Integrity announces the results of its questionnaire to measure perceptions of bribery in retirement

Today, Sunday, the Integrity Commission stressed the necessity of introducing electronic governance into the work of the Pension Commission when receiving and promoting the transaction and following it up, and adopting electronic programs linked with the relevant departments via the Internet. To overcome a major obstacle that causes delays in the completion of transactions, while the results of its questionnaire to measure bribery perceptions in retirement circles were announced.

In a statement, the authority stated, “It called, in its report regarding the analysis of a questionnaire measuring bribery perceptions in the retirement commission departments and the workers’ retirement and guarantee departments (Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs) in Baghdad and the governorates, to stop the power of the exceptions granted to the head of the retirement commission to pay the financial dues to the beneficiaries, and to establish a clear mechanism And specific to inform the auditor about the disbursement procedures, instead of being subject to extortion, after it was monitored that the phenomenon of bribery has increased in disbursing previous differences to beneficiaries with unacceptable excuses, and not disbursing them to some of them, despite the lapse of five years since the completion of their transactions.

In the report, a copy of which was sent to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, the Ministers of Finance, Labor and Social Affairs, the National Retirement Authority, and the Workers Retirement and Guarantee Department, she indicated that “the need to reconsider the procedures used to complete transactions in the Workers Retirement and Security Department, especially the joints that encourage the use of bribery, after it The questionnaire recorded high results for the percentage of bribery being used or paid in it, in addition to the ministries’ follow-up to their departments, in order to send the retirement contributions of their employees to the retirement fund on the scheduled dates, with the possibility of completing military transactions according to the governorates, after setting special controls, and the retirement authority sending periodic teams to follow up on the performance of departments and employees in its branches in the governorates.”

She explained that "the commission's central team, its support teams, and the teams composed in the investigation directorates and offices in Baghdad and the governorates, conducted a questionnaire of the opinions of (7,394) thousands of references in (33) departments in Baghdad and the provinces, through (281) field visits to the retirement departments, pointing to The results of the analysis of the questionnaires showed that the level of bribery (perceiving), that is, those who “declared the existence of bribery” in all of Iraq amounted to (7.25%), and the level of bribery (measurement), who “declared that they had paid bribes” amounted to (3). ,50%).

The statement indicated that “the rates of bribery are abused in Baghdad departments. The Workers’ Retirement and Guarantee Department recorded the highest percentage of bribery abuse (Idraak) at (21.90%), followed by the Retirement Department for Victims of Terrorism and the Defunct Regime at a rate of (1250%), then the Retirement Department. The State Employees Fund (8.74%), while the Military Retirement Department recorded the lowest rate, amounting to (0.50%). As for the highest rate of bribery payment (measurement), it was recorded in the Department of Workers Retirement and Guarantee Department as well, and amounted to (13.50). %), then the Public Retirement and Retirement Fund at (4.80%) and (4.10%), respectively.

The Commission added: “In the governorates, the Maqal retirement departments in Basra, Anbar, and Babil recorded the highest rate of bribery (42%, 23.20, and 18%), respectively. As for the rates of bribery (measurement), they were as follows: 24.60), then he retired from Basra (14%), and Babylon (11.80%).

And it showed: “The results of the questionnaire showed that (58%) of the respondents in Baghdad indicated that procedures and evidence of work (routine) are the main reason for delaying or obstructing the completion of the transaction, then weak control by (35%), and (10%) of them indicated that The reason is extortion motivated by taking a bribe. As for the pension departments in the governorates, a large percentage confirmed that delaying or obstructing the completion of the transaction was the most prominent reason for paying the bribe.

The Integrity Commission stated, “The report noted that the mechanism for disbursing the differences for some retirees and victims of terrorism constitutes a major entry point for blackmailing them and forcing them to pay bribes by a network of commentators in cooperation with employees, which is a widespread phenomenon in most departments of the Pension Authority, as for the Workers Retirement and Guarantee Department. Several observations were made regarding the delay in the completion of transactions, the mechanism for paying the guarantee amount and the fines imposed on companies and employers, in addition to the inspection mechanism at the work site, the approval of the inspector's report that takes a long time, and the difficulty of obtaining a "safety situation".

And the statement concluded: “Among the observations made by the report is the diligence of the departments to frequently request documents from the auditors, especially with regard to the validity of the chests, and their violation of the instructions of the Government Coordination and Citizens Affairs Department in the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, and the failure of the Retirement Authority to coordinate and follow up with the Directorate of Nationality and Travel in providing Unified card reader devices, in addition to the weakness of mail handling mechanisms, and the inaccuracy between the departments of one department (especially at the commission’s headquarters).