Corruption on rise in Middle East

Corruption is increasing in some Middle East countries according to a new report

03 DECEMBER 2013

Corruption is getting worse in three Middle Eastern countries that underwent Arab Spring uprisings partly prompted by public desire to end shady dealings, according to an international watchdog group.

Transparency International cited continuing political instability in Yemen, Syria and Libya for the rise in corruption.

On a scale where zero is highly corrupt and 100 very clean, Yemen's rating fell five points to 18, Syria dropped nine points to 17, and Libya was down six points to 15. Iraq, still reeling from the effects of the 2003 invasion, also dropped from 18 to 16.

The group's annual Corruption Perceptions Index ranks more than four-fifths of countries in the Middle East below 50. Countries in the region scored an average 37, below the global average of 43.

"Imagine what it takes for a country to root out corruption - it always takes institutions with people in them who have levels of integrity and a system of independent oversight," said Christoph Wilcke, Transparency's director for Middle East and North Africa. "In conflict situations, all of that goes out of the window right away."

With the overthrow of Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh last year, the lawlessness that followed led to an expansion of corruption in army, police and government agencies.

In Libya, bribery and embezzlement were common under slain dictator Gaddafi's 42-year rule. But the collapse of his government in an uprising supported by a Western bombing campaign has done little to root out corruption.

Last year, for example, Prime Minister Ali Zidan revealed that a monthly stipend for rebels who fought Gaddafi's regime was paid out to 250,000 duplicated names - meaning Libya may have handed out hundreds of millions of dollars extra until the programme was halted.

And in Syria with the ongoing civil war, smuggling, bribe paying and other issues have increased with the breakdown of state order.

Egypt's score remained unchanged at 32, but Mr Wilcke noted that the report was based primarily on surveys from the first half of the year before the turmoil that ensued after the military removed president Mohammed Morsi in July.

The index measures the perception of corruption in the public sector. Mr Wilcke said that there is a general feeling of corruption across the board in the Middle East, including police, judiciary, and government procurement offices.