NEPAL Ranks 122nd in Corruption Perception Index 2017

“Ghus linya ra dinya dubai deshka thula satru hun”

“Both bribe takers and givers are the worst enemies of the nation”. 

-King Prithivi Narayan Shah

This stringent attitude towards corruption was expressed by late King Prithivi Narayan Shah, founder of new Nepal 250 years ago. Unfortunately, the following generations did not learn from him. Although Nepal modernized and became a Republic in 2008, corruption is a widespread phenomenon. Government promises to establish good governance, rule of law, development, peace and prosperity have gone unfulfilled. The ‘zero tolerance’ policy on corruption has brought no substantial changes.

This year’s Corruption Perceptions Index highlights that the majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption, while further analysis shows journalists and activists in corrupt countries risking their lives every day in an effort to speak out.

The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. This year, the index found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43. Unfortunately, compared to recent years, this poor performance is nothing new.

The Transparency International (TI) has released its corruption perception index report for the year 2017, placing Nepal in the 122nd position out of 180 countries.[Note 1- Lower the rank better the country.2-higher marks means better Rank]

As per the report, New Zealand is in the top list with 89 marks(out of 100 marks) followed Denmark with 88 marks. Likewise, Somalia is ranked the most corrupt country with nine marks.

In South Asia, Afghanistan is in the bottom with just 15 marks. Afghanistan is ranked in the 177th out of 180 nations.

Bangladesh is ranked 146th, Pakistan in 123rd, the Maldives in 118th, Sri Lank in 97th, India in 85th and Bhutan in 29th rank.

What Causes Corruption?

What are the causes of corruption? People do not indulge in corrupt practice because they like doing so; rather, it is often their only option. To an extent, the causes of corruption vary from place to place. The causes of corruption in a closed dictatorship like North Korea may not be the same in a large democracy like Kenya. But there are still some general causes:

• Poverty: Poverty not only encourages corruption but corrupt public institutions, in turn, exacerbate poverty. It is not a good thing at all. The poor engage in corrupt practices out of desperation, but the only people who benefit in the long run are those already in power. It's no coincidence that the most corrupt countries often have the poorest citizens, or are otherwise ravished by war and violence. 80% of Africans live on less than $2 a day. In 2010, the United Nations estimated that 239 million people in sub-Saharan Africa were undernourished. When the poor do not have what they will eat, they are forced to make money through cut-corners which are corrupt. The countries at the bottom of the corruption rankings, mostly in northern Europe, are among the wealthiest in the world. While it is difficult to say whether poverty causes corruption or corruption causes poverty, there is no question that the two are linked.

• Illiteracy and Poor Education: Similar to poverty, the most corrupt countries are often those with low rates of adult literacy. Literacy can prevent corruption in a number of ways. First, those who can read well are more likely to read newspapers and online media, and therefore be able to critically evaluate their own public institutions and politicians. Corruption feeds off ignorance. Second, basic education makes people more likely to find stable careers, and therefore they are less desperate. Again, while it's hard to say whether illiteracy causes corruption, or whether literacy can stop corruption, the table below illustrates that the countries with low literacy rates are higher up in the corruption ranking than those with high literacy rates.
• • Unemployment. Similar to education and literacy, the unemployed are more likely to succumb to illegal ways of making money out of desperation. Many internet scammers and other grifters engage in this type of activity because they lack the opportunity to make legitimate gains. How do the countries with the highest rates of unemployment fare on the corruption scale?
  While not as clear-cut as illiteracy rates, 6 of the 10 countries with the highest unemployment rates are in the bottom half of Transparency International's low-corruption rankings. None fared particularly well on low-corruption rankings, with Namibia being the closest as the 54th least corrupt country in the world.
  
  

  
  

  Greed: Greediness is impossible to tabulate, but it is undoubtedly an important cause of corruption. Corruption continues to exist because the people with the most in a society are not content with what they have. The more they have, the more they want to acquire. In corrupt societies, politics is an avenue for greed as leaders use their positions to embezzle vast amounts of public funds meant for the public good.

  • Weak Governments: In corrupt societies, governments are unable or unwilling to stop corruption. They lack strong-willed or impartial anti-corruption agencies, and such agencies can easily be swallowed into corruption themselves. When such agencies are honest, their work is slow. In the worst cases, leaders staff anti-corruption agencies with their friends. The impotence of governments in the face of corruption is mimicked in the private sector. Corrupt business practices continue because executives are often the beneficiaries of those practices. A government which is weak cannot fight corruption because he will not in any way be propelled to take good action.
  • Drug Trafficking: Drug use is often practiced by disaffected youth, who in turn create demand for a drug market that fuels corruption. In countries like the United States, hard drugs are commonly associated with crime among delinquent youths. The country's demand for drugs has allowed cartels in Mexico and Central America to flourish, and the Mexican government is frequently held hostage by the will of powerful drug gangs running supplies into the United States and elsewhere.

    How to Stop or Reduce Corruption

  Corruption can be reduced through the following solutions:

  • Employment Creation: The government and powerful individuals should work together to create jobs for the masses. Those countries that lack technological development should invite other countries and private companies to help them build their technological infrastructure. When the masses make money and learn skills as employees of those companies, they can start their own businesses. This will, in turn, create more jobs for the citizens of the country. Governments should encourage skill acquisition programs and employment seminars. The people that gain those skills will develop their own businesses with time and start employing others. Within companies, mentorship programs can ensure that skills and knowledge are passed on to younger employees.
  • Pay Public Employees a Living Wage: It may seem counter-intuitive to pay corrupt employees more, but if police officers and low-level bureaucrats make enough money by working, they won't feel the need to take bribes. In Nigeria, policemen are considered to be the most corrupt institution in the country, according to the 2003 Nigeria Corruption Survey Study. In eight of the nine most corrupt nations in 2013, more than 80% of residents considered the police to be corrupt. Public employees should also undergo anti-corruption training and education, emphasizing the negative effects of corruption.
  • Surveillance: Electronic monitors, computer programs, and other technologies can monitor corruption in government and businesses. In corrupt countries, the use of technology can be preferable to relying on anti-corruption agencies staffed with friends of corrupt governments. The installation of these technologies should be done secretly, without the companies’ awareness, or in a way that makes them impossible to be tampered with.
  • Anti-Corruption Bodies: Each country should have anti-corruption initiatives. At the same time, there should be an international body monitoring corruption around the world without the need to answer to the rich and powerful within corrupt societies. The problem with some anti-corruption bodies is that many of them do not carry out their functions well. Many of them are too weak. Any country with the strong anti-corruption body will win the war against corruption, and international cooperation can enhance domestic efforts.
  • Curbing Drug Intake: Reducing the corruption that results from the drug trade involves the efforts of both the government and its people. The drug trade relies on the demand for hard drugs. Seminars should be held on a regular basis where people will be taught the negative impact of hard drugs. Governments should also sponsor television programs where doctors who have good teaching skills will highlight the disadvantages of hard drugs. In institutions of higher learning, a course on drug use should be integrated into the curriculum. This will help reduce corrupt practices to some extent.

  Conclusion/Recommendation

  I will like to say this at this point; be the fighter of corruption and do not follow the multitude to indulge in that dirty act. You can start the fight from your family. That everybody in your country is doing it does not mean you have to take part in it. Be the change you want to be attained in your country and others will learn from you. Stay cool and the author is convinced you learned from the topic.

  You might have said that your country is one of the most corrupt in the world. Another from the other part of the world might have felt that his country should have been included as the most corrupt because of embezzlement going on among the political class of the country. You may be right in your judgment.