Tashkent

In the new ranking by the International Anti-Corruption Organization Transparency International for the Corruption Perception Index in 2023, Uzbekistan secured the 121st position out of 180, rising by five positions compared to 2022. The country shares this rank with Angola, Mongolia, and Peru, Gazeta.uz reports.

On the 100-point index (where 0 indicates an extremely high level of corruption and 100 indicates an extremely low level), Uzbekistan scored 33 points (compared to 31 points the previous year).

In the organization’s regional review, among the main measures that significantly contributed to Uzbekistan’s improvement in its ranking in recent years, the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Agency is highlighted, along with the improvement of legislation and economic liberalization.

Also read: Corruption Rampant at District Treasury Offices in Sindh

“It is important to note that rules and procedures were introduced to ensure compliance with these laws, and criminal charges were brought against numerous corrupt officials. The government has also implemented stricter internal control and audit tools in various ministries and local government bodies, including mechanisms to prevent bribery,” note experts from Transparency International.

Also read: NAB Sindh initiates action in cases of corruption in Pension Fund

“Nevertheless, the authoritarian regime resists attempts to introduce principles of transparency and democracy, controlling legislative and public institutions and using the judicial system to persecute dissent. This fuels corruption and underscores the need for comprehensive reforms,” the review states.

In the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, which includes 19 countries (including Uzbekistan), Georgia demonstrated the best result, ranking 49th with 53 points. Kazakhstan, with 39 points, positioned itself at 93rd place.

Also read: Pakistan’s ranking on corruption perception index improves by 7 spots: report

Belarus is at 98th place in the ranking with 37 points, Ukraine is at 104th with 36 points. Kyrgyzstan and Russia each scored 26 points, sharing the 141st position.

Tajikistan (20 points) and Turkmenistan (18 points) claimed the 162nd and 170th positions, respectively.

Denmark retained its position as the leader of the ranking this year with 90 points, followed by Finland (87) and New Zealand (85).

At the bottom of the list are Syria and Venezuela (both with 13 points), sharing the 177th position, and Somalia (180th place, 11 points).

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Courtesy: Central Asian Light (Posted on January 30, 2024)

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Shafqatullah Soomro

Corruption is currently a hot topic. Corruption refers to a form of criminal activity or dishonesty. It is an evil act by an individual or a group of people that should be quickly eliminated from society. It is like the poison that has penetrated the minds of many individuals these days and destroys nations while sapping their moral fiber. It is one of the root causes of poverty, conflict, diseases, and many other problems.

Corruption exists in all countries, both developed and developing, in the public and private sectors, as well as in organizations. Corruption is a highly discussed topic, and I cannot define it with only one definition because many scholars define it in their own way. Wang and Rosenau (2001) and Zarb (2011) said that ‘corruption was viewed almost exclusively as related to the behavior of public offices.’

There are many types of corruption, but I will mention the three major types.

Bribery is the most common type of corruption. It involves the improper use of favors and gifts in exchange for personal gain, including money, gifts, company shares, sexual favors, and political benefits.

Extortion is another major and common type of corruption. It generally involves a threat being made to the victim’s money, property, or service illegally. In simpler words, extortion is quite similar to blackmail.

Corruption exists in all countries, both developed and developing, in the public and private sectors, as well as in organizations

Favoritism and nepotism both fall into the same category and have a similar meaning. These are quite old forms of corruption that are still in use. Nepotism refers to a person favoring their own relatives and friends, while favoritism is the practice of favoring one person over others. This can be seen in many fields, including politics, business, academia, sports, entertainment, and religion.

A corrupt system in Pakistan has made it difficult for good people to survive within it. According to the National Corruption Perception Survey (NCPS) 2010 of Transparency International, the four most corrupt institutions are the Police, Electricity, Land Department, and Education. The Chairman of Transparency International Pakistan, Syed Adil Gilani, said, ‘Corruption is the root cause of poverty, illiteracy, terrorism, shortage of electricity, food, and lack of governance in Pakistan.’

Unfortunately, corruption has permeated our educational system and is spreading like poison, damaging the roots of Pakistan’s education system

Corruption is the main element, and like cancer, it is eating up every institution of Pakistan. Public officers treat poor and rich people differently and use the power of public offices for personal gain. Transparency International (TI) defines corruption as the use of entrusted power for private gain. This definition includes both public and corporate corruption (corporate relating to a large company or a group company formed into a unified body of individuals).

Also Read: Police, judiciary top most corrupt in Pakistan: survey

Pakistan is currently facing multiple crises, including economic instability, an energy crisis, and security threats. However, the educational crisis is at the heart of all these issues. Unfortunately, corruption has permeated our educational system and is spreading like poison, damaging the roots of Pakistan’s education system. We have forgotten over the past few decades that education is the best path to a bright future. Education can create competent leaders and help build a prosperous nation. It is the best source for changing our minds and developing our ability to think and perceive things differently.

It is important to raise awareness, strengthen institutions, and hold those who indulged in corrupt activities accountable for their actions

It is true that a wise person always learns from their mistakes, but unfortunately, there are individuals who hold positions of power and use their authority for personal gain, such as fulfilling their sexual desires, collecting money and gifts. Our history is filled with instances of such activities. In Pakistan, sexual abuse of students by teachers is unfortunately not uncommon, and there have been several reported cases of such abuse in the past. However, it is important to note that not all teachers are involved in such activities, and there are many dedicated and committed teachers who work hard to provide a safe and supportive learning environment for their students.

Also read: Corruption – an inherent element of Democracy in Pakistan?

These lines taken from dawn newspaper ” Taxila: Police booked a teacher for allegedly sexually harassing three primary school students in the jurisdiction of Pindigheb Police station.

