NASSAU, BAHAMAS— Some 90% of respondents in the Bahamas who took part in a corruption survey said they thought public officials “very frequently” or “frequently” influenced the hiring of friends or relatives in the public sector.
The findings were highlighted in the World Justice Project report Corruption in the Caribbean 2022 report.
The World Justice Project is an independent, multi-disciplinary nonprofit whose stated goal is to “advance the rule of law around the world” and which focuses on 14 nations, including the Bahamas, in its recent report. Sampling, fieldwork and data processing in the Bahamas was carried out by DMR Insights Limited, based in Saint Lucia. Interviews were conducted face-to-face between June and August 2022, with respondents from 500 households.
The report found that 89% of respondents thought public officials “very frequently” or “frequently” influenced the awarding of government contracts to friends or relatives, while 62% believed that public officials Frequently asked for money or gifts for public services that should have been provided free of charge.
The report also revealed that 92% of respondents believed that elected officials in the Bahamas frequently influence the career advancement of their friends or relatives based on patronage rather than merit and 91% believed that elected officials elected officials and politicians “very frequently” or have “frequently” influenced the awarding of contracts to companies and people close to them.
According to the report, 83% of Bahamians surveyed believe that political parties are involved in corrupt practices. The report also found that 49% of respondents had the same view of officers working in national government, with 48% of respondents having the same view of officers working in local government.
Forty-eight percent of respondents also believed that the news media were involved in corrupt practices, while 33 percent shared this view of judges and magistrates.
Forty-six percent of respondents also believed that members of the armed forces engaged in corrupt practices.
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