In India, it is almost impossible to get something done without giving a bribe and especially if you need something in time. If not, the bribe-expecting government workers will keep you waiting till you are ready to hand over the bribe. I didn't realize it was illegal to give a bribe in India, so I guess I can't even admit to having done that - which is ridiculous!
When I needed to get a document in India (in a more rural area), the young government official, who I assumed was above all this corruption, kept telling me to come later (when there were fewer people around) and had me go to a nearby Xerox shop to get copies of a document. While I was going there, the official called the guy at the Xerox shop and told him to tell me how the process works. Suffice to say that I gave something and apparently that wasn't enough, so I had my mom visit him the next day and he made a comment that I hadn't given enough. My mom just smiled, picked up the certificate (which was in front of him) and left.
On the other hand, reporting an official is still a bit scary knowing that him or his partners-in-crime can accidentally mess up any of the other official documents and since most of the documents are still on paper and not digitized, it could throw you down into a deeper hole. Unless a massive campaign against corruption is introduced, I dont see this problem going away anytime soon.
Basically, this applies to a lot of developing countries (I believe, to Russia, India, Brazil, African countries, etc).
USA also has it, but at a bigger scale (think of a politician supporters, the Cenate, etc).
Personally, I think bribes in one or another form are just inevitable. It is just a part of human nature.
When I needed to get a document in India (in a more rural area), the young government official, who I assumed was above all this corruption, kept telling me to come later (when there were fewer people around) and had me go to a nearby Xerox shop to get copies of a document. While I was going there, the official called the guy at the Xerox shop and told him to tell me how the process works. Suffice to say that I gave something and apparently that wasn't enough, so I had my mom visit him the next day and he made a comment that I hadn't given enough. My mom just smiled, picked up the certificate (which was in front of him) and left.
On the other hand, reporting an official is still a bit scary knowing that him or his partners-in-crime can accidentally mess up any of the other official documents and since most of the documents are still on paper and not digitized, it could throw you down into a deeper hole. Unless a massive campaign against corruption is introduced, I dont see this problem going away anytime soon.