MEMBERS of Parliament (MP) have been allegedly viewed as the most corrupt institution or group in the Pacific.
This was highlighted on Tuesday at the launch of the Global Corruption Barometer-Pacific 2021 report at SIBC Leaf Hut in Honiara.
The Vice Chairman of Transparency Solomon Islands (TSI) Rodney Kingmele said respondents in six regional countries viewed Members of Parliament as the most corrupt institution or group in their country.
“Respondents in six countries out of the ten countries viewed Members of Parliament as the most corrupt institution or group in their country.“
During the survey more than 50-percent of the respondents in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and Solomon Islands alleged all MPs are corrupt.
“This perception was highest amongst respondents in PNG and Solomon Islands, where 55% of respondents thought that most or all parliamentarians are corrupt,” Mr Kingmele said.
He added the next group perceived by the highest number of respondents (53%) to have most or all of their members engaged in corruption are companies involved in the extraction of natural resources.
“On the question of “Is the government doing a good or bad job of fighting Corruption” 46% of respondents thought that government was doing a good job of fighting corruption compared to 52% who thought government was not doing a good job in that fight.
“On the question of “Does the government take my views into account”, 58% of respondents answered that the government never or rarely took their views into account.
“About 31% stated that the government took their views into account occasionally, whilst only 9% said that the government frequently or very frequently took their views into consideration,” Kingmele said.
Therefore, he said it comes as no surprise that the vast majority of people interviewed in the region and in Solomon Islands believed that corruption is a problem both within government and in the business sector.
Also added businesses are viewed as a major part of the problem, where government contracts have become a corruption hotspot.
“More than half of Solomon Islands respondents think that most or all of the people involved in extractive industries such as logging and mining are corrupt.
“The three countries with the highest perception of corruption in the executive also top the list when it comes to perception of corruption within the legislative branch of government.
“More than half of the respondents in Kiribati, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands think that most or all members of their respective parliaments are involved in corruption,” Kingmele said.
By ESTHER NURIA
Newsroom, Honiara
