Pakistan’s ranking on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has gone from being the 42nd most corrupt country in 2011 to 33rd in 2012.

 Pakistan’s ranking on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has gone from being the 42nd most corrupt country in 2011 to 33rd in 2012.

KARACHI: Pakistan’s ranking on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has gone from being the 42nd most corrupt country in 2011 to 33rd in 2012.

This was disclosed by Chairman Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) Advocate Sohail Muzaffar, while briefing the media at the Karachi Press Club on Wednesday afternoon.

Besides, he said that on November 28, 2012 Pakistan had also been declared the seventh most corrupt country out of 97 in the rule of law index of 2012, which, he said, was a clear indicator of the fact that corruption­ in Pakistan was clearly on the rise.

Quoting the Chairman National Accountability Bureau (NAB), he said that daily corruption in Pakistan was to the tune of Rs7 billion. This, he said, meant that within five years, if the trend were allowed to continue unchecked, corruption would touch the Rs12,600 billion mark.

He quoted the Member, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Asrar Rauf as saying that in January and February, by collecting Rs150 billion the FBR would whiten Rs15,000 billion under the new Tax Amnesty Scheme (in the last five years the FBR collection was around Rs7,500 billion).

Adil Jilani of TI Pakistan said that corruption was on the way up because of a total lack of accountability. He said, there was no mechanism to enforce accountability.

He said while Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tied for first place in the CPI, with scores of 90, helped by strong access to information systems and stringent rules governing those in public positions, the score of Pakistan was a mere 30. The scale starts from 0, perceived to be extremely corrupt,to 100, perceived to be very clean.

He said that ratings of a country were based on the rule of law, the cost of doing business, the judicial system, and the police’s integrity and performance.Talking of the TIP’s recent MoU with PIA, Advocate Muzaffar said that TIP had changed the whole PIA tender system and would continue to monitor it.

Adil Jilani said that they would also be monitoring the Rs171 million World Bank-aided irrigation project for Sindh.As far as corruption on the global scale is concerned, the TIP’s CPI for 2012 shows that corruption continues to ravage societies the world over. Two-third of the 176 countries surveyed scored below 50 on the cleanliness perception, thereby underscoring the need for public institutions to be more transparent and for officials in whom multiple powers were vested to become more accountable. (TheNews)

                                           DailyExpress