TOI : India out of 'truly' corrupt list, Haiti leads bribery brigade : Aug 25, 2007

India out of 'truly' corrupt list, Haiti leads bribery brigade

    Corruption in nearly half the world's nations is not getting much better
and, indeed, in many countries is intensifying-affecting virtually every
aspect of life among peoples on every continent.

    While a year ago, some 72 out of 158 nations surveyed by the
international watchdog group Transparency International were classified as
"corrupt,'' now 74 of 163 countries fall into the same category.

    A few, most notably India, managed to bootstrap themselves (just barely)
out of the 'truly corrupt' group, while others, particularly Iran, dug
themselves more firmly into that camp. Last year India was ranked 70 out of
163.

    TI has developed an index from 0 to 10 comprised of surveys of
specialists, opinion leaders, business officials and human rights monitors
who live, work or travel extensively in each of the countries ranked. The
higher the score, the less corrupt the country. Tied for No. 1 this year,
with a CPI score of 9.6 are Finland, Iceland and New Zealand. At the bottom,
with a score of 1.8 is Haiti.

    Below 5, you have 119 countries out of 163, including such nations as
Italy, Greece, South Africa, Brazil and China. On the back of an improved
performance this year, India, joined this list.

    Below 3 on the TI scale, some 47 nations drop off, though many are very
close to the line. Unfortunately, most of the corruption occurs in countries
whose populations are least equipped to deal with the consequences-the world's
most deprived nations.

    In Cambodia, where twothirds of the population earns less than $2 a
month and onethird earns less than $1, a "substantial portion'' of the $500
million to $600 million in donor aid each year is "lost to unofficial fees,
an informal system of patronage, illicit 'facilitation' payments by
businesses and individuals,'' one Transparency official said.

    Such under-the-counter payments for everything from the simplest
municipal services to appointments to many of the nation's highest offices,
particularly those where there is the greatest access to illicit profits,
are the effective rule of law in most of the nations surveyed-especially in
Africa, Central Asia, and Latin America.

    In general, the most corrupt nations are those with "an extremely weak
institutional setting,'' according to Transparency officials. In Haiti, for
instance, President Jean-Bertrand Aristide fled in the face of an internal
uprising and international pressure after he sought to move a number of his
political allies into the highest positions within the justice system.

    However, a corrupt police force is still almost ubiquitous there,
helping to cement the country's place alone at the top of the most corrupt
list.

    The former Central Asian republics of the Soviet Union are grouped near
the top of the list of most-corrupt nations. The US state department reports
that "Turkmenistan has laws to combat corruption, but they are ineffective,
and corruption is rampant.'' At the same time, nearby Tajikistan is
subsisting largely on a narco economy.

    Another state department report noted that "rampant illicit trafficking
of Afghan opium and heroin through Tajikistan remains a serious longterm
threat to Tajikistan's stability and development, fostering corruption,
violent crime, HIV/AIDS and economic distortions.''

    Among the least corrupt nations, the United States has slipped to No. 20
this year from No. 17 last year, while France, Belgium, Ireland and Japan
leap-frogged over the U.S. in the rankings.

    The top 10-the world's least corrupt countries-has remained virtually
unchanged with Finland, Iceland and New Zealand tied for the lead, followed
closely by Denmark, Singapore and Sweden. FORBES

Publication:Times Of India Mumbai; Date:Aug 25, 2007; Section:Times
Business; Page Number:23

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