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          Bangladesh for the fifth consecutive year has been rated as the most corrupt country in the world by the Berlin-based global anti-graft watchdog Transparency International (TI).
Bangladesh topped the list of most corrupt nations, this time along with another central African country, Chad. Bangladesh was put at 158th position while Chad at 159th position with the same points.
The country's score is the lowest in the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) although it has marginally increased to 1.7 in 2005 from 1.5 in 2004. Bangladesh's score was only 0.4 in 2001 when it first topped the list of the corrupt nations.
"Bangladesh has been consistently a poor performer in the CPI, reflecting the perception that rampant corruption continues to undermine sustainable development," said the TI report, simultaneously released worldwide Tuesday from Berlin, Germany.
Muzaffar Ahmed, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Transparency International, Bangladesh (TIB), released the report at a press conference at the National Press Club Tuesday.
"The newly-formed Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) must be allowed to work independently in true sense to improve the country's worst performance which is seriously affecting the economic progress of Bangladesh," Ahmed, a noted economist said.
He said the worst ranking of Bangladesh for five consecutive years will definitely affect the foreign investment inflow.
He said the ACC should be empowered adequately to run investigation and prosecution against the corruption cases.
Referring to the recent ACC investigation in Benapole landport, Ahmed said it failed to take any action against the wrongdoers.
"ACC must be transparent and accountable before the public," Ahmed commented.
Ahmed said it would not be proper to brand Bangladesh as the most corrupt country. "Bureaucracy, businesses and people involved in the government are responsible for corruption, not the people who suffer the most," he said.
Iceland obtained the highest score of 9.7, reflecting less corruption, followed by Finland and New Zealand with 9.6. Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Australia and Austria have been placed 4th to 10th positions in the CPI score.
More than two-thirds of the 159 nations that were surveyed, scored less than 5 out of a clean score of 10, indicating high level of corruption in many countries, the TI report said.
"Corruption hampers achievement of the millennium development goals by undermining the economic growth and sustainable development that would free millions from the poverty trap," the TI report said.
Asked, Ahmed said extensive research found that FDI flows are lower in countries perceived to be corrupt.
"Bangladesh's investment policy is very lucrative for the foreign investors," Muzaffar Ahmed said, adding despite that the country is not getting expected level of foreign investment due to unabated corruption, particularly in politics and law enforcement and judiciary.
He said another TI report would be published during the tenure of the present government. If the government takes steps to curb corruption by strengthening the newly established ACC, the country might come out of the disgraceful position, he added.
UNB adds: Last year, Bangladesh and Nigeria jointly topped the list of corrupt nations.
In 2001, Bangladesh was first placed at the top slot among the most corrupt countries by Transparency International, raising widespread controversy and condemnation.
This time TI got information from seven sectors of the country against three sectors last year. "Information will be collected from other sectors, too, next time," Prof Mozaffar Ahmed told reporters.
About Bangladesh's worst performance on TI's corruption index, Ahmed said Bangladesh emerged top among 146 countries last year and this time the number of countries is 159.
Describing the coordination process of the methodology of this report, he said many people questioned how various kinds of information could have been properly shuffled at the end of the research.
"We can say all the questionnaires of the research are interrelated and this relation is implied where good governance is related to corruption," he said.
The sources of the CPI this year were: The Center for International Earth Science Information Network of Columbia University, Economist Intelligence Unit, Freedom House, Information international, International Institute for Management Development at Laussane in Switzerland, Merchant International Group, Political and Economical Risk Consultancy, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, World Economic Forum and World Markets Research Center.
In South Asia, Sri Lanka has emerged as the least corrupt country, while the rankings of other countries in this region are India 92nd, Nepal 123rd and Pakistan 146th.
But Mozaffar Ahmed explained the situation under which Bangladesh has been described as the most corrupt country, not necessarily being the most corruption-ridden nation in the world. "The index was made for 159 countries from where information could be collected, but there are 201 countries under the United Nations. No one can say, for sure, those countries will not emerge as more corrupt than Bangladesh," he said.
Dr Mozaffar said it was mentioned under this index that corruption in Bangladesh was widespread for which it would face difficulties to achieve the MDGs in due time.
Prof Ahmed denied any involvement of TIB in providing information to TI and said the TIB is a registered independent organisation. "We must make it clear that we never supply any information to the TI," he added.
According to the TI index, the most corrupt countries this time are Chad, Bangladesh, Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Haiti, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast, Angola and Uzbekistan, while the least corrupt ones are Iceland, Finland, New Zealand, Denmark, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Australia and Austria.
Prof Mozaffar said Bangladesh would be able to achieve prosperity without the help of donors if it could stem the widespread corruption. "They (donor countries and agencies) only gave three per cent of our GDP, while corruption eats up more than that," he pointed out.
He said that the worst victims of this unbridled corruption are the country's poor people. This malady is contributing in widening the gap between the rich and the poor, he observed.
Prof Ahmed blamed the country's businessman, politicians and bureaucrats for the worst performance by Bangladesh in the TI Corruption Perception Index 2005. "This result may cast a negative impact on the country's economy and foreign investment," he feared.
Bloomberg adds: Bangladesh and Chad -- among a slew of military dictatorships and West African oil exporters -- topped the list of the world's most corrupt nations, an annual survey by Transparency International showed.
More than two-thirds of the 159 nations surveyed scored less than 5.0 out of 10, when ranked by business people, experts and analysts on their perceptions of bribery and misuse of public office. The two worst both scored 1.7, while the least corrupt, Iceland, scored 9.7. Africa's biggest oil exporter, Nigeria, ranked joint third worst, one notch better than last year.