10 Jul 2013

TI says corruption in Solomons now systemic

6:33 pm on 10 July 2013

The Solomon Islands chapter of Transparency International says corruption has become systemic in the country.

Transparency has just released its latest Global Corruption Barometer which measures corruption by surveying people around the world.

500 were surveyed in Solomon Islands and most said that corruption had got worse in the past two years.

One in three indicated that public servants had sought a bribe in exchange for a service.

Transparency Solomon Islands' spokesperson Daniel Fenua says the survey shows that corruption is becoming commonplace.

"From our understanding it is in the form of cash. If you look at the figures, 44 percent of people are saying that they are paying a bribe to speed up services, so that means they are paying the bribe in the form of cash."

Daniel Fenua says the government has to tighten legislation, including the Leadership Code.