12/3/2007

A Public Opinion Survey on the State of Palestinian NGOs

The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity AMAN had conducted the second public opinion survey concerning the state of Palestinian NGOs. The survey aimed at measuring public perceptions about NGO compliance with transparency and accountability standards as well as the forms and magnitudes of corruption in those institutions. The survey was presented in a workshop that included representatives of the NGO sector.

The survey targeted 480 NGOs operating in West Bank and Gaza. Results indicated that 94.4% of those surveyed believe that NGOs work for the benefit of the Palestinian people. 94.8% believe that NGOs work on developing the Palestinian society.

 58% believe that NGOs possess the required capacity for society development; however, they see that these institutions do not exert enough efforts towards achieving that goal. 66.7% believe that NGOs projects and programs are responsive towards the needs and priorities of the Palestinian society.  As for the party responsible for deciding upon these programs, 32.8% believe that donors did, 29.5% believe that NGOs themselves decide upon these priorities, and 4% believe that the PNA played that role.

On the spread of corruption among NGOs, The survey showed that 86.5% believe that NGOs are corrupt but with varied degrees. And 84.1% believe that wasta and nepotism are the most prevalent forms of corruption in NGOs while 83.3% believe that misuse of public property is the most prevalent form of corruption in NGOs.