Nigeria’s anti-graft war ineffective, says Transparency International (The Guardian News Papers)Tuesday, 09 July 2013 00:00 By Kabir Alabi Garba, Transparency International Indicts political parties, police as most corrupt institutions IF the Federal Government believes its anti-corruption war, in the last two years, has yielded fruits, the Transparency International thinks otherwise. The global civil society group, in its latest survey tagged Global Corruption Barometer 2013, ranks Nigeria among 88 countries where anti-corruption efforts are considered to be “ineffective.” A total of 114,000 respondents in 107 countries participated in the survey that seeks to examine how corruption features in people’s lives around the world. According to TI, “a country’s government is in a unique position to lead the societal response to corruption, to set standards, to put anti-corruption laws in place and ensure they are implemented. But are governments around the world doing enough? “The majority of people (54 per cent) in the Global Corruption Barometer survey consider their government to be ineffective at fighting corruption. “This lack of confidence in government efforts has grown compared to people’s views in our last survey in 2010/2011 when just under half (47 per cent) of people surveyed thought the government to be ineffective. The survey shows that in as many as 88 countries, the majority of people consider their government to be ineffective in addressing corruption.” What appears puzzling to TI about the survey is the realization that 16 out of the 17 G20 countries, which have repeatedly committed themselves to act as global leaders in good governance and anti-corruption, are included in the group of countries where respondents view government anti-corruption efforts as ineffective. The report notes: “Only in Turkey do a relative majority of people think that their government has been effective. In December 2010, G20 leaders committed to a two-year Anti-corruption Action Plan for 2013 and 2014, placing an emphasis on closing the implementation and enforcement gap. Recognizing the role that people have to play in stopping corruption, the passing and implementation of effective whistleblower protection legislation for all public and private sector employees will need to be a priority. This should ensure prompt, effective and independent follow-up and include full legal remedies in case of retaliation.” Under ‘Corruption in Major Institutions’ with emphasis on 12 key sectors such as political parties, police, public officials/civil servants, parliament/legislature, judiciary, business/private sector, medical and health services, education system, media, military, NGOs, and religious bodies, Nigeria is among 51 countries where political parties are considered to be most corrupt. Two other African countries that feature in this category are Senegal and Tunisia. On the list also are United Kingdom, United States, France, Germany, Brazil, Canada, Argentina, Australia, Israel, Italy, Japan, India, Iraq, South Korea, Palestine, and Portugal, among others. Police is the next most corrupt institution, and 19 out of 36 countries surveyed are from Africa. They are Burundi, Cameroun, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Summarising its finding under this sub-heading, the survey notes that in a given country, corruption differs in its severity across different sectors and different institutions. Political parties were seen to be the most corrupt institution, scoring 3.8 on the scale of one to five. “The police were seen to be the next most corrupt institution, followed by the judiciary, parliament and public officials. In short, it is the actors that are supposed to be running countries and upholding the rule of law that are seen as the most corrupt, judged to be abusing their positions of power and acting in their own interests rather than for the citizens they are there to represent and serve. “Religious institutions are seen as least corrupt around the world. However, people in a number of countries perceive even these institutions to be highly corrupt. In its introduction, the report is point blank on its mission: To address people’s direct experiences with bribery and detail their views on corruption in the main institutions in their countries. But significantly, Transparency International’s Global Corruption Barometer also provides insights into how willing and ready people are to act to stop corruption. The findings, it asserts, are clear: “Corruption is a very real burden, with more than one out of four respondents reporting having paid a bribe during the last year. When people are not in a position to afford a bride, they might be prevented from buying a home, starting a business or accessing basic services. “Corruption can, and often does, infringe on fundamental rights. For those surviving on less than $2 a day, and for women who are the primary caretakers of children around the globe, corruption and bribery are particularly devastating. For them, the additional cost of bribery can mean trade. Not only do people pay the cost of corruption directly, but their quality of life is also affected by less visible forms of corruption. When powerful groups buy influence over government decisions or when public funds are diverted into the coffers of the political elite, ordinary people suffer. When there is widespread belief that corruption prevails and the powerful in particular are able to get away with it, people lose faith in those entrusted with power.”
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 05:17:11 +0000