₦airaland Forum

Rich Dad: GBAM!!!

berem: but i wonder why his computers are not really bought by Nigerians compared to other foreign products. what might be the cause?

hercules07: He does not manufacture, he has the tablets and pcs made then branded. The guy is more into HP.

Land Use Act: A monster crippling housing development
on DECEMBER 12, 2012 · in FEATURES
12:50 am

By JUDE NJOKU

The ACT

THE Land Use Act vests all land in the territory of a State on the Governor of that State, and vests the Governor with the power to grant statutory right of occupancy to persons. It prohibits the alienation of a statutory right of occupancy without the consent of the Governor.

The Act is made up of eight parts of fifty-one sections. It addresses four important issues arising from the former land tenure systems in Nigeria: The problem of lack of uniformity in the laws governing land-use and ownership; the issue of uncontrolled speculation in urban land; the question of access to land rights by Nigerians on equal legal basis; and the issue of fragmentation of rural lands arising from either the application of traditional principles of inheritance or population growth and the consequent pressure on land.

The Act altered the existing land laws in the Southern part of the country as it removed corporate groups, families and chiefs from the trusteeship of land and replaced them with the State Governor.

While on the one hand urban lands were placed under the control and management of the Governor of the State with a ‘Land Use and Allocation Committee’ as an advisory body, on the other, ‘other lands’ were placed under the control and management of the Local Government in which the land is situated with ‘the Land Allocation Advisory Committee’



MR. CHRIS Okechukwu works with a Shipping company in Lagos. He bought a piece of land from a family at Isheri Oshun,off the Lagos-Badagry expressway a few years ago and was in the process of developing it when the Government masquerading under the Law Use Act, confiscated the property.

Okechukwu who got a notice from his landlord to quit his three-bedroom accommodation ruminated over the loss and told Vanguard Features, VF that he would have packed into his own apartment long ago but for the seizure of the land without compensation because he didn’t have a certificate of occupancy, C of O. There are many Nigerians in Okechukwu’s shoes in various parts of the country who have lost their land, courtesy of this 34 year-old legislation.

The 1978 Land Use Act is unarguably one of the most contentious legislations in the Nigeria today. The law which seeks to regulate ownership of land was the brainchild of the immediate past president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo when he first presided over Nigeria as a Military dictator between 1975 and 1979.

In a bid to retain the law in the statute books even after he had left office, the Obasanjo-led Supreme Military Council made the Land Use Decree an integral part of the Constitution which he handed over to the Alhaji Shehu Shagari-led Federal Government.

Since then, the Act which is seen as the greatest clog in the wheel of housing development in the country, has remained part of the constitution, despite sustained efforts by built environment stakeholders to have it expunged and reviewed so as to make access to land for housing and other developmental initiatives, less cumbersome.

Drawbacks

The Act, as implemented by the government of most states, according to Mr. Joseph Osakwe, a Fellow of the Nigerian Economic Society, has become a source of political and social abuse. Most importantly, it has given rise to unprecedented corruption in the Ministry that processes the Certificate of Occupancy.

“The level of corruption starts from the messenger that carries applicants’ files and rises to the level of Permanent Secretary in the Ministry. The Governor gives the final approval. In the states, social miscreants who call themselves Omo Oniles particularly in the South-West states, insist on having their share before any meaningful construction work can be done, to the detriment of the land owners.

C of O at mercy of government

As a result, the process of obtaining the C of O is not only time-consuming but also unduly expensive. Meanwhile, citizens who have C of O are generally at the mercy of government which frequently uses the document as an instrument of generating revenues, which can be increased at will,” he said.

Continuing, he noted that some state governments have introduced new Land Use Decrees which could circumvent the provisions of the Land Use Act 1987 and attempt to persuade all those who were under 1978 Act to embrace the new law.

“Since the various state governments have grossly abused the implementation of the 1978 Act, such that the law can no longer tackle the problems it was intended to solve before 1978, the Act should be removed from the constitution and abolished,” he said, adding that the country should return to the pre-1978 status.

A Lagos-based Estate Surveyor and Valuer, Mr. Stephen Jagun argued that there would be no meaningful growth in the real sector if land continues to be under the firm grips of state governors

“Land has become so expensive because unlike what used to obtain, you could buy a piece of land from either the community, an individual or from even a company and you go and register that title at the Land Registry. Once it is registered, it becomes a bankable document. Today, it is not so; you go and pay the usual fee and you take the document that they give to you and the survey plan to the government who will then issue you a certificate of occupancy, C of O.

