Afghans pay $2.5bn in bribes
Corruption not security is the biggest concern in Afghanistan, according to a new UN report
While violence and poverty are widely thought to be the major challenges confronting Afghanistan, nearly 60 per cent of the population said corruption is their biggest concern, according to a new United Nations report, which states that Afghans paid $2.5 billion in bribes over the past 12 months.
"The Afghans say that it is impossible to obtain a public service without paying a bribe," says Antonio Maria Costa, the Executive Director of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, which published the report, Corruption in Afghanistan: Bribery as Reported by Victims.
The report is based on interviews with 7,600 people in 12 provincial capitals and over 1,600 villages on their experiences between autumn 2008 and autumn 2009.
