Berlin, Oct 07: Rich nations need to do much more to help developing countries tackle endemic corruption, the head of a global graft watchdog urged today at the launch of a new report on sleaze. The survey of 133 nations by Transparency International showed Bangladesh, Nigeria and Haiti bottom of the pile for perceived levels of corruption among public officials and politicians. Paraguay and Myanmar were next, and there were also low marks for the likes of Kenya, Indonesia, Libya, Sierra Leone, Iraq and Zimbabwe. At the top were Finland, Iceland, Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore. Hong Kong also performed well, as did most of Western Europe, Australia, the United States, Israel and Japan. Peter Eigen, the head of Berlin-based Transparency International, said that developing countries that showed the political will to curb corruption needed more support.
"Nations starting with a high degree of corruption should not be penalised since they are in the most urgent need of support," he added.
He urged the leaders of developing nations to put in place anti-corruption measures, "but they also urgently require practical help tailored to the needs of their national strategies.
"In addition donor nations and international financial institutions should take a firmer line, stopping support to corrupt governments, and blacklisting international companies caught paying bribes abroad."
Bureau Report