At the end of it all, it is just double payment, and the C of O is a document that one waits for ages for. The whole process has failed. The Military which promulgated the Land Use Decree said the reason they did so was to make land accessible to more Nigerians than before. But from our own experience, the reverse has been the case.

Fewer people now have access to land. Instead of the variety of supply that we had, now we have only one supplier, that is the government. Once the supply is restricted, the effect is an increase in price. The principal beneficiary of the Land Use Act is the Governor and nobody else,” he said.

afam4eva: Isn't this discrimination?

ziccoit: Read the thread through and found out that up to 80% of NLers expressed support for this criminal activity committed against one of the 'presumed' enemies of the masses.

What does this tell us? Our leaders are sitting on the keg of gun powder that when explodes will consume their entire being.

Maxymilliano: Op, why are you trying to be mischievous with your post? The crux of the article was on the general business climate in the country, which is anything but healthy for local manufacturers.

The tragic experience narrated by the columnist as a reference was just to buttress the point on how industries are been killed softly and steadily by unfavourable government policies both at State and Federal level.

If you are indeed sincere enough as your moniker suggests, you should have posted the remaining part of the article where details of Federal Government Free Trade decision on imported cement is affecting indigenous companies like Dangote Cement.

For people that don't know, Benue Cement Company was shut recently by the owner (Dangote group) as a result of influx of subsidized cement into the country or 'glut' as the economist will say. Nigeria is a signatory to the Free Trade agreement, and this allows all sort of goods to be imported into the country, thereby killing the local industry softly.

Free Trade is one of the terms of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and Nigeria is bind by the agreements willy-nilly.

This was the crux of the main write up by Simeon Kolawole and this is what any reasonable person should ponder upon instead of trying to drive a political nail into such thought provoking article.

Like Simeon Kolawole said, "we hurt ourselves when we come up with policies that may be rewarding politically but damaging economically. In the long run, we suffer the consequences. We remain stuck in under development".

Ponder on this bro and do away with your myopia.

Omoswags: Ghana's Opposition NPP has won the country's Presidential Election.

Maxymilliano: There is real problem with the political section of Nairaland where every discussion is turned into a "we against them" kinda argument.

slimchimex: south west with their "White Elephant"......mtcheeewww

‘Largest Steel Mill in Africa Takes off Next Year’

04 Oct 2010

The largest steel mill industry in sub Sahara Africa - Western Metal Product Company Limited, (WEMPCO), would commence operation next year, its Director, Philip Tung, has said.
Tung, who made this disclosure during a facility tour of the firm's sprawling steel complex at Ibafo, Ogun state, also said the company’s tiles project should double to 2.5 million square metres in capacity in two years.
These were the first disclosures on the status of the Ibafo site, which got the nod of the Federal Government three years ago to set up the multi billion naira steel and ceramic producing plants. At full capacity, the plant will generate thousands of jobs and metric tons of steel.

Speaking on the ceramic tiles plant, Tung said the plant has started production and is capable of producing 1.2 million square metres, which represents 45 per cent of total local demand.
“The production will increase to 1.5 million square meters by year end and three million square meters by 2015, which should more than meet local demand of 2.5 million square meters,” he said.
Tung said the mill will depend on imported billets for raw materials until it can work out the transportation of iron ore from Itakpe, Kogi State .

To ensure adequate and uninterrupted power supply for the massive operations of the complex, the company invested heavily to build a 50-megawatt gas power plant sourced from the Nigeria Gas Company.
Tung said that the steel complex, which would be the largest in Africa upon completion, and is motivated by the availability of raw materials in the country in addition to conserve foreign exchange resources.
"We realise that importing these products costs a lot of foreign exchange and we thought that since the raw materials are available locally, producing them locally will help conserve foreign exchange", Tung said.
Besides, he said the huge investment on the complex is a demonstration of the confidence and belief of the Wempco group in Nigeria .

"We have been in Nigeria in the last 40 years with established manufacturing companies producing wide range of building materials and associated products. This is because we believe in Nigeria and we see a lot of potentials in the country and its people.
"We are investing in the project in the lager interest of the economy. We have 100 per cent confidence in the economy, in the people and we believe if people see things the way we do, the better for the nation. Nigeria cannot continue to import products that their raw materials can be sourced locally.
Throwing more light on the project, Group Chairman, Alhaji Tokunbo Alli, said the steel mill should begin operations by the first quarter of next year.

