Gambians have more trust in religious leaders than politicians according to a pan-African non-partisan research network that conducts public attitude surveys on governance, democracy, economic conditions and related issues in Africa.The survey specifically said eight in ten Gambians (85%) trust religious leaders while seven in ten (71%) trust traditional leaders and six in ten (67%) trust President Adama Barrow.The survey’s findings were presented to journalists, government officials and civil society players by Dr Ismaila Ceesay, one of the members of the group.The Afrobarrometer survey released on Friday at the Kairaba Beach Hotel ranks religious leaders as the most trusted in Gambian society based on the reactions of the people covered in the survey.According to the survey, the police and business executives are perceived to be most corrupt in the country while the religious leaders and members of the national assembly are perceived to be the least corrupt.However according to the survey almost half of country (46%) perceive a decrease in corruption over the past year, while one third (32%) say the level of corruption has increased.“More than half (55) say it is ‘somewhat likely’ or ‘very likely’ that authorities will take action where incidents of corruption are reported. A large majority of Gambians say the rich are more likely than the ordinary people to get away with paying a bribe or using personal connections to avoid taxes (71%), avoid going to court (75%) or register land that is not theirs (74%).”The research was conducted by Center for Policy, Research and Strategic Studies at the University of the Gambia between July and August of 2018.The number of people interviewed for the survey is 1200.Additional reporting by Kerr Fatou
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