Survey: Oil wealth and corruption go hand-in-hand
Britain is the 11th-least corrupt nation in the world, according to new survey which says oil wealth and corruption go hand in hand. Ireland came joint 17th with the US and Belgium.
Transparency International said in its annual survey of global corruption that oil companies should provide more information about their dealings to help clean up the market.
Of 146 countries in the survey, 106 scored lower than five compared with a best score of 10, the organisation said.
Bangladesh, Haiti, Nigeria, Chad, Myanmar, Azerbaijan and Paraguay were perceived to be the most corrupt, all scoring lower than two.
“As the Corruption Perceptions Index 2004 shows, oil-rich Angola, Azerbaijan, Chad, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, Nigeria, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela and Yemen all have extremely low scores,” Transparency International Chairman Peter Eigen said.
“In these countries, public contracting in the oil sector is plagued by revenues vanishing into the pockets of Western oil executives, middlemen and local officials,” he said.
Eigen said oil companies could help stamp out corruption by publishing details of the fees, royalties and other payments made to governments and state oil companies.
“Access to this vital information will minimise opportunities for hiding the payment of kickbacks to secure oil tenders, a practice that has blighted the oil industry in transition and post-war economies,” he said.
Transparency International’s index is compiled from a series of polls on perceptions of corruption made by independent organisations.
This year’s report is based on 18 surveys conducted since 2002, by a dozen organisations. The index rates only those countries which appear in three or more surveys.
Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Iceland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland were rated the least corrupt, all scoring higher than ninth out of 10 on the index.
Compared with last year’s report, corruption was perceived to be worse in Bahrain, Belize, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Oman, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Improved scores were recorded for Austria, Botswana, Czech Republic, El Salvador, France, Gambia, Germany, Jordan, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates and Uruguay, Transparency International said.
Best and worst countries in the Global Corruption Perceptions Index.
Scores are based on a scale of zero (worst) to 10 (best).
Top 10:
1. Finland 9.7
2. New Zealand 9.6
3. Denmark 9.5
3. Iceland 9.5
5. Singapore 9.3
6. Sweden 9.2
7. Switzerland 9.1
8. Norway 8.9
9. Australia 8.8
10. Netherlands 8.7
Bottom 10:
133. Angola 2.0
133. Democratic Republic of Congo 2.0
133. Ivory Coast 2.0
133. Georgia 2.0
133. Indonesia 2.0
133. Tajikistan 2.0
133. Turkmenistan 2.0
140. Azerbaijan 1.9
140. Paraguay 1.9
142. Chad 1.7
142. Myanmar 1.7
144. Nigeria 1.6
145. Bangladesh 1.5
145. Haiti 1.5
