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Smegma
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Now go tell me the earth is round! As if they had to make a survey to find this!
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BRIBERY RESEARCH: Politicians the most corrupt, survey finds
by Wichit Chaitrong, THE NATION, Published on May 29, 2003
Corrupt politicians top the list of those taking bribes from businesses, according to research released yesterday.
Each firm pays an average Bt102,385 under the table annually to politicians in exchange for business favours, said Sauwanee Thairungroj, dean of the faculty of economics at the Thai Chamber of Commerce University.
This is followed by the average of Bt27,400 a year paid to judges and court officials.
Among the others in the top 10 are procurement officials, police, customs officials, port officials, land department employees, industrial department staff, telecommunications employees, and revenue department officials.
The research also found that organised crime, corruption and petty crime are the issues of most concern for those running and expanding businesses, with 36.4 per cent of the 540 sampled ranking organised crime as the most serious problem, 32.7 per cent saying corruption, and 29.7 per cent petty crimes.
Sauwanee pointed out that her previous research in 1996, a year before the economic crisis, suggested exchange rate uncertainty, tax and regulations, capital, and uncertainty about government policies were the major constraints.
The latest survey on business was conducted in February and March this year, shortly before the government announced another law-and-order campaign, this time against organised crime.
Krirkkiart Pipatseritham, a committee member of the National Counter Corruption Commis-sion, suggested Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra start the clampdown on organised crime by looking within his own Cabinet.
Krirkkiart, who joined an academic debate on the research, cited an example from Singapore where former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's campaign against corruption led to the suicide of one corrupt cabinet member.
Any campaign against organised crime and corruption must not discriminate, he suggested. The NCCC could play an effective role only when the government gives strong support to the independent agency, he added.
Businesses are also part of the problem, as 84 per cent of the sample said that paying bribes is a normal and accepted practice. They believe that paying money in exchange for business deals and better services from state officials is essential. Sauwanee said most businesses pay up to 15 per cent of the value of the contract to state procurement officials.
The research also found that the more business have to deal with state officials, the more they have to pay each time. 
Corrupt officials at the Telephone Organisation of Thailand, now the TOT Corporation, pocket the highest amount of money each time, an average of Bt109,852. Tax officials and politicians take second and third places, with average one-off payments of Bt99,983 and Bt51,394 respectively. Eliminating red tape in the bureaucracy would reduce opportunities for corruption, Krirkkiart suggested.
Academics also called for active roles by independent organisations such as the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers Association to minimise corruption problems.
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:57 am on May 29, 2003
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caronte
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Master Smegma.....nothing surprise me anymore in this Country: This is Thailand!
My respects
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Bangkok Women : Meet Sensual Bangkok Women
Posted on: 5:12 am on May 29, 2003
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Beer Barone
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where do they get there numbers? I mean, who is going to openly admitt to this stuff?
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Thai Girls : Meet Sexy Thai Girls
Posted on: 6:08 am on May 29, 2003
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Neo
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There is a certain group at a certain university that gets this stuff all the time. Also many "farang" are willing to give the info. as long as the names are hidden to protect the faces.
And how else would you do business in the third world? If you think this is bad you should try a country with a military dictatorship. At least thailand has an infant democracy.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Sexy Bangkok Girls
Posted on: 8:26 am on May 29, 2003
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Neo
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Also: procurement officials, police, customs officials, port officials, land department employees, industrial department staff, telecommunications employees, and revenue department officials.
Have low salaires so the incentuive is there to accept a bribe.
And look at a certain Prime Minister who was almost kicked out by the NCCC because he "innocently" transferred millions of baht in assets to his maid that he was not allowed to have when elected...it's indemic in Thailand, what else can I say?
Check out the CPI---corruption perceptions index at "Tranparence International's" website for an interesting country by country comparison.
It's at: http://www.transparency.org
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Thai Women : Meet Matured Thai Women
Posted on: 8:32 am on May 29, 2003
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Montydog
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smegma, I'm amazed what next;
The bar girl not think I hansum man,
No Santa,
Where will it all end??
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Bangkok Women : Meet Beautiful Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:30 pm on May 29, 2003
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Smegma
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More on the matter
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The Nation, Jun 1, 2003
Under-table monsters for local business It is disturbing to learn that 84 per cent of Thai businessmen have to pay under-the-table money to state officials to get government services indispensable to their businesses.
According to a survey conducted by the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (UTCC), which covered a sampling of 540 small, medium and large enterprises nationwide, 33 per cent of the respondents cited corruption as the most serious problem affecting their enterprises.
Saowanee Thairungroj, dean of the university's economic faculty, said the Harbour Department is the worst in terms of the frequency with which businesses have to pay bribes to get services, while the Land Department and the Bureau of National Police are the second and third worst agencies, respectively.
The survey, released this week, shows that in 65.2 per cent of visits to the Harbour Department in a given year, companies are forced to make under-the-table payments to officials, followed by 62.3 per cent of visits to the Land Department and 59.3 per cent of visits to police stations.
And in terms of the amount of "extra" money that has to be paid per transaction, TOT Corp came first with Bt109,800, followed by the Revenue Department at Bt99,900, the Commercial Registration Department at Bt51,000, and the Excise Department at Bt47,000.
