Corruption is a worldwide issue and hits the poorest countries hardest. Burma gets to be near the bottom in poor poverty and corruption. Transparency International (TI – see footnote) have over the last few years prepared annual reports that indicate a comparative score called the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Their report for 2005 indicates that Burma is fourth from bottom in a league table of 159 countries (Ref 1), with a CPI of 1.8 out of 10 – indicating a severe corruption problem. 

TI state that a major cause of poverty in the world is due to corruption, and that corruption is also a reason that countries find it hard to overcome poverty – the money is available from international development sources, but it just doesn’t get where it is needed. Burma also ‘shoots it itself in the foot’, by denying the international community the ability to provide aid to help overcome the numerous issues with health and welfare that Burma faces by mismanagement and total paranoia of any foreigners and democracy. The generals and senior government officials may get their ‘special tax allowances’ from lower ranks and business deals, but the people get locked in a cycle of misery – every news site reporting on Burma carries reports on the devastating impact of corruption on a daily basis – except those strictly controlled by the SPDC. 

Of 159 countries assessed, Burma (Myanmar) is listed alongside Haiti and Turkmenistan as the last but one group of corrupt countries; only Bangladesh and Chad have slightly worst figures. However, the TI report only assesses those countries on which it can obtain reliable information. Some countries are so corrupt that no reliable information is available. TI use a set of 16 surveys from 10 independent institutions to collect information on which reflect the perceptions of business people and country analysts, both resident and non-resident. The CPI provides a snapshot analysis of the performance of particular country; Burma has been near the wrong end for the three years that figures are available. The data is also analysed independent by Prof. Dr. Johann Graf Lambsdorff, a specialist on statistical work at Passau University in Germany. 

The Millennium Development Goals set by the world community to halve poverty by 2015 are being seriously hampered by the level of corruption; over two thirds of the world’s countries got a less than 5/10 score. Corruption undermines economic development and sustainable development that could lift millions of people above the poverty trap. 

Foreign investment is generally lower in countries that are perceived to have a high level of corruption – maybe Total and Daewoo think that the price is worth paying; there is certainly a lot of money to make out of gas and oil – and line a number of pockets! Money that could alleviate suffering, pay wages, pay for healthcare and education, pay for economic development is lost to greed, waste and mismanagement. 

‘Corruption isn’t a natural disaster, it is the cold calculated theft of opportunity from the men, women and children who are least able to protect themselves, said David Nussbaum, TI’s chief executive. ‘Leaders must go beyond lip service and make good on their promise to provide the commitment and resources to improve governance, transparency and accountability’. 

TI notes a marked improvement in many countries that had low scores in previous years, whilst some countries had got worse. Burma being near the bottom of the table hasn’t moved very far. The ratification of the UN Convention against Corruption has set a global legal framework to help countries make progress against corruption (Ref 2); it is now up to the leaders of each country to do something about it. The convention will accelerate the retrieval of stolen funds, push banking centres to take action against money laundering, allow nations to pursue foreign companies and individuals that have committed corrupt acts on their soil, and prohibit bribery of foreign public officials. TI state that countries that embrace the convention and show willingness and progress in implementation will benefit from foreign investment, international aid and economic growth. 

Corruption isn’t new for Burma. In May 1983, Military Intelligence chief Tin U and Col. Bo Ni were sacked amid allegations of corruption - Bertil Lintner wrote in ‘Outrage’, ‘a charge that could be brought against any army officer in Burma’ (Ref 3). Tin U’s successor Khin Nyunt followed him in 2004. Purges at the top aren’t about removing corruption from public office; they are more a means of ousting opponents in the power struggle that is an everyday occurrence in the SPDC – the corruption continues. 

Some of the factors that allow corruption to increase are considered to be government secrecy and inappropriate influence of elite groups; both endemic to the SPDC rule. TI urges lower income countries to increase the resources and political will for anti-corruption efforts, and to enable greater access for the public to information about budgets, revenue and expenditure – I am sure the SPDC will take note of these recommendations. 

“Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
Lord Acton, political historian (1834 -1902)
http://www.libertystory.net/LSTHINKACTON.html

References

1. Corruption Perceptions Index 2005
http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2005

2. United Nations Convention against Corruption
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/crime_convention_corruption.html

3. Outrage, Burma’s struggle for democracy.
Bertil Lintner, 1989, Review Publishing Co. Ltd. ISBN 962-7010-35-9

Links
Transparency International
http://www.transparency.org/
Anti Corruption Network for Transition Economies
http://www.anticorruptionnet.org/
World Bank: anti-corruption
www.worldbank.org/publicsector/anticorrupt/

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Footnote
Transparency International

Ti is a global civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption, and brings people together in a powerful worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on men, women and children around the world. Transparency International is a global network of more than 90 national ‘chapters’ who bring together relevant players from government, civil society, business and the media to promote transparency in elections, public administration, in procurement and in business. TI’s global network also use advocacy campaigns to lobby governments to implement anti-corruption reforms.