Graft becoming less of a problem, survey finds

Meanwhile the proportion of private enterprises coerced into paying bribes plunged to only 6 per cent from 75 per cent in 2013.

"The improving score was due to stringent law enforcement under Article 44 [of the junta’s provisional charter], serious suppression of corruption in many government agencies and the current government’s policy to crack down on corruption," Thanavath Phonvichai, director of the UTCC’s Economic and Business Forecasting Centre, said yesterday.

The higher the score, the better the situation.

The university’s survey with 2,400 respondents from business and the government sector found that spending for bribery also decreased to Bt100 billion from Bt180 billion in the last survey.

With less paid in tea money, the economy could grow by an extra percentage point to 4 per cent next year, he said.

For every 1 per cent in bribes, about Bt10 billion will be lost to corruption. If corruption is reduced by 10 per cent, there will be more money to inject into the economy and help spur growth, the centre believes.

Spending for bribes on each project also decreased to only 1-15 per cent of the project’s value, or 10 per cent on average, which is down sharply from 30 per cent in the 2013 survey.

With the better corruption situation, the index for the country’s corruption image is expected to steam beyond 40 this year, from 38 last year.

Saowanee Thairungroj, the university’s rector, said most respondents agreed that the corruption situation was much better and was tending to progress further in the future.

People have more confidence in each organisation involved in fighting graft, the centre claims.

To continue eradicating corruption, the government has been urged to enforce the law strictly and punish anyone dealing in fraud, create transparency in government procurement, promote good morals and an anti-corruption attitude in society, and raise the salaries of junior officials.