"That is our aim and focus for the flat steel sheet project, which is now integrated into our ceramic tile project on the same site. Some of these raw materials and construction are now sourced and done locally on site.” Alli said.
He disclosed that the company had also commenced moves to reduce the quantity of both hot and cold rolled steel coils being imported into the country by one quarter.
He said the decision by management to cut down on the volume of the cold and hot rolled steel coils was to allay the fears of manufacturers in the sector who felt threatened by the incentive package granted to the company by the Federal Government.
Alli also spoke on the import waiver granted for the three phases of the project. The group, is applying for more incentive package for the project, he said.

"We want to assure the Federal Government, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) and our protesting manufactures that we are committed to this project and developing the steel industry as we have always done in the past in the sector we have invested in,” he stressed.
Director General of the Manufacturing Association of Nigeria, (MAN) Mr. Jide Mike, who was also present at the tour, said WEMPCO Group has a long standing history in the Nigerian manufacturing sector.
Consequently, he said MAN support the company’s effort to bring investment into Nigeria and job to the people.

ayodot: To say its the handy work of the present governor of Ogun state, that the steel mill came in into play, can't be true.
Looking at the time he came into office and the time it will take to build a full functioning steel mill, I'll say it the work of previous administrator.
most of is first year was spent on witchhunting.

emiye: Ogun State seems to be attracting heavy investment in the industrial sector in recent times,

emiye: Ogun State seems to be attracting heavy investment in the industrial sector in recent times, i hope the trend continues.

Great news!

Ogun targets 10,000 industries


Monday, 12 September 2011
The current administration of Governor Ibikunle Amosun is determined to increase the number of industries in Ogun State to about 10,000 in the next four years.

The number of companies, which currently is about 1,500, is expected to increase, owing to the creation of a one-stop shop in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, which will reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks for prospective investors.

The state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Chief Bimbo Ashiru, disclosed this during a tour of industries at the Ado Odo-Ota axis of the state.

Chief Ashiru maintained that adequate infrastructure had been put in place to assure investors of optimum returns on their investments, urging them to always reciprocate government’s goodwill through prompt payment of their taxes.

“The state already has a bad representation of being one of the worst locations to site a business, but the present administration is poised to change that perception through the creation of this one-stop shop for prospective investors in the state,” he stated.

Callotti: Nigeria na wah!
BANQUET HALL FOR WHAT?
Hmmmmm!
No shame at all at all!!!!

Very entertaining!

God bless AMEWWWIKA JARE!
My home sweeeeetest home!

taharqa: I hate to say dis: but MAYBE @Gbawe has a point..am talking d article on Ghana's TI he postd 1st (not those oda articles like PT and Punch).... Lets await clarificatn on d basis of d calculatn of index usd dis yr (not d ranking which means little)

Sincere 9gerian: Sorry, that is your opinion. However the fact remains [b]that Nigeria moved up 4 places in 2012 [/b]ranking and scored 27( rated from 0 to 100), an improvement over 2.4(rated from 0 to 10) of last yr.

wengerjay: Alfa jona,o hun bere rugbon.

In the overall rankings, Russia rose 133 from 143 last year. Despite the increase, the country has an individual score of 28, which indicates a high corruption perception. Nigeria, which had tied with Russia in 2011, is now 139 overall, though it has an individual score of 27.

[size=14pt]Because the index has an updated methodology, individual country scores from 2012 cannot be compared with previous years. Last year's list ranked 183 countries.[/size]

Joey82: i remember they used to call it 'palliative measures'
plenty gramer, no action.

Demdem: ^^^

This makes complete sense. Only the foolish will have issues with it.

Demdem: ^^^^

Why dont u take a good look at the Punch's report and fault whatever u feel may have been exaggerated with facts or better still bring forth any report from the pro-Govt papers like Thisday, tribune, sun etc. The question that should bother is "Did Punch reported the story has explained by TI well or not?"
As long as none of what was written by punch is untrue, its admissible.

Again, Transparency International ranks Nigeria low in war against graft
WEDNESDAY, 05 DECEMBER 2012 19:47 BY FRANCIS OBINOR BUSINESS SERVICES - BUSINESS NEWS



THE Transparency International (TI) has ranked Nigeria 139 out of 176 countries in its corruption perception for this year, scoring it 27 per cent in its review.

