PAKISTAN has dropped 16 spots on the global Corruption Perceptions Index for 2021 and is ranked 140th out of 180 countries, Transparency International said in a report on Tuesday (25).
It comes as a major blow to prime minister Imran Khan's government which came to power on the promise of clean governance.
The report released by the Berlin-based non-profit organisation said corruption levels remain at a standstill worldwide, with 86 per cent of countries making little to no progress in the last 10 years.
In its 2021 edition, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives.
In 2020, Pakistan's CPI was 31 and it was ranked 124 out of 180 countries. According to Transparency International, the country's corruption score has now deteriorated to 28.
Comparatively, India's score stands at 40 and is ranked 85, while Bangladesh's CPI is 26 and stands at the 147th position.
Explaining the causes of the low score of Pakistan, the report said the absence of the “rule of law” and “state capture” were the main reasons.
The report comes at a time when Khan is under pressure to improve the performance of his government. His advisor on accountability, Shehzad Akbar, stepped down on Monday (24) amid reports of his poor performance in bringing the corrupt elements to justice.
To add to Khan's woes, Justice (retired) Nasira Iqbal, vice-chair of Transparency International Pakistan, said the ranking of the country under the current government has gradually come down.
In 2019, it was 120th out of 180 countries, in 2020, it was 124th and in 2021 it worsened further to 140, she said.
In contrast, in 2018, during the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) period, Pakistan's ranking was 117 out of 180 countries.
The CPI global average remains unchanged at 43 for the 10th year in a row, and two-thirds of countries score below 50, the report said.
According to the report, the top-performing countries are Denmark, Finland and New Zealand, all having a corruption perceptions score of 88, followed by Norway, Singapore and Sweden, all of them scoring 85.
In contrast, the worst-performing countries were South Sudan with a corruption perceptions score of 11, followed by Syria (13), Somalia (13, Venezuela (14) and Afghanistan (16).
Transparency International calls on governments to act on their anti-corruption and human rights commitments and for people across the globe to join together in demanding change.
“In authoritarian contexts where control over government, business and the media rests with a few, social movements remain the last check on power. It is the power held by teachers, shopkeepers, students and ordinary people from all walks of life that will ultimately deliver accountability,” said Daniel Eriksson, chief executive officer of Transparency International.
The Index scores are based on the perceptions of public sector corruption, using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, World Economic Forum, private risk consulting companies, think tanks and others. The scores reflect the views of the experts and business people.
(PTI)
English questioning rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent, and racist jokes from 36 per cent to 41 per cent
Workplace violence against Black and ethnic minority employees rises to 26 per cent
Highlights
The Trades Union Congress surveyed 1,044 Black, Asian and ethnic minority employees. The results show clear increases in racist behaviour between 2020 and 2026.
Workers having their English questioned rose from 20 per cent to 31 per cent. Those hearing racist jokes went up from 36 per cent to 41 per cent.
Racist comments made to workers or around them increased from 31 per cent to 36 per cent.
Violence and threats
The most worrying finding involves physical threats and violence, which jumped from 19 per cent to 26 per cent.
Racist posts shared on workplace social media grew from 22 per cent to 28 per cent. Racist materials being passed around increased from 19 per cent to 25 per cent.
Beyond direct racism, many workers face unfair treatment. Nearly half (45 per cent) said they get harder or less popular jobs.
Over two in five (43 per cent) receive unfair criticism. The same number (41 per cent) stay stuck on temporary contracts.
Work conditions got worse too. Those not getting enough hours rose from 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
Workers denied overtime went from 30 per cent to 37 per cent. Being kept on short-term contracts increased from 33 per cent to 41 per cent.
Direct managers cause most unfair treatment (35 per cent), followed by other managers (19 per cent).
Bullying mainly comes from direct managers (30 per cent) and colleagues (28 per cent). Racist behaviour mostly comes from colleagues (33 per cent) and customers or clients (22 per cent).
Paul Nowak, TUC general secretary, said: "Black and ethnic minority workers are facing appalling and growing levels of racism and unfair treatment in Britain. This racism is plaguing the labour market – and it's getting worse."
The TUC is calling for urgent government action to tackle the problem. The union wants ring-fenced funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission to enforce workplace protections.
It is pushing for mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for companies with over 50 employees.
The TUC says the Employment Rights Act, which makes employers responsible for protecting workers from harassment by customers and clients, will be an important step forward.
The union also wants employers to treat racial harassment as a health and safety issue and monitor ethnicity data across recruitment, pay and promotions.