Oil-rich nations struggle with corruption

Feb 17, 2025 News

…Guyana, others score below 50 on global corruption index

Kaieteur News-Several oil-producing nations, including Guyana, have scored below 50 in Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).

Oil-rich nations struggle with corruption

The CPI ranks countries on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), assessing public sector corruption based on expert and business surveys. It is a perception-based index that aggregates views from 13 sources, provided by 12 institutions deemed appropriate by Transparency International.

The latest rankings show that many current and former oil-producing nations remain in the lower half of the index. Countries with substantial oil reserves, such as Iraq (26), Venezuela (10), Nigeria (26), Mexico (26), Russia (22), and Libya (13), recorded some of the lowest scores.

Venezuela, which holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, received a score of 10, placing it among the worst-ranked nations. Transparency International noted that the country faces widespread crime and human rights abuses.

In South America, Colombia, another key oil producer scored 39. Transparency International stated, “Weak institutions and lack of transparency allow criminal organizations to control wide swathes of the region, where they exploit natural resources with no care for the consequences.” Brazil, the largest oil producer in South America scored 34. Peru, a large oil producer in Latin America scored 31, as well as Papua New Guinea, a modest oil producer located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.

In the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago, a historic oil producer, scored 41. Guyana, which has emerged as a major oil producer, received a score of 39. Kaieteur News reported that Guyana’s CPI score fell slightly from 40 points in 2023 to 39 in 2024, placing the country at 92 out of 180 nations.

The state of Guyana has been captured by the economic and political elites here, fostering misappropriation of resources, illicit enrichment and environmental crimes, the global coalition against corruption- Transparency International said.

“In Guyana, state capture by economic and political elites fosters misappropriation of resources, illicit enrichment and an environmental crime,” the Transparency International report said. It added: “Although the country has created anti-corruption institutions and laws, transparency and law enforcement are very low, and attacks on dissenting voices, activists and journalists increasingly common,” the body stated in its report.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer scored 26, while Angola (32) and Libya (13) remained at the lower end of the index. Iraq (26), Iran (30), and Azerbaijan (21) also ranked among the lowest-scoring oil-producing nations. Russia, a major global energy player, scored 22.

Other oil producing countries include China, Ghana, Kuwait and Senegal all scored below 50 for corruption. It should be noted that while these scores reflect perceptions of corruption, they do not necessarily indicate corruption within the country’s oil and gas industry itself.

Transparency International recommended, “To effectively combat the climate crisis, we must place corruption at the centre of the global debate. Governments, international organisations and businesses must prioritize the integration of robust anti-corruption measures into climate finance, policies and projects. Transparency and accountability are essential to ensuring resources are protected, policies deliver on their objectives, and projects reach the communities that need them most. Addressing corruption head-on will rebuild societies’ trust in climate initiatives and drive progress toward a sustainable world.”

(Oil-rich nations struggle with corruption)

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corruption, CPI, oil, Transparency

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