The baseline Nicaraguan Service Delivery Surveys were conducted during February and March 1995 in Managua and the Pacific regions of the Country. Commissioned by the World Bank, the surveys monitored consumer satisfaction with government services provided by the Ministries of Finance, Environment and Transport.

A stratified cluster sample of 18 sites in Managua and eight in the Pacific regions provided the basis for the household surveys. Half of the 3,117 households interviewed in the 26 sites expressed dissatisfaction with the Ministry of Transport, and most were prepared to pay more for better services. Only 14% were satisfied with the security on buses; one in eight reported that they had been robbed on the buses in the past year. Most bus operators charged more than the official tariff in Managua. Less than one percent of households in the sample communities had any knowledge of the government’s effort in environmental programmes. Deforestation was the major environmental concern expressed. Around six million trees are consumed as firewood in Managua alone. A sample of 54 private business companies, including most of the largest commercial concerns in the country, expressed general satisfaction with the import-export procedures of the Customs Service, although specific areas were identified for improvement, for example procedures to process each consignment were reported as unnecessarily costly and time consuming. A consignment of goods takes an average of six days to process from the time of arrival to hand-over to the importer.