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BUSINESS - CORRUPTION |
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Corruption still rampant in 70 countries, says
Transparency International
Many countries face profound obstacles in escaping
the poverty trap
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 London / Berlin, 18 October 2005 --- More than
two-thirds of the 159 nations surveyed in Transparency
International’s 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) scored
less than 5 out of a clean score of 10, indicating serious
levels of corruption in a majority of the countries surveyed.
India appears at Rank 88 in the corruption rankings, sharing
its position with Armenia, Moldova and iran.
The top 5 least corrupt, according to the survey, are Iceland,
Finland, New Zealand, Denmark and Singapore, while the worst
corrupt are Bangladesh and Chad.
Corruption continues to threaten development
The 2005 Index bears witness to the double burden of poverty
and corruption borne by the world’s least developed countries.
“Corruption is a major cause of poverty as well as a barrier
to overcoming it,” said Transparency International Chairman
Peter Eigen. “The two scourges feed off each other, locking
their populations in a cycle of misery. Corruption must be
vigorously addressed if aid is to make a real difference in
freeing people from poverty.”
Despite progress on many fronts, including the imminent entry
into force of the United Nations Convention against
Corruption, seventy countries - nearly half of those included
in the Index - scored less than 3 on the CPI, indicating a
severe corruption problem. Among the countries included in the
Index, corruption is perceived as most rampant in Chad,
Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Myanmar and Haiti – also among the
poorest countries in the world.
The world has set its sights on halving extreme poverty by
2015. Corruption hampers achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals by undermining the economic growth and
sustainable development that would free millions from the
poverty trap. Fighting corruption must be central to plans to
increase resources to achieve the goals, whether via donor aid
or in-country domestic action.
Moreover, extensive research shows that foreign investment is
lower in countries perceived to be corrupt, which further
thwarts their chance to prosper. When countries improve
governance and reduce corruption, they reap a “development
dividend” that, according to the World Bank Institute, can
include improved child mortality rates, higher per capita
income and greater literacy.
Nineteen of the world’s poorest countries have been granted
debt service relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
initiative, testifying to their economic reform achievements.
Not one of these countries, however, scored above 4 on the
CPI, indicating serious to severe levels of corruption. These
countries still face the grave risk that money freed from debt
payments now entering national budgets will be forfeited to
greed, waste or mismanagement. The commitment and resources
devoted to qualifying for HIPC must also be applied to winning
the fight against corruption.
Stamping out corruption and implementing recipient-led reforms
are critical to making aid more effective, and to realising
the crucial human and economic development goals that have
been set by the international community.
“Corruption isn’t a natural disaster: it is the cold,
calculated theft of opportunity from the men, women and
children who are least able to protect themselves,” said David
Nussbaum, TI’s Chief Executive. ”Leaders must go beyond lip
service and make good on their promises to provide the
commitment and resources to improve governance, transparency
and accountability.”
Progress has been made against corruption
An increase in perceived corruption from 2004 to 2005 can be
measured in countries such as Costa Rica, Gabon, Nepal, Papua
New Guinea, Russia, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Trinidad
& Tobago and Uruguay. Conversely, a number of countries and
territories show noteworthy improvements – a decline in
perceptions of corruption – over the past year, including
Estonia, France, Hong Kong, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan,
Nigeria, Qatar, Taiwan and Turkey.
The recent ratification of the United Nations Convention
against Corruption established a global legal framework for
sustainable progress against corruption. The Convention, which
will enter into force in December 2005, will accelerate the
retrieval of stolen funds, push banking centres to take action
against money laundering, allow nations to pursue foreign
companies and individuals that have committed corrupt acts on
their soil, and prohibit bribery of foreign public officials.
Low-income countries that embrace and implement the Convention
will have a head start in the race for foreign investment and
economic growth.
Wealth does not determine progress against corruption
Wealth is not a prerequisite for successful control of
corruption. New long-term analysis of the CPI carried out by
Prof. Dr. Johann Graf Lambsdorff shows that the perception of
corruption has decreased significantly in lower-income
countries such as Estonia, Colombia and Bulgaria over the past
decade.
In the case of higher-income countries such as Canada and
Ireland, however, there has been a marked increase in the
perception of corruption over the past ten years, showing that
even wealthy, high-scoring countries must work to maintain a
climate of integrity.
Similarly, the responsibility in the fight against corruption
does not fall solely on lower-income countries. Wealthier
countries, apart from facing numerous corruption cases within
their own borders, must share the burden by ensuring that
their companies are not involved in corrupt practices abroad.
Offenders must be prosecuted and debarred from public bidding.
The opportunity for ensuring sustainable progress also lies in
the hands of the World Trade Organization, which needs to
actively promote transparency and anti-corruption in global
trade.
The lessons are clear: risk factors such as government
secrecy, inappropriate influence of elite groups and distorted
political finance apply to both wealthy and poorer countries,
and no rich country is immune to the scourge of corruption.
Transparency International has urged the following actions:
By lower-income countries
* Increase resources and political will for anti-corruption
efforts.
* Enable greater public access to information about budgets,
revenue and expenditure.
By higher-income countries
* Combine increased aid with support for recipient-led
reforms.
* Reduce tied aid, which limits local opportunities and
ownership of aid programmes.
By all countries
* Promote strong coordination among governments, the private
sector and civil society to increase efficiency and
sustainability in anti-corruption and good governance efforts.
* Ratify, implement and monitor existing anti-corruption
conventions in all countries to establish international norms.
These include, the UN Convention against Corruption, the OECD
Anti-bribery Convention, and the regional conventions of the
African Union and the Organization of American States. |
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