WASHINGTON :-An anti-corruption watchdog is
highlighting a link between inequality and government corruption with the
release of its annual global index, saying people are increasingly looking to
populist leaders who promise to tackle corruption, but are likely to make the
situation worse.
“In countries with
populist or autocratic leaders, we often see democracies in decline and a
disturbing pattern of attempts to crack down on civil society, limit press freedom,
and weaken the independence of the judiciary,” said Jose Ugaz, chair of Transparency International, as the
group released its report Wednesday. “Instead of tackling crony capitalism,
those leaders usually install even worse forms of corrupt systems.”
The
report says countries need “deep-rooted systemic reforms” to address growing
imbalances of power and wealth. It recommends those changes include public
disclosure of who owns companies and imposing sanctions against those who help
move corrupt money across borders.
“In
too many countries, people are deprived of their most basic needs and go to bed
hungry every night because of corruption, while the powerful and corrupt enjoy
lavish lifestyles with impunity,” Ugaz said
The
Corruption Perceptions Index is based on surveys and reports of how business
leaders and country experts perceive corruption in the public sector. It rates
countries on a scale of 0-100, with 0 being a country that is highly corrupt
and 100 being very clean. In
2016, the report said more countries declined than improved when it came to
corruption.The
highest ranked countries were Denmark and New Zealand, which each scored 90,
Finland with 89 and Sweden with 88. The report said each of those countries has
an open government, free press and independent judicial systems. It added that
highly ranked countries in general also allow citizens to access information
about how public money is spent.
Somalia
ranked as the country with the most perceived corruption for the 10th
consecutive year. It scored a 10, with the report noting concerns about
corruption in its parliamentary elections and a presidential vote that was
postponed three times. South Sudan (11),
North Korea (12) and Syria (13) were also at the bottom of the index. Transparency
International said low-ranked countries feature untrustworthy public
institutions like the police and court system, basic services that are lacking
because funding is misappropriated, anti-corruption laws that are ignored if
they exist and people frequently faced with extortion.
The five countries
that serve as the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council
represent varying stages of the index, with Britain (81) among the least
corrupt, followed by the United States (74) and France (69), while China (40)
and Russia (29) scored as more corrupt. Five of the 10
lowest scoring nations came from the Middle East and North Africa: Syria (13),
Yemen (14), Sudan (14), Libya (14) and Iraq (17). “These countries
are also inflicted with political instability, war, internal conflicts and
terrorism, stressing the fact that war and conflict fuel corruption and in
particular political corruption,” the report says.
Transparency
International also noted the wave of protests and in some cases changes in
government that spread across the region in 2011, saying “the majority of Arab
countries have failed to fulfill the will of the people to build democratic
systems allowing for greater transparency and accountability.” The report cited
improvements in Tunisia (41), saying it adopted a national anti-corruption
strategy and a law governing access to information.
For the
Asia-Pacific region, the report listed 19 of 30 countries in the bottom half of
the index, blaming the low scores on unaccountable governments, a lack of
oversight and corruption scandals that have called into question trust in
government. It noted improvements in Afghanistan, which still ranks very low
with a 15, but has nearly doubled its score since 2013.
Transparency International said the main stories for
the Asia-Pacific have yet to fully play out, with the new president of the
Philippines Rodrigo Duterte relying extensively on anti-corruption rhetoric
during his campaign, but also attacking media and using intimidation that could
affect democratic institutions. The group noted concerns linked to graft
allegations against Malaysia’s prime minister and the impeachment for
corruption of South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
In sub-Saharan
Africa, the report highlights the improvements of Cape Verde (59) and Sao Tome
and Principe (46), with each country holding clean elections in 2016, and Sao
Tome and Principe carrying out a smooth transition of power. The report also
cited Ghana (43) among a group of six countries in the region that
significantly declined from 2015 to 2016, saying corruption there led to
citizens voting out an incumbent president for the first time in the country’s
history.
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