH took the decision to resume its regular operations on 28 July with the support of Oli Rehn, the European Commissioner for Enlargement.

Established in 2001, TI BiH has become the leading NGO against corruption in the country. Its work, particularly through its Advocacy and Legal Advice Centre that has been contacted by every fourth Bosnian family, has empowered many citizens to fight corruption.