Bangladesh drops a notch on corruption index

The perception of corruption is still alarming in Bangladesh as the country has dropped a notch on the global corruption perception index (CPI) to rank 147th among 180 countries – the second most corrupt in South Asia.

Bangladesh's score on the index for 2021 was 26 out of 100, which has been unchanged for the fourth year, according to the Berlin-based Transparency International's report revealed on Tuesday.

In the 2020 CPI index, Bangladesh ranked 146th.

Afghanistan came out the most corrupt in South Asia with 16 points and 174th on the global CPI list.

Denmark, Finland and New Zealand ranked as the least corrupt countries in the world with a score of 88, while South Sudan is the most corrupt country in the world with a score of 11.

The Transparency International prepares the CPI report annually on 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The global average score is 43.

The Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) presented the CPI report at a webinar in Dhaka.

Bangladesh ranked the third most corrupt country in the Asia-Pacific region of 31 countries.

In South Asia, Bhutan has the lowest level of corruption with a score of 68 ranking 25th in the world followed by India and the Maldives ranking 85th with 40 points each, Sri Lanka 102nd with 37 points, Pakistan 140th with 28 points, Nepal 117th with 33 points, and Afghanistan 174th with 16 points.

Madagascar and Mozambique are also in the same position as Bangladesh with a score of 26.

Countries with the highest scores in the CPI list are: Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Germany.

TIB Executive Director Iftekharuzzaman said it seems Bangladesh has apparently progressed, but that has no substantive value as it has remained the second most corrupt country in South Asia for the past eight years.

"The position does not matter at all. Rather, the score matters," he added.

Moreover, the Transparency International has done a 10-year trend analysis and found that corruption was stagnant in Bangladesh, Iftekharuzzaman added.

"Corruption is still alarming in Bangladesh as there is no change in the score," he said.

He said about 2%-3% of the GNI is wasted annually in Bangladesh due to corruption. About 89% of people seeking services in the public sector said they got no service without paying a bribe. This practice deprives common people and disadvantaged communities from the benefit of development. 

"The low score for the last 10 years proves that Bangladesh cannot progress in the corruption index due to lack of enforcement of the law and a weak superstructure, despite a commitment of zero tolerance for corruption alongside other measures," said Iftekharuzzaman.  

Moreover corruption cannot be curbed in Bangladesh as there is degradation of political integrity, abuse of power by politicians, and the nexus of politics and crime, he added. 

But a Commissioner of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), Mozammel Haque Khan, said the explanation of corruption is wrong and the report of TI is biased.

As the expectation is high among people, the report shows a different scenario from what is real. The CPI situation is much better now, he added.      

Former ACC Chairman Golam Rahman told The Business Standard that corruption in Bangladesh is indeed as the CPI report suggests. He felt all employees, top to bottom, in government offices and courts are party to bribery. 

The zero-tolerance policy is in black and white only, he said, adding that political will is required to enforce it.