DUSHANBE, October 11, Asia-Plus -- Tajikistan’s Center for Strategic Studies today gave a news conference on the results of work carried out in January-September this year.

Abduvohid Shamolov, the head of the Center’s department for working out national strategy and socioeconomic programs, telling the news conference noted that experts Center experts do not agree with the results of Transparency International 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).  

In this survey, Transparency International ranked Tajikistan with 2.1 scores 144 ^th along with Congo, Kenya, Pakistan, Paraguay, Somalia, and Sudan.  The CPI ranks more than 150 countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys

Shamolov claimed that the survey is based on polling 20-30 persons, mainly shuttle traders and tourists, “who are not able to truly assess the corruption situation in Tajikistan.” 

“We are currently carrying out the first sociological survey on problems of corruption in Tajikistan in cooperation with the UNDP Country Office, and I hope Transparency International will review its data after we will present our survey in November this year,” Shamolov said.  

According to him, the survey by the Tajik Center for Strategic Studies is aimed to reveal reasons of corruption in 24 districts of the country.  “We are carrying out an opinion poll among specialists from different organizations and officials,” Shamolov said, noting that the survey is anonymous.  

The annual Corruption Perceptions Index, first released in 1995, is the best known of Transparency International’s (TI) tools.  It has been widely credited with putting TI and the issue of corruption on the international policy agenda.