All these findings are a somewhat contrasting backdrop against another recent survey conducted by the Swiss-based IMD which applauded the efficiency of Thai government departments and businesses as relatively better than those of Japan, Korea and China.
In its ranking of 59 national and regional economies worldwide, Thailand's government efficiency was the 5th best among about 30 large economies with a score of 70.8 out of a possible 100 -ahead of China's 9th slot (score: 56.5), Japan's 17th slot (score: 43.6) and Korea's 18th slot (score: 43.2).
Based on these surveys, it is therefore a big challenge for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to prove his critics wrong by taking action against the "black sheep" in the bureaucratic system so that Thai businesses can become even more competitive in the international market.
Every businessman in this country knows that bribes constitute a significant part of their costs. A country which has lower costs in terms of under-the-table payments is basically more competitive than others. So the Thaksin administration should pursue the much-heralded reform of the bureaucracy, which started last October, with a clear-cut target to lower bribes within state agencies where businesses have to pay to get government services provided.
The planned introduction of bonuses for bureaucrats who perform better than set targets is one of the more effective ways to help lower the number of bribes. However, it is inevitable in the longer term that their basic salaries will need to be adjusted to be commensurate with their work and responsibilities. In this context, the headcount in each bureaucracy needs to be lowered to the point that the state's budget is large enough to pay for higher individual salaries. Another way is to increase tax receipts.
In addition, the government should consider increasing efficiency within state agencies while reducing corruption by contracting out certain services which are not pertinent to national security in the strictest sense.
The services of some agencies cited as being among the worst in the UTCC survey can certainly be contracted out to the private sector so that entrenched corruptive practices could be wiped out.
After all, the tougher problem lies in bribes demanded by politicians themselves. According to the UTCC survey, the business sector has to pay an average of Bt143,000 per year to politicians who have influence over their enterprises. Saowanee said the sampling of 540 businesses also reveals that they have to pay bribes amounting to 6-10 per cent of the value of the contracts awarded by the government itself.
Besides bribery, businessmen also complained about the lack of equity in bidding for government contracts and the lack of transparency in bidding procedures, both of which have contributed to the practice of paying under-the-table money.
s economic faculty, said the Harbour Department is the worst in terms of the frequency with which businesses have to pay bribes to get services, while the Land Department and the Bureau of National Police are the second and third worst agencies, respectively.
The survey, released this week, shows that in 65.2 per cent of visits to the Harbour Department in a given year, companies are forced to make under-the-table payments to officials, followed by 62.3 per cent of visits to the Land Department and 59.3 per cent of visits to police stations.
And in terms of the amount of “extra” money that has to be paid per transaction, TOT Corp came first with Bt109,800, followed by the Revenue Department at Bt99,900, the Commercial Registration Department at Bt51,000, and the Excise Department at Bt47,000.
All these findings are a somewhat contrasting backdrop against another recent survey conducted by the Swiss-based IMD which applauded the efficiency of Thai government departments and businesses as relatively better than those of Japan, Korea and China.
In its ranking of 59 national and regional economies worldwide, Thailand&' s government efficiency was the 5th best among about 30 large economies with a score of 70.8 out of a possible 100 – ahead of China&' s 9th slot (score: 56.5), Japan&' s 17th slot (score: 43.6) and Korea&' s 18th slot (score: 43.2).
Based on these surveys, it is therefore a big challenge for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to prove his critics wrong by taking action against the “black sheep” in the bureaucratic system so that Thai businesses can become even more competitive in the international market.
Every businessman in this country knows that bribes constitute a significant part of their costs. A country which has lower costs in terms of under-the-table payments is basically more competitive than others. So the Thaksin administration should pursue the much-heralded reform of the bureaucracy, which started last October, with a clear-cut target to lower bribes within state agencies where businesses have to pay to get government services provided.
The planned introduction of bonuses for bureaucrats who perform better than set targets is one of the more effective ways to help lower the number of bribes. However, it is inevitable in the longer term that their basic salaries will need to be adjusted to be commensurate with their work and responsibilities. In this context, the headcount in each bureaucracy needs to be lowered to the point that the state&' s budget is large enough to pay for higher individual salaries. Another way is to increase tax receipts.
In addition, the government should consider increasing efficiency within state agencies while reducing corruption by contracting out certain services which are not pertinent to national security in the strictest sense.
The services of some agencies cited as being among the worst in the UTCC survey can certainly be contracted out to the private sector so that entrenched corruptive practices could be wiped out.
After all, the tougher problem lies in bribes demanded by politicians themselves. According to the UTCC survey, the business sector has to pay an average of Bt143,000 per year to politicians who have influence over their enterprises. Saowanee said the sampling of 540 businesses also reveals that they have to pay bribes amounting to 6-10 per cent of the value of the contracts awarded by the government itself.
Besides bribery, businessmen also complained about the lack of equity in bidding for government contracts and the lack of transparency in bidding procedures, both of which have contributed to the practice of paying under-the-table money.
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Bangkok Girls : Meet Attractive Thai Girls
Posted on: 11:56 am on June 1, 2003
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Neo
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Those are some scary statistics. maybe we should all get a job in the thai underworld.
ALSO: That "Deleted member" entry is ominous...
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Thai Girls : Meet Active Thai Girls
Posted on: 4:46 am on June 5, 2003
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