Nearly three-quarters of people seeking public services in Bangladesh say they cannot get their work done without paying money, highlighting the persistence of bribery and institutional harassment despite the political changeover in August 2024.
A study by the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC) found that 74.6 percent of respondents said public services were inaccessible without payment, suggesting that informal payments and bureaucratic obstacles remain deeply entrenched in citizens’ dealings with government agencies.
The findings were released on Saturday at the CIRDAP auditorium in Dhaka as part of a broader study on poverty, household resilience and the state of the country’s real economy.
The research, based on a survey of 8,067 households across all eight divisions conducted from May 8 to 31 last year, found that harassment in accessing public services had become part of everyday life.
PPRC Executive Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman said the problem had reached such a level that harassment should be recognised as a “state ailment”.
The study found little evidence of structural change in the practices that expose service seekers to harassment following the fall of the previous government on August 5, 2024.
It examined not only bribery and informal payments but also barriers to accessing services, confusion over rules and the difficulties people face in routine dealings with public institutions.
The findings come as households struggle with mounting financial pressure, leaving little room to absorb the additional cost of securing essential services.
The average household earns Tk 32,685 a month and spends Tk 32,615, leaving a monthly surplus of just Tk 70, according to the study.
Food accounts for 54.9 percent of average household expenditure, rising to 57.35 percent among rural households.
The pressure is far more acute for the poorest families. The bottom 10 percent of households earn an average of Tk 8,477 a month against expenditure of Tk 12,294, forcing them to bridge a substantial monthly deficit.
In this context, informal payments for public services act as an additional burden on already stretched household budgets. The PPRC described harassment as a form of “informal tax” that not only raises living costs but also erodes public trust in institutions.
The study also warned that economic vulnerability extends beyond households officially classified as poor. Illness, debt, inadequate employment opportunities, inflation and harassment can combine to push families into deeper distress and weaken their ability to cope with shocks.
At the discussion following the report’s launch, Mustafizur Rahman, distinguished fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue, said harassment had also driven some exporters to abandon exporting altogether.
Former National Board of Revenue chairman Mohammad Abdul Majid said government agencies themselves faced harassment, while reforms needed to address discrimination had yet to produce meaningful results.
Questioning the lack of progress in reforming the NBR, he said many commitments had been made in election manifestos but their implementation remained a concern.
Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, warned against normalising corruption and harassment, citing instances in which traders were forced to pay money to retain their places in markets.
The study, titled The State of the Real Economy of Bangladesh: The Dynamics of Poverty’s Return and Resilience, was presented by Rahman and PPRC Senior Research Associate Namira Shamim.