Reveals lastest Afrobarometer survey
By Omar Bah
The latest Afrobarometer corruption perception index issued last week has revealed that 77 percent of Gambians who participated in the survey believed the government is not doing enough to fight corruption. According to the report, the majority of Gambians say corruption in the country has increased during the past year and the government is doing a poor job of fighting it.
The Gambia is ranked 110 least corrupt nation out of 180 countries, only better than 70 countries, gauged by Transparency International in a 2022 report released last month. The country also scored just 34 points out of 100 on the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index.
Afrobarometer is a pan-African, nonpartisan survey research network that provides reliable data on African experiences and evaluations of democracy, governance, and quality of life.
During the survey, the Afrobarometer team in The Gambia, led by the Center for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies (CepRass), interviewed 1,200 adult citizens between 30 August and 19 September 2022.
“More than three-fourths (77%) of Gambians say the overall level of corruption in the country has increased during the past year, more than twice the proportion recorded in 2018 (32%),” the latest survey further revealed.
According to the report, public perceptions of corruption in key public institutions have also increased compared to 2018, and a majority of Gambians say they risk retaliation should they speak out on corruption.
Who is corrupt?
According to the report, 51 percent of respondents said the office of the president is “very corrupt, police 48 percent, National Assembly members 37 percent, judges and magistrates’ 40 percent, civil servants’ 36 percent, local government councils’ 34 percent, business executives’ 24 percent, traditional leaders’ 24 percent, non-governmental organisations 17 percent and religious leaders’ 14 percent.”
