Somalia and North Korea were ranked as the most corrupt states in the world on Wednesday by Transparency International’s 2015 index of global corruption.
‘’The 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index clearly shows that corruption remains a blight around the world. But 2015 was also a year when people again took to the streets to protest corruption. People across the globe sent a strong signal to those in power: it is time to tackle grand corruption,’’ said the chairman of the watchdog, José Ugaz.
For more than five years consecutively, Somalia has topped the list as the worst corrupt states.
According to the organization, even where there’s not open conflict, the levels of inequality and poverty in these countries are devastating.
In 2013, the UN investigators said that Somalia’s central bank has essentially become a “slush fund” for patronage networks with 80% of withdrawals made for private purposes rather than running government programs and much of the funds transferred into the bank not traceable at all. It led to donors stop the direct cash aid given to the Somali government.
Last year, members of the country’s Federal Parliament moved to oust President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud after accusing him abuse of power and corruption.
Transparency International is a Berlin-based organization that fights corruption. The index, which it has compiled since 2001, draws on surveys and assessments of corruption from a variety of institutions.
