Nigeria most corrupt in Africa -TI
There is a worldwide corruption crisis. That is the clear message from
the 2001 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), reports Peter Eigen, chairman
of Transparancy International. “There is no end in sight to the misuse
of power by those in public office - and corruption levels are seen to be
as high as ever in both the developing and developed worlds.”
Releasing the results of this year’s CPI, Eigen observed that the
index illustrates once more “the vicious circle of poverty and corruption,
where parents have to bribe underpaid teachers to secure an education
for their children and underresourced health services provide a breeding
ground for corruption. The world’s poorest are the greatest victims
of corruption. Vast amounts of public funds are being wasted and stolen
by corrupt officials”.
This year’s index ranks 91 countries. Fifty-five of the world’s
poorest countries scored less than five, suggesting high levels of perceived
corruption in government and public administration. The most corrupt,
those countries with a score of two or less, are Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya,
Uganda, Azerbaijan, Bolivia and Bangladesh. Some of the richest in the
world - Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, Iceland and Sweden - scored
9 or higher indicating very low levels of perceived corruption.
Africa’s least corrupt countries are Botswana with a score of six
and Tunisia - 5.3. All other African countries surveyed scored less than
five.
The TI chairman noted that AIDS is killing millions of Africans, and in
many of the countries where AIDS is at its deadliest the problem is compounded
by the fact that corruption levels are seen to be very high.
“While it is imperative that richer countries provide the fruits
of medical research at an affordable price to address this human tragedy,”
says Eigen, “it is also essential that corrupt governments do not
steal from their own people. This is now an urgent priority if lives are
to be saved.”
The index reflects the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist
among public officials and politicians. Scores of less than five out of
a clean score of 10 are registered by countries on every continent.
Read the full
story in the January 2002 edition of African Business Magazine
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