Key sectors affected by corruption in Pakistan and recent diagnostic material

To fully respond to the question as to which sectors are most affected by corruption, both quantitative (through diagnostic material) and qualitative (through reports and direct questioning of international and national experts) sources have been consulted. Nevertheless, it is worth bearing in mind that some of the reasons that particular sectors are highlighted more often than others are due not only to objective merits but also to the facts that i) there is more research and survey work done in those areas and ii) public perception and awareness seem to be more vocal as regards those areas. Thus, the exercise of highlighting some of the sectors should be read with the knowledge that corruption in Pakistan seems pervasive across most sectors. With that in mind, it is safe to say that expert sources indicate that the following sectors are among those most affected by corruption (the particular order varies from source to source):

• Police and law enforcement
• Judiciary and legal profession
• Power sector
• Tax and customs
• Health and education
• Land administration
• In addition, Public Procurement seems to be a major concern across most sectors

Examples of reform initiatives in some of these sectors are provided in Part II (see below).

These sectors seem to be affected by chains of:

• petty corruption to access public services or to bypass the law (through the direct interaction of citizens with the respective authorities and bribe-paying) 
• middle and grand corruption (through corruption in public contracting and procurement as well as direct misappropriation of public funds by senior officials). 
• in addition, political patronage, conflicts of interest, influence peddling and other forms of corrupt behaviour are commonplace across the sectors.

• shame on us. pakistanis

Posted in: Facting fact