Corruption decreases in some countries but not in Armenia

Yerkir.am
July 28, 2006

The World Bank has recently released its third report called
‘Anticorruption in Transition 3- Who is Succeeding… And Why." The
report concludes that efforts to tackle corruption in former socialist
countries have yielded positive results but to prevent regression
sustainable reforms are needed.

Armenia’s scores in comparison with other countries

WB experts say Armenia should continue tackling bribery. According
to the report, in 2005, the 200 Armenian companies surveyed have
continued to pay bribes in the same frequency as in 2002 courts but
is still below the average for countries of the CIS. Meanwhile, the
bribery incidences have increased in tax and customs bodies as well
as in courts.

The survey showed that the businessmen in Armenia (as well as in
Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) do not consider corruption to be a serious
problem as they colleagues in other CIS countries do. The report
also indicated that while the portion of the ‘tax burden’ is lower
for the companies in Armenia, Croatia, Lithuania and Moldova, the
overall volume of the bribes paid is much bigger due to the rapid
growth of economies in those countries.

In Armenia – as well as in Georgia and Moldova – the incidences of
bribery are more frequent for registering companies and taxation
process, and in Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgizstan,
the problem of tax administration is more acute.

WB experts have concluded that in Armenia, Albania, Russia and
Azerbaijan, the bribery has significantly grown on the legislative
level where the "rules of the game" are frequently distorted to fit a
small number of the privileged. Meanwhile, in those terms a significant
improvement has been seen in Bulgaria, Lithuania, Slovakia, Ukraine,
Georgia and Slovenia.

The survey said the in Armenia the bribery in the tax administration
has risen from the previous low level to the middle.

Noteworthy is a conclusion made in the report that Armenia launched a
" Anticorruption Strategic Program" in 2003 and in 2004 a high-level
anticorruption commission was set up headed by the country’s prime
minister. But several corruption indicators have even degraded. In
contrast, a National Anticorruption Strategy was launched in Georgia
followed by Actions Plan. This plan has been applied in conjunction
with aggressive anticorruption policies and institutional reforms,
which have resulted in reduction of bribery and change in society’s
tolerance towards corruption.

By Mher Ohanian