ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN – Many have lauded the Taliban for what is claimed to be a noticeable decrease in corruption. Yet, the latest ranking by Transparency International shows that Afghanistan’s position has dropped by 12 ranks since last year.
Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI), which assesses the perceived levels of public-sector corruption in 180 countries and territories based on evaluations from experts and businesspeople, is one of the most reputable corruption rankings in the world.
Afghanistan had ranked 150 among 180 countries in 2022. Last year, the report for which was released on Tuesday, January 30, the country ranked 162, showing a massive drop.
In its 2023 report, the Berlin-based corruption watchdog ranked Denmark with a score of 90 as the least corrupt country for the sixth consecutive year, followed by Finland and New Zealand f with scores of 87 and 85, respectively. Somalia, Venezuela, Syria, South Sudan, and Yemen, all poor and conflict-ridden, occupy the lowest positions in the index this year.
Reacting to the report, the Taliban spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid, showed satisfaction with the ranking, calling it a “good position,” proclaiming that Afghanistan is a “corruption-free country.”
“The fact that Afghanistan [score] has decreased by 4 degrees compared to last year does not mean that corruption has increased in Afghanistan, but that the level of transparency of some countries may have increased.”
Last year, although Afghanistan ranked better than this year, the Taliban called the index report “unfair and unreliable.”
“They judge from a distance, perhaps they depend on rumors, they don’t research carefully and don’t investigate the matter deeply. Thus, their figures and their calculations are not very credible,” Mujahid had said at the time.
The Taliban, who justified their two decades of insurgency against the former republic government partly as a fight against corruption, has shown little to no interest in revealing the details of how and where they allocate the millions of dollars amassed from various taxes and national resources.
The group has called bribery in the public sector a criminal act, but other forms of corruption such as diversion of public funds and humanitarian aid, nepotism, lack of transparency, and the abuse of official powers remain prevalent across their government.
Other countries around Afghanistan have scored that well either, pointing to a larger regional eco-system of poor governance and corruption.
Turkmenistan, a country largely closed to the outside world, has ranked worse than Afghanistan. Iran has ranked 149 with a score of 24 from 100, marking a historical low. It was ranked 147th last year.
Pakistan, Afghanistan’s southern neighbor, which has long grappled with persistent corruption and political instability has seen an improvement of seven positions, rising from 140 out of 180 countries in 2022 to 133 in 2023. The country’s overall score improved by two points, 27 out of 100 in 2022 to 29 in 2023. The report noted that although Pakistan grapples with debt burdens and ensuing political instability, the strong judicial oversight helps to keep the government in check.
“The Supreme Court of Pakistan strengthened citizens’ right to information by expanding this right under Article 19A of its Constitution to previously restricted institutions.”
The 2023 CPI shows that most countries have made little to no progress in tackling public sector corruption. The CPI global average remains unchanged at 43 for the twelfth year in a row, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50.
Transparency International Chair Francois Valerian said that without political will to end impunity, the fight against corruption will not succeed.
“Corruption will continue to thrive until justice systems can punish wrongdoing and keep governments in check. When justice is bought or politically interfered with, it is the people who suffer.”
