While virtually everyone involved in the transport industry in Africa who spoke to FTW mentioned corruption as a time- and cost-consuming issue, very few were prepared to go on record and cite examples. Their experiences have, however, been verified by independent research. Only three out of 47 countries in sub- Saharan Africa scored above the mid-point level of five in Transparency International’s (TI’s) 2008 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). These are Botswana, Cape Verde and Mauritius. Globally, South Africa plummeted by 11 places to 54th position with a 4.9 rating after being ranked 43rd with a rating of 5.1 last year. “In the poorest countries, corruption levels can mean the difference between life and death, when money for hospitals or clean water is in play,” said Huguette Labelle, chair of TI at the launch of the index in late September. “The continuing high levels of corruption and poverty plaguing many of the world’s societies amount to an ongoing humanitarian disaster and cannot be tolerated,” he added. “Stemming corruption requires strong oversight through parliaments, law enforcement, independent media and a vibrant civil society. When these institutions are weak, corruption spirals out of control with horrendous consequences for ordinary people and for justice and equality in societies more broadly.” Corruption is seen as a primary reason for the lack of progress in poverty reduction as it increases the risk that scarce funds earmarked for social spending are lost, misused or misallocated. Where transparency and accountability mechanisms are inefficient or lacking, public financial management and development outcomes suffer as a result. In addition to undermining the delivery of basic social services such as education and health, corruption and the negative perceptions it generates can fuel public distrust. Somalia with the lowest CPI score demonstrates a disturbing link to conflict and economic and political collapse. Prof. Johann Graf Lambsdorff of the University of Passau, who compiles the index for TI, underscores the disastrous effects of corruption and the gains from fighting it: "Evidence suggests that an improvement in the CPI by one point [on a 10-point scale] increases capital inflows by 0.5% of a country's gross domestic product and average incomes by as much as 4 %."
