PAN, January 27, 2016

Dubious distinction: Afghanistan 3rd most corrupt country

In its report, the influential global watchdog alleged hat child labour remained a sad reality in an environment where citizens were trapped in poverty while corrupt officials were paid off

In the Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perceptions Index for 2015, Afghanistan has been listed the third most corrupt country in the world.

Millions of dollars that should have been spent on Afghanistan’s reconstruction have been wasted or stolen, seriously undermining efforts to restore peace, the organisation said on Wednesday.

In its report, the influential global watchdog alleged hat child labour remained a sad reality in an environment where citizens were trapped in poverty while corrupt officials were paid off.

Human trafficking, child mortality, poor education standards, environmental destruction and terrorism were identified as other causes of the devastation fuelled by corruption.

“The 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index clearly shows that corruption remains a blight around the world. But 2015 was also a year when people again took to the streets to protest corruption,” said Transparency International chairperson.

Jose Ugaz remarked: “Corruption can be beaten if we work together. To stamp out the abuse of power, bribery and shed light on secret deals, citizens must together tell their governments they have had enough.”

Overall, two-thirds of the 168 countries on the 2015 index scored below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean).

In 2015, Afghanistan did better than North Korea and Somalia -- the worst performers. Denmark took the top spot for the second year running. The big decliners in the past 4 years include Libya, Australia, Brazil, Spain and Turkey.

Characters Count: 2294