Perceptions of Corruption in Uganda: A Comparative Study of Citizens and Public Officials.

摘要

The topic addressed was perceptions of corruption in Uganda: a comparative study of citizens and public officials. Corruption in public institutions was considered an important global social issue that existed in many forms, and was responsible for the slow economic growth and development in developing countries. While the presence of corruption was clearly apparent in low developing countries, it was not clearly understood prior to this study. Perceptions of corruption were real or imaginary but corrupt actions in Uganda were occurring through different but acceptable forms involving citizens who were motivated by their need for services and public officials by greed. The institutional analysis and development framework determined that corruption in Uganda largely depended on collaboration by citizens and public officials, hence, changing the simplest meaning of corruption from the abuse of public office to an act that benefited the community. The primary purpose of this quantitative comparative study was to examine to what extent citizens and public officials differed in levels of their perception of corruption and the degree of corruption forms in Uganda. The secondary purpose of this study was to examine to what extent demographic variables explained any differences in the citizens' and public officials' levels of perception of corruption and the degree of corruption forms in Uganda. The participants were 12,000 citizens and 670 public officials. The key findings were that citizens and public officials were slightly different in their perception of corruption and corruption forms and they both collaborated to engage in corruption. Collaborative corruption was common through embezzlement (F = .153, p>.05), diversion of funds ( F = 9.752, p<.01), extortion (F =11.500, p<.01), bribery (F = 21.334, p<.001), favoritism (F = 51.457, p<.001, and fraud (F = 147.632, p<.001). The demographic variables predicted that there were slight differences, and their interactions implied that bribery, embezzlement, and diversion of funds were the basis for collaboration across demographics. Key recommendations were to adopt technological inter-phases, reduce work incentives, and subject potential candidates to prove suitability before working in public service. The use of qualitative and mixed studies that included more factors to explain collaborative corruption was recommended for future studies.