18 November 2009
KUWAIT: For a second consecutive year, Kuwait dropped in a global corruption ranking assessing 180 countries, according to a leading graft watchdog. Transparency International (TI), a non-partisan global organization, released yesterday the world index that measures corruption levels in the domestic and public sectors. In TI's annual global Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Kuwait slipped further from 65 to 66 place in a roster of 180 countries. According to the Berlin-based organization fighting worldwide corruption, Kuwait hit the bottom spot as the most corrupt country in the Gulf, following Jordan (49) and Tunisia (65). Kuwait ranks ninth in the Middle East and North African region.
Speaking to the Kuwait Times from Berlin, Tamara Kamhawi, Program Coordinator for Africa and Middle East at TI, said that CPI is a 'perception index' based on surveys which assess corruption in the public sector and if there has been enough effort from the government to crack down on corruption. Stressing that CPI should not be viewed as an annual comparison, she explained that CPI assesses the perception of the corruption problem in Kuwait by the private sector, businesspeople and analysts.
She explained that in the Middle East and North Africa region, only six countries scored five (on a scale from zero) or above (perceived to be "highly clean"), and 13 countries scored below five (perceived to be highly corrupt), identifying that the perception of corruption remains a serious problem in the region. In her words, these ranks indicate that the region "is still suffering from an endemic problem of corruption that has not yet been tackled properly," Kamhawi said.
According to TI, the negative effects of the financial crisis have underscored the importance of improving governance across the region. Furthermore, the poor results of the 2009 CPI reflect how conflict and political turmoil in the region seriously hamper the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts. "The threat to political and institutional infrastructures partly explains the governance gap in the region while other factors such as lack of transparency, insecurity and oil wealth continue to fuel corruption," the civil society organization said in the highlight to the CPI on the region.
According to TI, countries where the political and security environment is unstable, such as Yemen, Iran and Iraq, rank at the bottom of the list. "These countries face the challenge of establishing solid and transparent public institutions, with appropriate mechanisms for accountability: the essential elements for preventing and fighting corruption. Where these are absent, any kind of success is very difficult," TI points out.
In the index, TI says Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon are still perceived "as highly corrupt despite the fact that corruption is openly addressed as a principal obstacle to development and the issue of enhancing integrity and accountability in the public and the private sectors is now being addressed.
The 2009 index shows improvement in the scores of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Jordan, TI said. "It remains to be seen whether this is due to increased political will to fight corruption or whether the negative effects of corruption are being masked by large surpluses, particularly in the oil and gas-rich Gulf states, which are fuelling rapid economic development," TI said. In the case of the UAE, the watchdog observed, one explanation for an improved score may be the increase in corruption cases involving high-level executives, including UAE citizens, as well as the strengthening of the country's Financial Audit Department.
Overall, the global ranking results indicate a great concern. The upward ranking for the GCC shows albeit slow willingness for reform, Kamhawi observed. "We have seen many corruption cases that were brought in public," she said providing an example with the UAE. An independent judiciary system, more public institutional reforms, better access to information and better access to information and greater transparency in the financial policy are the areas that need room for improvement in the fight against corruption in the Gulf, Kamhawi observed.
According to TI, as the world economy begins to register a tentative recovery and some nations continue to wrestle with ongoing conflict and insecurity, it is clear that no region of the world is immune to the perils of corruption. "At a time when massive stimulus packages, fast-track disbursements of public funds and attempts to secure peace are being implemented around the world, it is essential to identify where corruption blocks good governance and accountability, in order to break its corrosive cycle, Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International, said in a press release.
Governance is impacted by corruption and so is economic freedom in any given country. In Kamhawi's words, the greater transparency and access to information and the more economic freedom means that more investors are coming into the country and willing to invest. She concluded, "This plays a very good role in the development process." The least corrupt countries in the world are New Zealand, followed by Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland. The US scored 19, right after the United Kingdom on 17th place. The most corrupt nations are Somalia (180), Afghanistan (179) and Myanmar (178).