[size=14pt]The indication showed that the war against graft has remained moribund despite government’s assurance that it was wining the battle.[/size]

The group, which ranked Nigeria 143 out of 182 countries under its graft perception last year, also called on world leaders to pay more attention to the fight against corruption as it is a major threat facing humanity.

In a report published by the group Wednesday, it said “corruption translates into human suffering, with poor families being extorted for bribes to see doctors or to get access to clean drinking water. It leads to failure in the delivery of basic services like education or healthcare. It derails the building of essential infrastructure, as corrupt leaders skim funds. Corruption amounts to a dirty tax, and the poor and most vulnerable are its primary victims”.

The Corruption Perceptions Index ranks countries and territories based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be on a scale of 0-100, with where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 100 means it is perceived as very clean.

The rankings are based on perception of opinion polls and last year, the organisation ranked Nigeria 143 out of 182.

Some other African countries on the list are South Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Libya, Chad, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Sudan and Somalia being the most corrupt country.

TI is a non-governmental organisation that monitors and publicizes corporate and political corruption in international development. It publishes an annual Corruption Perceptions Index, a comparative listing of corruption worldwide. The headquarters is located in Berlin, Germany but operates through more than 70 national chapters.

Defining corruption as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain which eventually hurts everyone who depends on the integrity of people in a position of authority, it mainly visions for a world in which government, politics, business, civil society, and the daily lives of people are free of corruption.

TI consists of more than 100 chapters – locally established, independent organisations – that fight corruption in their respective countries. From small bribes to large-scale looting, corruption differs from country to country.

As chapters are staffed with local experts they are ideally placed to determine the priorities and approaches best suited to tackling corruption in their countries.

This work ranges from visiting rural communities to provide free legal support to advising their government on policy reform. Corruption does not stop at national borders. The chapters play a crucial role in shaping its collective work and realising its regional and global goals, such as Strategy 2015.

Transparency International’s multi-country research and advocacy initiatives are driven by the chapters.

We did not cede our land to Lagos- OGSG
Tuesday, 04 December 2012 10:31 administrator
Contrary to speculations in some quarters, the Ogun State Government says it did not cede its land in Egua, Yewa Local government to the Lagos State Government; rather the expanse of land was allocated for agricultural purpose to fast track development in the area.

It also says it is a pilot scheme which it plans to replicate in all the three senatorial districts of the State.

The State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun who made the clarification toady in Abeokuta at a meeting with stakeholders from the area, explained that the decision was part of the current administration’s strategy to ensure that development reaches every nook and cranny of the State.

Mrs. Sokefun disclosed that the land in question had long been acquired for agricultural purposes by past administrations in the State said the current government only gave the Lagos State Government a fraction of the total it requested for and that like in every lease agreement, there is a period for which Lagos State would operate on it.

“The land had long been acquired for agricultural purpose by past administrations in the State. There was a strategic reasoning behind our allocating part of it to Lagos State for rice planting. We only gave them one-tenth of what they requested for.

On the derivable economic benefit, the Commissioner assured that the terms of agreement were unambiguous as the parties had agreed that rent would be paid to Ogun State Government and that indigenes would be employed in the programme.

“Part of the agreements we entered into was that they will not use the land for any other purpose other than cultivation of rice and that indigenes of the community must be considered first for engagement on the farmland. This is a pilot scheme”, the Commissioner said.

Mrs. Sofekun who lamented the inability of past administrations to take advantage of its proximity to Lagos assured that “the current administration will take that advantage to the fullest”.

Meanwhile, indication had emerged that the prolonged hostilities between Fulani herdsmen and farmers in Yewa North Local Government Area of the State will soon become a thing of the past as both parties at a meeting today in Abeokuta agreed to sign a Memorandum of Understanding this Friday.[/b]

Sincere 9gerian: NONSENSE! There's no any stupid formula for re-calculating what has been calculated and ranked already. You'r so desperate to play down this positive development, that you'r almost creating your own TI with your own formula and characteristics. If TI needed a formula to calculate 2011 ranking to make it tally with 2012, it would have done so before releasing the data. As it now, we can only judge whether improvement has been made or not by comparing our ranking last yr with that of 2012. The UNDENIABLE FACT is that we moved UP 4 places and we scored 27 or 2.7 in 2012 compared to 2.4 in 2011.
This same direct comparison is what FOREIGN media organisations did as exemplified below:

