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Corruption is endemic in Haiti’s public institutions

Transparency International’s national chapter-in-formation, La Fondation héritage pour Haïti, publishes a survey on the state of corruption

Corruption is endemic in Haiti's public institutions, according to the first major report on corruption in the country, published this week by Transparency International's national chapter-in-formation in Haiti, La Fondation héritage pour Haïti (LFHH). The new survey, The State of Corruption in Haiti (2003), provides an overview of corruption in the country and presents the results of two polls conducted by LFHH in November and December 2003.

The survey was carried out by the polling agency Francis Gratia, Consultant & Associés with 315 heads of household in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area (including the six municipalities of Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Carrefour, Pétion-Ville, Cité Soleil, and Tabarre); in four surrounding semi-rural communities (Gressier, Kenscoff, Crois-des-Bouquets and Arcahaie); and among 40 private businesses. The survey was developed with the technical assistance of the Transparency International Secretariat and was modeled on "integrity surveys" already carried out by TI chapters in Madagascar, Morocco and Senegal. The survey questionnaires were developed in French and in Creole.

The objective of the survey was to diagnose the nature of the problem of corruption in Haiti and to define strategies adapted to the country's legislative, administrative, political and cultural context. The survey will serve to:

  • Collect data (baseline indicators) that will serve to fine-tune anti-corruption strategies and to measure the impact of initiatives;
  • Describe the nature, the extent and the frequency of corrupt practices in the country and acquire accurate and objective facts;
  • Ascertain the motivations, causes and manifestations of corruption, amongst both corrupt and corruptor, as well as the levels of society's tolerance towards corruption.

This diagnostic study corroborates the deplorable score of 1.5 and the rank of 131 out of 133 countries attributed to Haiti in the latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index 2003. Haiti was ranked - with Bangladesh and Nigeria - amongst the three most corrupt countries out of the 133 surveyed.

"The State of Corruption in Haiti (2003) should prove to be a powerful tool for LFHH. It should draw the attention of the new government of Haiti which is demonstrating a readiness to clean up the State institutions," says the President of LFHH, Marilyn B. Allien. She continues: "It also sends a message to the private sector and civil society, and all those who wish to join us in the fight against corruption -- a scourge that corrodes all attempts to establish a rule of law, a sustainable democracy, and to improve the quality of life of Haiti's people."


For any press enquiries please contact

Marilyn B. Allien
Tel: +509-513 7089
[email protected]