Corrupt countries need help

2003-10-07 08:20

Berlin - Rich nations need to do much more to help developing countries tackle endemic corruption, the head of a global graft watchdog urged on Tuesday at the launch of a new report on sleaze.

The survey of 133 nations by Transparency International showed Bangladesh, Nigeria and Haiti bottom of the pile for perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians.

Paraguay and Myanmar were next, and there were also low marks for the likes of Kenya, Indonesia, Libya, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Zimbabwe.

At the top were Finland, Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore. Hong Kong also performed well, as did most of western Europe, Australia, the United States, Israel and Japan.

Political will

Peter Eigen, the head of Berlin-based Transparency International, said that developing countries that showed the political will to curb corruption needed more support.

"Nations starting with a high degree of corruption should not be penalised since they are in the most urgent need of support," he added.

He urged the leaders of developing nations to put in place anti-corruption measures, "but they also urgently require practical help tailored to the needs of their national strategies.

Blacklisting

"In addition donor nations and international financial institutions should take a firmer line, stopping support to corrupt governments, and blacklisting international companies caught paying bribes abroad."

The survey is a poll of polls reflecting the perceptions of academics, risk analysts and business people. This year's index was based on 17 surveys by 13 independent institutions.

Eigen said that even with 133 countries - only those featured in at least three surveys make it onto the list - it could only serve as a "snapshot" as there was insufficient data on others.

Seven out of 10 countries scored less than five out of a clean score of 10 in the survey.

As for developing nations alone, half of them scored less than three out of 10, indicating a high level of perceived corruption.

Although comparisons can be difficult - last year only 102 countries were listed while this year there were 133 because of more reliable information - Eigen pointed to some trends.

He said the situation had improved in Colombia, France, Germany, Malaysia, Norway and Tunisia.

In contrast, a perception of corruption grew in Argentina, Belarus, Chile, Israel, Poland, the United States and Zimbabwe.

Eigen urged developed countries and international companies to fulfil their obligations under an anti-bribery convention drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

"The convention took effect in 1999 but we are still awaiting prosecutions in the courts of the 35 signatory countries," Eigen said.

"The bribes and incentives to corrupt public officials and politicians are undermining the prospects of sustainable development in poorer countries."

- AFP