October 22, 2004
Rampant corruption in South Asia can retard MDG progress
OneWorld South Asia

South Asian countries may find it difficult to receive funds for development as Transparency International (TI) ranks the region low on Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which was released on October 20.

Narendra Deo, OneWorld South Asia

NEW DELHI, Oct 21 (OneWorld) - South Asian countries may find it difficult to receive funds for development as Transparency International (TI) ranks the region low on Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which was released on October 20.

Globally 60 countries score less than 3 out of 10, indicating rampant corruption. Bangladesh along with others, which have a score of less than 2, is perceived to be among the most corrupt.

Among the 146 countries surveyed, Sri Lanka was ranked 67 with a CPI score of 3.5, India and Nepal stood at 90 (2.8), Pakistan at 129 (2.1), while Bangladesh was ranked 145 (1.5).

The TI Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.

This year’s Corruption Perceptions Index draws on 18 surveys provided to Transparency International between 2002 and 2004, which were conducted by 12 independent institutions.

“Some governments have begun to wonder whether it is useful to provide aid to countries perceived to be corrupt – and have sought to use corruption scores to determine which countries receive aid, and which do not,” said TI vice-chair Rosa Inés Ospina Robledo on the occasion of the release.

Globally corruption in large-scale public projects is an obstacle to sustainable development as it results in a major loss of public funds needed for education, healthcare and poverty alleviation.

“Across the globe, international donors and national governments must do more to ensure transparency in public procurement by introducing no-bribery clauses into all major projects.” she said while speaking in Bogota, Colombia.

She drew attention to the volume of money lost in public contracting that can hinder our aim to achieve Millennium Development Goals by 2015. “If we hope to reach the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015, governments need to seriously tackle corruption in public contracting. With government expenditure on public contracting amounting to close to US$ 4 trillion worldwide, the amount lost to bribery is at least US$ 400 billion per year.”

CPI is a composite index, drawing on corruption-related data in expert surveys carried out by a variety of reputable institutions. It reflects the views of businesspeople and analysts from around the world, including experts who are locals in the countries evaluated.

Nepal was included in the survey for the first time this year while this report was the 10th in the series.

Some other corruption indices such as Global Corruption Barometer (concerned with attitudes that the general public forms vis-à-vis the levels of corruption) and Bribe Payers Index (focusing on the propensity of firms from leading export countries to bribe abroad) are also used to measure the different aspects of corruption.

Global Corruption Report 2004, another TI report released earlier this month, highlighted the corruption in the political process, and on the insidious impact of corrupt politics on public life in societies across the globe.

Issues such as regulation of political finance, disclosure of money flows in politics and the enforcement of political finance laws, vote buying and role of private sector and tackling the abuse of office – including reducing conflicts of interest, limiting recourse to immunity, pursuing extradition and repatriating stolen wealth are discussed in the report.

The report also evaluates various mechanisms that can curb corruption in politics,from citizen’s action to the creation of new international norms and standards.

The report also discusses particular weak spots in political life: the abuse of money in the political system by candidates and political officials; the lack of transparency about money flows in politics; the potential of the private sector to purchase influence, distorting both the marketplace and the fair representation of the public interest; the corruption of the electoral process; and the way the legal system can affect the ability of states to pursue justice in major corruption crimes.

The report points out that corruption is rampant in public services across the region and impinges directly on everyday life. Across South Asia, the state has a monopoly on the delivery of critical public services such as potable water, health, education and power. Given the overarching role of the state, there is no real escape option.

The household surveys conducted in south Asian countries with a sample size of 16,425, indicates the tight grip of petty corruption on the everyday lives of citizens in the region. Access to public services was found to be an important issue for a large proportion of the population in all five countries, especially in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The finding implies that the poor in these countries face the danger of exclusion from access to public services due to the high artificial barriers, economic and otherwise.

Petty corruption was found to be endemic in all key public sectors in the five countries, with citizens reporting moderate to high levels of corruption in their regular interaction with public services. Lack of accountability and monopoly of power were quoted as major factors contributing to corruption in public services. Extortion was the most prevalent form of corruption, with middle and lower-level functionaries identified as the key facilitators of corruption in all sectors studied.

Asked about their experiences, actual users of services in all countries indicated that the police and judiciary were the two most corrupt sectors, followed by land administration and the tax department.

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