Transparency International has just published its annual report 2017 on the Corruption Perception Index in 180 countries around the world. This year Haiti is in the top 25 of the most corrupt countries, randing 157th with 22 points, tied with Burundi, Uzbekistan and Cambodia. At regional level (America) Haiti is ranked penultimate, Venezuela being the most corrupt country of the region. With 29 points the Dominican Republic occupies the 135th place (down 15 places compared to 2016). Recall that in 2016 Haiti was ranked 159th out of 176 countries https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-19908-haiti-economy-corruption-haiti-poorly-rated.html

This year’s results highlight the connection between corruption and inequality, which feed off each other to create a vicious circle between corruption, unequal distribution of power in society, and unequal distribution of wealth, stresse Transparency International. The interplay of corruption and inequality also feeds populism. When traditional politicians fail to tackle corruption, people grow cynical. Increasingly, people are turning to populist leaders who promise to break the cycle of corruption and privilege. Yet this is likely to exacerbate – rather than resolve – the tensions that fed the populist surge in the first place.

Over two-thirds of the 176 countries and territories in this year's index fall below the midpoint of our scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). The global average score is a paltry 43, indicating endemic corruption in a country's public sector. Top-scoring countries (yellow in the map below) are far outnumbered by orange and red countries where citizens face the tangible impact of corruption on a daily basis.

"In too many countries, people are deprived of their most basic needs and go to bed hungry every night because of corruption, while the powerful and corrupt enjoy lavish lifestyles with impunity [...] We can not afford the luxury of waiting. Corruption must be fought urgently so that people's lives improve around the world" underline José Ugaz, Chair of Transparency International.

HL/ HaitiLibre