Iraq, Kurdistan Region among world’s most corrupt nations: Transparency Int’l
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BERLIN,— Anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International released its Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 on Thursday with Iraq placing at the 17th most corrupt state in the world, near the bottom of the rankings, reinforcing the fact that graft is an endemic problem in the country.
Overall, the organization found that “a staggering number of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption.”
Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, ranked 162 out of 180 countries examined in the annual study. It earned 20 out of available 100 points, putting it on par with Chad and Cambodia. Its ranking rose six places from the previous year.
At the heart of the ongoing anti-government protests sweeping Baghdad and the southern provinces is a critique that Iraqi governance is fundamentally corrupt, with elites enriching themselves from the public purse and wealth only trickling down to working class youth through deeply unfair and exploitative patronage systems. More than 450 people have killed in the protests taking on this system.
In the Transparency International’s 2018 Index, Iraq include Kurdistan was tied for 12th most corrupt country in the world.
In its 2019 Index, Transparency International noted that 2019 saw a number of anti-corruption protests across the globe, including in Iraq, Chile, Lebanon, Algeria, and the Czech Republic.
“This frustration fuels a growing lack of trust in government and further erodes public confidence in political leaders, elected officials and democracy,” the watchdog wrote.
“To have any chance of curbing corruption, governments must strengthen checks and balances, limit the influence of big money in politics and ensure broad input in political decision-making. Public policies and resources should not be determined by economic power or political influence, but by fair consultation and impartial budget allocation,” it added.
Denmark and New Zealand led the rankings this year, with Finland, Singapore, Sweden, and Switzerland rounding out the top of the list.
Somalia was viewed as the most corrupt country, with South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen also near the bottom of the ranking.
Iraq was viewed as the fourth most corrupt country in the Middle East and North Africa, trailing only Syria, Yemen, and Libya.
For many years, transparency organizations, lawmakers, observers, and international organizations have accused senior Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government KRG officials of corruption, especially with regard to expropriation of the Kurdistan’s oil income.
Kurdistan considered as the most corrupted part of Iraq. According to Kurdish lawmakers and leaked documents billions of dollars are missing from Iraqi Kurdistan’s oil revenues.
The ruling Barzani clan have been routinely accused by critics and oberevers of neptunism and amassing huge wealth from oil business for the family instead of serving the population. KDP party leader and ex-president Massoud Barzani remains the most powerful leader in the shadow according to analysts. Massoud’s son Masrour is the Kurdistan region’s prime minister and his nephew Nechirvan Barzani is president of Kurdistan.
Also the ruling Talabani family and its allies have been routinely accused by transparency organizations and observers of corruption and amassing huge wealth from oil business in the the areas controlled by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.
The Kurdish government has long promised action to combat graft, but has never made much headway.
Politicians in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region frequently cite their rhetorical support for anti-corruption measures, but have made little headway towards solving the problem.
Most Corrupt Countries – 2019 Index:
1. Somalia
2. South Sudan
3. Syria
4. Yemen
5. Venezuela
6. Sudan
7. Equatorial Guinea
8. Afghanistan
9. Korea, North
10. Libya
11. Haiti
12. Guinea Bissau
13. Democratic Republic of the Congo
14. Turkmenistan
15. Congo
16. Burundi
17. Iraq
18. Chad
Transparency ranked 180 countries based upon perceived levels of corruption. Each nation was given a score of 0-100 with the higher the number, the better the country did in countering corruption. The Middle East and North Africa did poorly once again.
Read more about Corruption in Iraqi Kurdistan
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