KUWAIT: For a second consecutive year, Kuwait dropped in a global corruption ranking assessing 180 countries, according to a leading graft watchdog. Transparency International (TI), a non-partisan global organization, released yesterday the world index that measures corruption levels in the domestic and public sectors. In TI's annual global Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Kuwait slipped further from 65 to 66 place in a roster of 180 countries. According to the Berlin-based organization fighting worldwide corruption, Kuwait hit the bottom spot as the most corrupt country in the Gulf, following Jordan (49) and Tunisia (65). Kuwait ranks ninth in the Middle East and North African region.
Speaking to the Kuwait Times from Berlin, Tamara Kamhawi, Program Coordinator for Africa and Middle East at TI, said that CPI is a 'perception index' based on surveys which assess corruption in the public sector and if there has been enough effort from the government to crack down on corruption. Stressing that CPI should not be viewed as an annual comparison, she explained that CPI assesses the perception of the corruption problem in Kuwait by the private sector, businesspeople and analysts.
She explained that in the Middle East and North Africa region, only six countries scored five (on a scale from zero) or above (perceived to be "highly clean"), and 13 countries scored below five (perceived to be highly corrupt), identifying that the perception of corruption remains a serious problem in the region. In her words, these ranks indicate that the region "is still suffering from an endemic problem of corruption that has not yet been tackled properly," Kamhawi said.
According to TI, the negative effects of the financial crisis have underscored the importance of improving governance across the region. Furthermore, the poor results of the 2009 CPI reflect how conflict and political turmoil in the region seriously hamper the effectiveness of anti-corruption efforts. "The threat to political and institutional infrastructures partly explains the governance gap in the region while other factors such as lack of transparency, insecurity and oil wealth continue to fuel corruption," the civil society organization said in the highlight to the CPI on the region.
According to TI, countries where the political and security environment is unstable, such as Yemen, Iran and Iraq, rank at the bottom of the list. "These countries face the challenge of establishing solid and transparent public institutions, with appropriate mechanisms for accountability: the essential elements for preventing and fighting corruption. Where these are absent, any kind of success is very difficult," TI points out.
In the index, TI says Morocco, Egypt and Lebanon are still perceived "as highly corrupt despite the fact that corruption is openly addressed as a principal obstacle to development and the issue of enhancing integrity and accountability in the public and the private sectors is now being addressed.
The 2009 index shows improvement in the scores of Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Jordan, TI said. "It remains to be seen whether this is due to increased political will to fight corruption or whether the negative effects of corruption are being masked by large surpluses, particularly in the oil and gas-rich Gulf states, which are fuelling rapid economic development," TI said. In the case of the UAE, the watchdog observed, one explanation for an improved score may be the increase in corruption cases involving high-level executives, including UAE citizens, as well as the strengthening of the country's Financial Audit Department.
Overall, the global ranking results indicate a great concern. The upward ranking for the GCC shows albeit slow willingness for reform, Kamhawi observed. "We have seen many corruption cases that were brought in public," she said providing an example with the UAE. An independent judiciary system, more public institutional reforms, better access to information and better access to information and greater transparency in the financial policy are the areas that need room for improvement in the fight against corruption in the Gulf, Kamhawi observed.
According to TI, as the world economy begins to register a tentative recovery and some nations continue to wrestle with ongoing conflict and insecurity, it is clear that no region of the world is immune to the perils of corruption. "At a time when massive stimulus packages, fast-track disbursements of public funds and attempts to secure peace are being implemented around the world, it is essential to identify where corruption blocks good governance and accountability, in order to break its corrosive cycle, Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International, said in a press release.
Governance is impacted by corruption and so is economic freedom in any given country. In Kamhawi's words, the greater transparency and access to information and the more economic freedom means that more investors are coming into the country and willing to invest. She concluded, "This plays a very good role in the development process." The least corrupt countries in the world are New Zealand, followed by Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland. The US scored 19, right after the United Kingdom on 17th place. The most corrupt nations are Somalia (180), Afghanistan (179) and Myanmar (178).
By Velina Nacheva
© Kuwait Times 2009
