Director of the Caucasus Research Resource Center (CRRC), PhD in Economics Heghine Minasyan said that, according to Transparency International, Armenia is the 120th by the level of corruption, while Georgia is the 66th, though both countries have similar living standards.
“First, this is conditioned by high salaries of Georgian public servants. Second, serious improvements have been made in the Georgian customs field. Besides, 37 000 public servants have been fired as a result of anticorruption measures. Armenia lacks both similar pace of struggle and similar publicity,” Minasyan told journalists in Yerevan.
The economist added that in 2009 Armenia received 2.7 points out of possible 10 points from Transparency International against 2.9 points in 2008. Thus, the level of corruption has grown in the country.
Director of the CRRC said that, according to the results of a public opinion poll conducted at 1515 households, corruption is the fourth on the list of basic problems of the country, following unemployment, poverty and general economic tasks. Meanwhile, a survey among 400 businessmen showed that the development of entrepreneurship is basically hindered by monopoly and corruption that are followed by the global financial and economic crisis. At the same time, both surveys show that corruption is specifically developed among high-ranking officials, while the Central Electoral Commission is named as the most corrupted institution; it is followed by health, educational and judicial systems. Besides, only small number of respondents believes that the Armenian government has possibility and willingness to tackle corruption in the country.
