Myanmar and Afghanistan most corrupt, followed by Russia, India and China
Hong Kong (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Myanmar and Afghanistan are the most corrupt countries in the world with only Somalia ahead. Corruption remains high in Vietnam, China and Russia, while Cambodia and Laos show a slight improvement. The 2010 report on global corruption, published by Transparency International, has examined178 countries.
The report, "Corruption Perceptions Index 2010" considers the degree of corruption of public officials, determined by surveys conducted among economic experts and large global organizations such as, among others, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the Union European Union.
Liao Ran, coordinator of the survey for East Asia, noted that the Burmese military junta "controls the whole country." "So if you want to achieve something, you have no alternative but to pay bribes to the authority in question.
The most corrupt countries include Iraq, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
The report assigns each country a certain number, the result of the information garnered from episodes of pure corruption of public officials, theft of public funds, bribes to obtain contracts and supplies and the effective commitment of the State to fighting corruption. A low ratio indicates a high corruption, the index of 10 means no corruption. The least corrupt countries, with an index of 9.3, were Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore. Hong Kong also did well (13th) as did Japan (17th).
Among the lowest on the list Cambodia and Laos, at 154th place with a 2.1 index. In 2009 they were 158th. Vietnam is 116th. Liao stressed that Cambodia, despite widespread corruption, has a parliament, democratic elections, freedom of speech and association.
Russia was also at 154th place with a 2.2 index. Worst of all Kazakhstan (2.9) virtually the same level as Iran (2.1) and Kyrgyzstan (2).
China’s index has deteriorated, from 3.6 to 3.5, although it increased from 79th to 78th place. This however is a sign that endemic public corruption remains intact, despite political leaders repeated promises of "zero tolerance" (see photo). Experts note that the fight against corruption requires not so much exemplary punishment (life imprisonment or even death), as greater media and citizens freedom in denouncing abuses and independence of the judiciary from political power.
India has also slipped, from 84th to 87th place. Many also believe this the result of its organization of the Commonwealth Games, which led to serious allegations of corruption.
Liao noted that in many Eastern countries, there are widespread "gray areas" caused by the shift from agrarian to modern industrial societies, with the risk a "personal" management of public affairs.
"Corruption - he said - is a global problem, against which global political reforms are needed to make public affairs transparent and a source accountability. "
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24/03/2023 13:21
