The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) conducted a survey in February 2016 and has released a report detailing the responses it received from the public, gauging the public’s perception of government departments.

According to the survey’s results, Punjab was deemed as the most corrupt province of Pakistan, while KPK is said to come last in terms of corruption.

About the Survey

FAFEN surveyed 6,030 people, from 603 locations and all national or provincial constituencies, at random. When asked about corrupt practices in their province, the majority of the people said that Punjab was corrupt while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was the least corrupt province.

The respondents were asked whether they had come into contact with any of the 25 government departments during the past six months. The government departments in question included:

Education, Health, WAPDA, Sui Gas, Police, Courts, Revenue, Election Commission, Irrigation, Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Zakat and Ushr, Post office, PTCL, forest, Traffic police, 1122, National Highways and motorway police, NADRA, Municipality, Utility stores, Pakistan Railways, PIA, FBR, Water and sewerage, Local Councils (Union Council, Union Committee, Rural and Neighbourhood Council).

People’s Response

Out of those who had interacted with any of these government departments, a massive 64 percent believed that corruption prevails there. Most of the people replied that corruption is either very high or somewhat high.

74 percent of the respondents, who said the departments had high corruption levels, were male, while 52 percent of the respondents were female. A clear indication that men come into contact with officially corrupt practices and personnel.

82 percent of the respondents, who perceived corruption to be very high, were from Balochistan. It was followed by 74 percent from Sindh, 72 percent from Islamabad (ICT), 68 percent from Punjab and 52 percent from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. 8 percent of the respondents against government institutions were from FATA.

Bribe Witnesses

332 people reported that they had personally witnessed government employees taking bribes from the general public. Highest number was reported from Punjab at 206, about 12 percent of all respondents who interacted with government departments. Punjab was followed by Sindh with 106 incidents (10.6 percent). In comparison, only 4 percent respondents from Balochistan and 1 percent from KPK said they had witnessed such an incident.

The Survey Pool

The survey included 46 percent and 54 percent adult men and women respectively. 59 percent of the people interviewed belonged within an age group of 18-35 years while the reaming 41 percent were aged over 35 years.

62 percent of the respondents had primary level education or more. 34 percent of the respondents studied less than primary level or never went to school. 3.8 percent respondents belonged to madrassas while 0.2 percent were from vocational institutions.

Its Importance

FAFEN’s survey was conducted before the Panama Leaks which could have had an even worse effect on the results, especially for Punjab and Sindh. Even before that happened, the majority of the public does not trust the government departments.

The organisation will release a detailed socio-political portfolio in July this year. The corruption related results were made public beforehand considering the backdrop of Panama Papers and Dubai Scandal.