UAE the only Gulf state to improve in corruption ranking

The UAE has risen by one place in a global ranking of countries perceived as least corrupt, the only Arabian Gulf state to register an improvement.

The UAE has risen by one place in a global ranking of countries perceived as the least corrupt - the only Arabian Gulf state to make an improvement in this year's survey.
The Berlin-based Transparency International's annual study of outside perceptions of dealing with public sector officials showed the UAE had risen to a tie for 27th, alongside Qatar, which fell five places from last year.
The group asks governance and business analysts to rank 176 nations on the likelihood of bribery and the accountability of public officials. But despite revolutions during the Arab Spring last year that overthrew governments perceived as corrupt, not all newly democratic Arab nations have improved.
Libya rose eight places to 160th, and Yemen gained eight to 156th. But Egypt fell six places to 118th and Tunisia fell two places to 75th.
"A growing outcry over corrupt governments forced several leaders from office last year, but as the dust has cleared it has become apparent that the levels of bribery, abuse of power and secret dealings are still very high in many countries," said Transparency International.
"Governments need to integrate anti-corruption actions into all public decision-making. Priorities include better rules on lobbying and political financing, making public spending and contracting more transparent and making public bodies more accountable to people," said Huguette Labelle, the group's chairwoman.
The UAE had earned its higher placing, following "steady improvement" in ensuring its public bodies were held to account, said Tania Fabiani, the head of PricewaterhouseCoopers' business resilience practice.
Stability and economic development were tightly interlinked in the Emirates, she said.
"The UAE has achieved economic stability by having better processes, controls and oversight bodies," she said. "We're seeing a strengthening of regulatory bodies and maturity within these institutions … at a federal and emirate level."
The UAE ranked 37th in 2003, when it was first included in Transparency International's survey.
Since then, bodies including the Abu Dhabi Accountability Authority have been established to audit the Government, while public companies are now required to submit corporate governance reports to regulators.
The newest intake of Federal National Council members has also flexed its muscles to criticise departmental overspending.
The UAE was the only Gulf nation to make an improvement during the year so far.
Elsewhere in the Gulf, Bahrain was ranked 53rd, followed by Oman at 61st, while Kuwait and Saudi Arabia came in jointly at 66th.
Denmark, Finland and New Zealand jointly ranked as the most clean worldwide, while Afghanistan, North Korea and Somalia together were rated as most corrupt. Iraq improved six places to 169th.
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