SA beats global corruption average

Iceland leads with Chad and Bangladesh last ED RICHARDSON SOUTH AFRICA has been ranked number 46 out of 158 in the latest Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index. South AfricaÕs score of 4.5 on a scale of 10 was ahead of the global average of 4.11, and well ahead of the African average of 2.86. However, the country only ranks third in Africa - behind Botswana in 32nd place with a score of 5.9 and Tunisia in 43rd place with a score of 4.9. The report puts Iceland (score 9.7) at the head of the table, with Chad and Bangladesh (1.7) last. According to Transparency International, 31 of the 44 African states listed on the CPI 2005 scored less than three - Òa sign of rampant corruptionÓ. Zimbabwe and Zambia were ranked joint 107th with a score of 2.6, while Namibia was 47th (score 4.3), Lesotho 70th (3.4) and Mozambique 97th (2.8). Nigeria ranks second worst on the continent and 152nd globally with a score of 1.9, but there are signs of improvement, according to Transparency International. African states appearing in the study for the first time are Burkina Faso (CPI score 3.4), Burundi (2.3) Liberia (2.2), Equatorial Guinea (1.9), Lesotho (3.4), Rwanda (3.1), Somalia (2.1) and Swaziland (2.7).