UAE, Qatar least hit by graft in MENA region: Survey

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The index, according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
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  • Across the MENA region, years of corruption has left countries woefully unprepared to face the COVID-19 pandemic
  • In terms of performance, the UAE and Qatar are the top regional performers on the CPI with scores of 71 and 63 out of 100 respectively

With an average score of 39 for the third consecutive year on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), the Middle East and North Africa region is still perceived as highly corrupt, with little progress made towards controlling the menace.

According to Transparency International’s CPI 2020, the UAE and Qatar are perceived to be less corrupt in the region and are placed at 21st and 30th positions respectively among 180 countries in the world. They are followed by Oman (49th place), Saudi Arabia (52nd) with Bahrain and Kuwait sharing 78th place. 

Transparency International is a global coalition fighting corruption in countries across the world.

In terms of performance, the UAE and Qatar are the top regional performers on the CPI with scores of 71 and 63 out of 100 respectively, while Libya (17), Yemen (15) and Syria (14) are among the worst performers.

The index, according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

Globally, Denmark tops among all nations followed by New Zealand, Finland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, The Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Australia and other countries.

Challenges aplenty

Despite small gains by civil society in the last decade towards building stronger, more sustainable laws to combat corruption and promote transparency, the COVID-19 crisis and resulting emergency measures essentially cancelled these efforts, setting the MENA region back by years.

Political corruption also remains a challenge across the region. In Iraq, corruption enshrined in the system deprives people of their basic rights, including access to safe drinking water, health care, uninterrupted electricity, employment opportunities and an adequate infrastructure, according to TI.

Going forward, some of the biggest challenges in the region, particularly during the COVID-19 recovery, are issues of transparency and equitable access to COVID-19 treatments and vaccines.

COVID-19 challenges

Across the MENA region, years of corruption left countries woefully unprepared to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and health centres lacked the resources and organisation necessary to respond effectively to the first wave of cases. Public hospitals were undersupplied and understaffed, with many health care providers becoming gravely ill.

Trust in the public sector also plummeted when it became clear that there were no good crisis management protocols in place, and that public administrations were too depleted to re-organise quickly and efficiently.

COVID-19 exposed procurement challenges in countries like Jordan where restrictive emergency and defence laws limited free speech and prevented whistleblowers from speaking out against corruption. With a score of 15 out of 100, Yemen dropped eight points since 2012. An ongoing armed conflict and war economy pose major challenges to countering corruption in the country.

“In addition, COVID-19 relief was mismanaged, with little transparency in the distribution of vast amounts of financial and humanitarian aid, resulting in some of those communities hit hardest by the pandemic being among the last to receive much-needed assistance,” TI said. 

Private sector corruption

Despite above average CPI scores of some members of the GCC, corruption continues to be a significant issue.

While the CPI measures public sector corruption, countries like UAE often perpetuate corruption elsewhere because of how their private sector is regulated.

In fact, multiple investigative reports show that UAE is a key piece in the global money laundering puzzle and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has criticised the government for their lack of action, the TI claimed.

While the UAE and other GCC countries have resources to combat COVID-19 and invest in health care, the ongoing lack of transparency in decision-making leads to other forms of corruption in the region, it said.

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