Corruption, here, there, everywhere!
Most of us in Canada, if ever we think of corruption, think of it as being at the local, provincial or national levels. A recent article appeared in the Ottawa Citizen of March 17, 2005, by Richard Beeston of THE TIMES LONDON which highlighted the fact that Canada was 12th on a list of 146 countries on a "Corruption Perceptions Index, 2004." Canada's position was cited as being there because of the image created by "the sponsorship scandal and the corruption scandal dogging the Toronto police force."
In reviewing the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2003
(http://www.transparency.org ) , I note that Canada was 11th of 133 countries. Now, I wonder what the ranking will be after the recent disclosures before The Gomery Commission on the sponsorship program. The final report of the commission will not be out until December and the TICPI would be out before that date, nevertheless I predict that Canada will fall a number of positions in the rankings.
Why is there a strong concern about corruption among the many countries of the world? The primary reason is that "corruption robs countries of their potential" with monies not being used for social and educational programs. Most oil-rich countries are "plagued by revenues vanishing into the pockets of western oil executives, middlemen and local officials." Bribery of officials for public contract around the world on contracting "amounting to close to US$ 4 trillion worldwide, the amount lost to bribery is at least US$ 400 billion per year." To me, this is absolutely shocking.
I realize there are many very wealthy individuals around the world. While visiting many countries along side the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans I have always been impressed by the number of very large private boats and sailing vessels and the number of private luxury aircraft at many airports. Yes, there is a lot of money out there, much wealth in the hands of the rich who are getting richer every day. I wonder how much of this wealth has been acquired through legitimate enterprises and how much through corrupt activities. At the same time I think of the poor, those who suffer from ill health, those who go hungry and I wonder why there is so much inequity in this world.
It is good to know that there is an organization like Transparency International, which is "the only international non-governmental organization devoted to combating corruption (which) brings civil society, business, and governments together in a powerful global coalition." Transparency International has "more than 85 independent national chapters around the world." TI believes is sharing information and provides its web site at: http://www.transparency.org for this purpose.
In reviewing the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2003
(http://www.transparency.org ) , I note that Canada was 11th of 133 countries. Now, I wonder what the ranking will be after the recent disclosures before The Gomery Commission on the sponsorship program. The final report of the commission will not be out until December and the TICPI would be out before that date, nevertheless I predict that Canada will fall a number of positions in the rankings.
Why is there a strong concern about corruption among the many countries of the world? The primary reason is that "corruption robs countries of their potential" with monies not being used for social and educational programs. Most oil-rich countries are "plagued by revenues vanishing into the pockets of western oil executives, middlemen and local officials." Bribery of officials for public contract around the world on contracting "amounting to close to US$ 4 trillion worldwide, the amount lost to bribery is at least US$ 400 billion per year." To me, this is absolutely shocking.
I realize there are many very wealthy individuals around the world. While visiting many countries along side the Mediterranean and Adriatic Seas and the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans I have always been impressed by the number of very large private boats and sailing vessels and the number of private luxury aircraft at many airports. Yes, there is a lot of money out there, much wealth in the hands of the rich who are getting richer every day. I wonder how much of this wealth has been acquired through legitimate enterprises and how much through corrupt activities. At the same time I think of the poor, those who suffer from ill health, those who go hungry and I wonder why there is so much inequity in this world.
It is good to know that there is an organization like Transparency International, which is "the only international non-governmental organization devoted to combating corruption (which) brings civil society, business, and governments together in a powerful global coalition." Transparency International has "more than 85 independent national chapters around the world." TI believes is sharing information and provides its web site at: http://www.transparency.org for this purpose.
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11:03 PM
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