Links between poverty and corruption

ED RICHARDSON POVERTY AND corruption invariably go together, according to the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2005. ÒCorruption is a major cause of poverty as well as a barrier to overcoming it,Ó said Transparency International chairman Peter Eigen. ‘The two scourges feed off each other, locking their populations in a cycle of misery. Corruption must be vigorously addressed if aid is to make a real difference in freeing people from poverty.’