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Corruption index: Israel deteriorating
Corruption in Israel increases, country’s position in international index down 6 spots since 2005. Finland, Iceland, New Zealand still long way off
Corruption continued to increase in Israel according to the annual Global Corruption Report published by Transparency International on
Monday.
Israel was ranked 34 along with Taiwan out of 163 countries, thus dropping six spots since last year. Also, the country received a score of 5.9 in comparison to 6.3 in 2005.
The country occupying the number one spot is considered the least corrupt, and this year’s top three countries where Finland, Iceland, and New Zealand all tying at number one. In contrast, the three countries considered most corrupt were Iraq, Myanmar, and Haiti.
Israel was not alone in its deterioration in this year's report. It was joined by Brazil, Cuba, Jordan, Laos, Seychelles, and Trinidad and Tobago which also plummeted to the depths of corruption according to this year’s report.
The report is comprised of 12 different surveys which were conducted at nine different international institutes, including the World Bank and the Global Finance Forum. The report is based on questionnaires by business people and country analysts.
“Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni were recently leading a process of change in Israel’s position in the international community. The corruption index today reinforces the need for this process,” said Ms. Susanne Tam, CEO of Israel’s branch of Transparency International, SHVIL.
“We should beware of focusing on or global marketing plan instead of conducting a comprehensive internal search,” Tam continued. SHVIL suggested that Israel and its prime minister work towards ratification of UN trust in the fight against corruption and its implementation in Israeli society.
The organization emphasized that “political leadership in Israel should set an example for the public, or else the corruption situation could continue to deteriorate”.
