A little less corrupt

Governments of Pakistan have a distinctly uneasy relationship with Transparency International (TI), principally because it is in the habit of telling them what they already know but would rather nobody mentioned. There is also unease at the fact that the report is based on a basket of perceptions rather than statistical data, but it nonetheless remains a global bellwether, accurate or otherwise. The illegality of corruption everywhere makes objectively quantifying it difficult if not impossible in purely scientific terms, and on that basis, the TI findings must be taken with a pinch of salt, notwithstanding that Pakistan has improved its ranking in the global Corruption Perceptions Index by 12 places compared with 2012. Today we are 45^th from the bottom rather than the 35 we were at last year. That may be something of an illusion as the score for Pakistan in 2013 is 28 compared with the 27 in 2012, and our ‘improvement’ may have more to do with the decline in standards in other countries rather than a perceived improvement in Pakistan.

Placing corruption in context, TI assesses that 70 per cent of nations are thought to have a ‘serious problem’ and no nation gets a ‘perfect’ score. Corruption hits the poorest hardest and it is thus no surprise to find the world’s most poverty-stricken states at the bottom. Corruption is linked to countries that are disintegrating or involved in civil war. Pakistan is not disintegrating but it is certainly involved in a low-level war within its boundaries and has a civil bureaucracy whose corruption has reached almost legendary status. It is possible to reduce corruption and Myanmar is a country in the neighbourhood that has lifted itself. It has moved from being governed by a military junta to a limited democracy, which has triggered an investment boom. Pakistan has consolidated its democratic credentials in the previous year. Transparency and accountability attract investors and create a tide that erodes corruption. More of both would serve us well.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 6^th, 2013.

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