More than
red tape
Dec 8th
2013, 18:52 by S.B. | MANAMA
The
Economist
THE latest
Corruption Perceptions Index by Transparency International, a lobby, does not
make happy reading for those in the Middle East .
Five Arab countries come among the bottom ten countries for corruption: Somalia , Sudan ,
Libya , Iraq and Syria . The highest ranking of the
177 states included in the study is the UAE at 26. Qatar comes two places further
down. Israel
fares slightly worse in 36th position. The other Gulf countries do best among
the remaining Arab states: Bahrain ,
Oman , Saudi Arabia follow the UAE and Qatar . Egypt . which
desperately needs to kick start its economy after almost three years of
turmoil, comes in at a lousy 114 (joint with Indonesia ).
The ranking
is based on a survey of perceptions among experts, politicians and business
people. Syria and Libya have both
fallen a long way in recent years, perhaps unsurprisingly given the turmoil in
both countries. But Oman and
Jordan
have also dropped lower down the index, for less obvious reasons. Algeria , one of
the countries that didn't see political change in 2011, is seen as less corrupt
than it used to be. The West Bank and Gaza
are not included.
Corruption
is one of the most frequent complaints among those in the Middle
East . Tunisians, Egyptians, Libyans, Syrians and Yemenis who
ousted or are in the process of trying to oust their president all mention this
as one of the reasons for revolting. They complain that simple bureaucratic
procedures require a bribe. They say many jobs and opportunities, especially in
the public sector, are based on connections and nepotism.
It is
interesting to read the Corruption Perceptions Index in tandem with the Global
Corruption Barometer, another Transparency International survey. This sheds
light on which institutions the public in each of 107 countries views as most
corrupt in their country. This year, Libyans worry most about their public
officials and civil servants. Egyptians doubt their media and police; the
latter is also a concern of those in Morocco . Yemenis, Iraqis, Israelis
and Tunisians are all most wary of their political parties. The Sudanese see
religious institutions as the most corrupt bodies in their country. Algerians
mistrust their judiciary and business community. Interestingly, none of the
populations in the 107 countries surveyed believes the military is the
institution most affected by corruption.
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