Islamabad (ANI): A 14-year-old student was allegedly raped by a school teacher in Pakistan.

In conclusion, corruption is a major problem in Pakistan, and it affects all aspects of society, including the educational system. To combat corruption and promote education, it is important to raise awareness, strengthen institutions, and hold those who indulged in corrupt activities accountable for their actions. By doing so, Pakistan can create a brighter future for all its citizens.

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 Shafqatullah Soomro is student of BS-English at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Nawabshah Sindh  

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Report by Afsar Jatoi and Syeda Anmol Ali

Transparency International Pakistan organized a one-day Sindh Youth Anti-Corruption Conference in Karachi highlighting the role of youth in promoting transparent, accountable, and good governance.

The conference, held on July 6, 2023 at a local hotel, was participated by more than 100 students from different universities from across Sindh, along with a number of legislators, academics, policymakers, government officials, and social activists.

Transparency International is the global civil society organization leading the fight against corruption.

The conference started with opening remarks by Kashif Sheikh, the country director of Transparency International, who illustrated the visions, goals, and achievements of the organization against corruption.

The themes around the axis of good governance, right to information, social accountability, transparency, youth leadership and integration, and women’s participation were explored.

Professor Nausheen Wasi from Karachi University gave an overview of the characteristics, challenges, and hardships surrounding the idea of good governance. In a nutshell, she argued that until the country lacks ownership of the institutions, good governance cannot be achieved.

Dr. Muhammad Ali Shaikh, a former Vice Chancellor, elaborated the article-19 of the constitution of Pakistan which gives every citizen the right to information (RTI) and explained the process through which a citizen can demand access to information from any organization, whether it is governmental or nongovernmental. He emphasized the importance and value of this law which can be a very effective tool in the fight against corruption. “If the given institution or organization does not provide information regarding the given project and proceeding, which happens all the time, a citizen can report against them in the information commission and if their issue is not resolved, there exist several civil organizations who can aid a citizen to take that department to the court.”

Syed Hussain Haider, Integrity Expert, UNODC Pakistan, drew attention to the issue of voiceless segments of society and evoked youngsters to speak up against oppression and exploitation and become leaders of change.

The session on the protection of women’s rights and their participation in the political process was centered round the importance of women’s participation and their role in the fight against corruption.

Marvi Awan, Executive Director, WPC Sindh, underscored goal number 5 of 17 Social Development Goals (SDGs) which emphasized gender equality. “Without gender equality, all efforts are in vain,” said the young women’s rights activist.

“Until the women are not given the right to decision making and right to movement, their freedom cannot be achieved and their participation cannot be assured.”

Ahmed Hassan, a Monitoring and Evolution Expert, UNDP SDGS support unit, Sindh talked about ‘Youth-driven governance: empowering agent of transparency and accountability for monitoring evaluation’;

Hammad Amjad, a youth trainer and corporate consultant spoke on Youth Leadership and Integrity.

Justice (R) M. Shaiq Usmani, former judge, Sindh High Court, talked about ‘Democracy and rule of law through participation of young people’;

Officials of National Accountability Bureau gave an overview of NAB’s efforts in the fight against corruption while Imran Riaz, Additional Director, FIA Karachi spoke on FIA efforts in fight against corruption.

As the conference was focused mainly on youth, many participatory activities and sessions were organized where youngsters brainstormed and came up with creative ideas to combat corruption, promote accountability and good governance.

Indeed, there is much more to do to empower youth than just a conference but programs like this gathering should be seen as a start of a new era where the youth take the leadership role and make decisions for themselves and the country because the youth are not the future of the country but they are the present reality

The conference discussed current issues, corruption of different kinds, what we have to focus on and how should we fight against them all? How can we as students challenge this corruption?

A socialization opportunity was provided through this conference.

The purpose of this conference was not for any personal benefit. It was a step for those who cannot fight their own battles. But what we felt was lacking was a discussion on transgender, with whom all kinds of personal, social and emotional corruption are done. A small example is enough that the transgender cannot even use public washrooms freely. Ladies want to see them in gents and gents want to see them in the ladies toilet. Who can do more corruption than this?

Apart from this, the importance of youth power was mentioned in the conference. How to set goals, how to achieve them, and how to use that power everything was explained.

Different groups were formed for brainstorming and each group was given a different topic. Each topic was related to youth and after group discussion, each group had to make two points according to their topic. _____________

Afsar Jatoi is a BS student of Anthropology at the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro, Pakistan

Syeda Anmol Ali is 3rd year student of Anthropology at the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Sindh, Jamshoro 

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Karachi

Sindh Minister for Education & Literacy Syed Sardar Shah rejected Transparency International’s report on Friday and called it a biased report made on assumption with a set agenda to malign Sindh education department.

In a reaction to the Transparency International report, the provincial education minister in his statement said that the education department has introduced revolutionary reforms for the first time in its history and recruited more than 50 thousand teachers in schools on merit basis under the third party selection.

He added that recruitment is being done on merit to meet the shortage of teaching staff in colleges through Sindh Public Service Commission purely on merit. Besides, The Department of Education had installed a biometric system to ensure attendance of teaching and non-teaching staff.

He added that in the past, schools had been constructed on political basis on unviable sites. He quoted an example that dozens of school buildings were constructed in a village.

The minister said that the education department had closed all those unviable schools and was enhancing the number of teaching staff in active schools.

He said that the education department has limited resources as compared to its employees’ strength and a major portion of its budget is being spent on salaries. He added that the Sindh government is focusing on upgrading the education system through use of technology. (PR)

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