Transparency International report says corruption is getting worse

According to a recent report by Transparency International, an organization combating corruption across the world, corruption has increased in Pol and.The country has now slipped down from 29 in 1997 to 44 in 2001 on the international list. A recent OBOP survey showed that the public have picked up on this as well, with 58% of them believing that corruption has been increasing over the last five years. Only 18% of those surveyed expect the situation to improve. "This has a negative effect on the level of foreign investment. Ever-present corruption puts off foreign investors from entering the Polish market," said Hanna Ignaczewska, general director of the Polish Gallup Institute. Julia Pitera, president of Transparency International Polska believes that any form of fighting this pathology will remain i neffective if the roots of the cause are not tackled first. She believes corruption is concentrated in state treasury companies and government controlled agencies. (Puls Biznesu, pp. 8, 9) M.T.K.