Newsroom
OSCE poll shows public has no confidence in BiH leaders to fight corruption
SARAJEVO 1 April 2003
SARAJEVO, 1 April 2003 - A country-wide opinion poll commissioned by the OSCE reveals a public unified in its expectation that the public utility companies of Bosnia and Herzegovina be reformed.
According to the poll, almost 70 per cent say that the public utilities must be restructured. 70 per cent do not believe that their politicians are doing enough to fight corruption. Less than 30 per cent believe that their elected officials even want to fight corruption. Almost 70 per cent say that they are paying too much for their utilities. Only 9 per cent of those polled believe that the money paid to the utilities profits the citizen, the overwhelming majority believing that government officials and political parties are the principal beneficiaries.
"These results are tantamount to a popular vote of no confidence," said Robert M. Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The people of BiH have little or no confidence that their political leaders are committed to reform. In fact, the vast majority of the public believe the major political parties are running the public utilities."
The OSCE poll follows the first OSCE-sponsored audits of public utility companies. The audits of the three electrical power companies in BiH revealed gross mismanagement of taxpayers' money. The opinion poll, which was conducted by Prism Research from 14 to 24 March, confirms that a vast majority of respondents see a direct link between corruption and the fact that their bills are too high.
"These results are remarkable for their unity and consistency - across age groups, education levels, urban and rural customers, genders and constituent people. They confirm how frustrated people are. But they also show that people are unified and consistent in their demand for effective action from governments to root out corruption," Ambassador Beecroft said.
"For example the OSCE poll found that in the Croat majority areas, over 70 per cent of respondents say that the HDZ should be forced to pay its four year-old electricity bill. If the authorities are to begin to regain the confidence of the people who voted them into office, they must respond without delay to these serious and urgent concerns."
The opinion poll is published on the website of the OSCE Mission to BiH.
According to the poll, almost 70 per cent say that the public utilities must be restructured. 70 per cent do not believe that their politicians are doing enough to fight corruption. Less than 30 per cent believe that their elected officials even want to fight corruption. Almost 70 per cent say that they are paying too much for their utilities. Only 9 per cent of those polled believe that the money paid to the utilities profits the citizen, the overwhelming majority believing that government officials and political parties are the principal beneficiaries.
"These results are tantamount to a popular vote of no confidence," said Robert M. Beecroft, Head of the OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina. "The people of BiH have little or no confidence that their political leaders are committed to reform. In fact, the vast majority of the public believe the major political parties are running the public utilities."
The OSCE poll follows the first OSCE-sponsored audits of public utility companies. The audits of the three electrical power companies in BiH revealed gross mismanagement of taxpayers' money. The opinion poll, which was conducted by Prism Research from 14 to 24 March, confirms that a vast majority of respondents see a direct link between corruption and the fact that their bills are too high.
"These results are remarkable for their unity and consistency - across age groups, education levels, urban and rural customers, genders and constituent people. They confirm how frustrated people are. But they also show that people are unified and consistent in their demand for effective action from governments to root out corruption," Ambassador Beecroft said.
"For example the OSCE poll found that in the Croat majority areas, over 70 per cent of respondents say that the HDZ should be forced to pay its four year-old electricity bill. If the authorities are to begin to regain the confidence of the people who voted them into office, they must respond without delay to these serious and urgent concerns."
The opinion poll is published on the website of the OSCE Mission to BiH.