29445: Lucas: Haiti #1 (news) (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Stanley Lucas <maloukwi@yahoo.com>

  Haiti tops world corruption table
  Haiti has been ranked as the most corrupt country in the World by 
Transparency International (TI), followed by Burma and Iraq.
  The Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog said that for the first time, Haiti 
topped the table.
  The survey relates to perceptions of the degree of corruption in different 
countries, as seen by business people, academics and risk analysts.
  Bangladesh had headed the rankings for the previous five years.
  The chair of TI, Hugette Labelle, said that there was a strong correlation 
between corruption and poverty.
  TEN MOST CORRUPT STATES
  Haiti
  Burma
  Iraq
  Guinea
  Sudan
  DR Congo
  Chad
  Bangladesh
  Uzbekistan
  Equatorial Guinea
  Source: Transparency International
  "Corruption traps millions in poverty," she said.
  "Despite a decade of progress in establishing anti-corruption laws and 
regulations, today's results indicate that much remains to be done before we 
see meaningful improvements in the lives of the world's poorest citizens."
  'Scandals'
  Corruption was perceived as being "rampant" in 71 of the countries studied.
  Among those whose corruption had worsened in the past year were Brazil, 
Tunisia and the US, TI said.
  It added that the Czech Republic, Latvia and Uruguay were among those whose 
perception had improved.
  "While the industrialised countries score relatively high, we continue to see 
major corruption scandals in many of these countries," TI said.
  "Although corruption in this context may have less impact on poverty and 
development than in developing countries, these scandals demonstrate that there 
is no room for complacency."
  TEN LEAST CORRUPT STATES
  Finland
  Iceland
  New Zealand
  Denmark
  Singapore
  Sweden
  Switzerland
  Norway
  Australia
  Netherlands
  Source: Transparency International
  Haiti was the world's first black-led republic and the first Caribbean state 
to achieve independence.
  But it has suffered from decades of poverty, environmental degradation, 
violence, instability and dictatorship which have left it as the poorest nation 
in the Americas.
  A mostly mountainous country with a tropical climate, Haiti's location, 
history and culture once made it a potential tourist hot spot.
  However, instability and violence, especially since the 1980s, have all but 
destroyed this prospect.
  Another TI study published last month, found that firms from China and India 
were most willing to pay bribes abroad to do business.
  French and Italian firms were named as the worst culprits for paying bribes 
in low-income countries.



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