透明国际:腐败仍然是非洲一大毒瘤

Transparency International: Corruption² Still a Problem in Africa

African nations appear at the bottom of Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index.

Transparency gave the East African nation of Somalia its lowest rating on the list for the 12th time in 12 years.

Transparency is a non-governmental anti-corruption organization. It rated a total of 180 countries on how corrupt¹ their governments and public services appear to be. The ratings are based on findings by experts and public opinion studies.

The index uses a 100-point scale to show corruption levels. More than two-thirds of the countries received less than 50 points, with an average rating of 43.

African nations had an average rating of 32 points. No nation has ever earned a perfect rating of 100. New Zealand leads the 2017 index with 89 points. Somalia received nine.

Kate Muwoki is Transparency International’s expert on Southern Africa. She says most African governments are failing to deal with corruption. However, she says there are some leaders who have invested in systemic action to change behavior.

Muwoki spoke³ to VOA from Berlin, where Transparency International has its headquarters. She praised a number of African countries where corruption does not appear to be a major problem. They include Botswana, Seychelles, Cabo Verde, Rwanda and Namibia. All five received a rating of over 50 in the latest index.

She also noted⁴ that South Sudan is near Somalia at the bottom of the list. And Transparency identified rising corruption levels in Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau.

Yet Muwoki suggested that things may change because the African Union and several African leaders have made clean governance a top goal.

Major resignations

The past year will be remembered as a time when several African leaders accused of questionable⁵ activities left office.

No fewer than four heads of state suspected of financial crimes resigned over the past 12 months. They are Gambia’s Yahya Jammeh, Angola’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, and Jacob Zuma of South Africa.

A high-level corruption case also affected⁶ the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn. He resigned this month following anti-government protests.

Yet the corruption-accused president of the Democratic Republic of Congo has repeatedly postponed⁷ elections. And the leaders of Uganda, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, and Cameroon have all remained in power while being suspected of wrongdoing.

Corruption investigations⁹ continue into current and former officials across the continent.

Signs of change

The new president of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, has made fighting corruption a major goal of his administration. This week, he called for an investigation⁸ of the behavior of top government officials, starting with himself.

“Now, if there ever has been anything that many South Africans would like to have line of sight of, (it) is the lifestyle audit¹⁰ of their public representatives. Now that is something that I believe we have to do, and this will be done starting with the executive of the country, yes, we will go in that way...”

In Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari announced that all national property recovered in an anti-corruption campaign would be sold. He said the money from the sale will go the country’s treasury¹¹. Buhari is the chairman of the AU anti-corruption effort.

Transparency International’s Kate Muwoki says her group has noted and welcomed these developments. But she is urging people to keep up the pressure by shining light on suspected corruption.

I'm Caty Weaver¹².

Words in This Story

perception – n. the way you think about or understand something

index – n. a list or record of something

scale – n. a group of numbers that is used to show the size, strength, or quality of something — usually singular

audit – v. an official examination of one’s behavior or activities

executive – n. a person who directs or supervises something; a directing or controlling office

1 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

4 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

5 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 postponed   

vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发）

参考例句：

• The trial was postponed indefinitely. 审讯无限期延迟。
• The game has already been postponed three times. 这场比赛已经三度延期了。

8 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

9 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

10 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。

11 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

12 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。