...Still, the broad picture that emerges is one that shows barely any improvements, even in the Arab Spring countries where citizen uprisings calling for greater accountability led to the overthrow of governments in Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and Yemen. Their rankings have essentially stagnated in the 21-41 percent range over the past year.
Myanmar, where a military dictatorship has given way to a more open regime, was also unchanged in its ranking amongst the most corrupt countries in the world. It scored 15 percent in 2012, and in 2011 had a rating of 1.5 out 10.
In China, where outgoing President Hu Jintao warned last month that the scourge of corruption could prove fatal and cause the state to collapse, slipped to 80 th place this year with a 39 percent rating among the 176 countries surveyed, against 75 th place out of 183 countries in 2011.
Brazil, in contrast, climbed to 69 th place from 73 rd . President Dilma Rousseff has declared a zero-tolerance policy on corruption, firing ministers suspected of graft and its Supreme Court, in a landmark trial,handed down unprecedented prison terms for former political aides, lawmakers and business associates of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for buyingvotes to push through legislation. Brazil scored 43 percent in 2012 after a 3.8 rating the prior year.
place at 36 percent respectively.In 2011, Ireland was in 19 th place and Greece 80 th place.
Those scoring 70 percent or above included the most highly developed nations in western Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, plus the islands of Singapore, Hong Kong, Barbados, Bahamas and St Lucia. There also were two Latin American countries - Chile and Uruguay.
http://www.trust.org/trustlaw/news/global-corruption-remains-high-in-2012-despite-arab-spring-transparency-international/

Nigeria is 35th most corrupt nation –TI

DECEMBER 6, 2012 BY DAYO OKETOLA AND OLALEKAN ADETAYO 16 COMMENTS


THE global corruption watchdog, Transparency International, has ranked Nigeria as the 35th most corrupt nation in the world.

The Corruption Perception Index 2012 released on Wednesday revealed that Nigeria scored 27 out of a maximum 100 marks to clinch the 139th position out of the 176 countries surveyed for the report.

[size=14pt]Nigeria, sharing the position with Azerbaijan, Kenya, Nepal and Pakistan, is said to have remained entrenched in corruption without making much progress to fight the menace.

While countries such as Togo, Mali, Niger and Benin fared better, experts decried Nigeria’s poor performance in stamping corruption out.

Nigeria placed 143rd in the 2011 rankings, making it the 39th most corrupt country but experts said it was difficult to determine whether the country had improved in the ranking this year.

This, they said, was because 182, six more than this year’s, were ranked in 2011.
[/size]
The CPI 2012 confirmed recent media reports that President Goodluck Jonathan lied to the citizens when he claimed in his Independence day broadcast on October 1 that Nigeria was rated second after the United States by TI. TI, of course, denied issuing such a report.

Since 1995 TI has been publishing the CPI annually, ranking countries by their perceived levels of corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. The CPI generally defines corruption as “the misuse of public power for private benefit.”

Reacting to the country’s new rating on the corruption scale, Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, on Wednesday said the President could not be blamed for the latest corruption ranking of the country.

He said such reports were based on the comments of Nigerians who were always eager to tell the world how bad the country is.

He regretted that such aggregate of people’s perceptions did not recognise the various efforts being put in place by the government to fight corruption.

“The President does not sit in court to imprison people. There are institutions set up to do such. We do not follow the line in this country. We believe that if a market is not working in a village or there is an accident, the President is responsible,” he said.

According to TI, the 2012 index ranks 176 countries/territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. The index draws on 13 surveys covering expert assessments and surveys of business people.

[size=14pt]The body particularly criticised Jonathan for paying lip service to anti-graft war and not showing enough drive to fight corruption, especially corruption involving past and current actors in his administration.
[/size]
The president had also been carpeted for his reluctance in promoting transparency by failing to publicly declare his assets.

Ranging from the monumental fuel subsidy scam to the massive corruption uncovered in pension administration as well as the scams at the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Bureau of Public Enterprises, many Nigerians have already rated the Jonathan-led administration very low in the fight against corruption.

Government officials, including some of President Jonathan’s associates have been named in the brazen theft of public funds. Sons of both a past and incumbent national chairmen of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party were indicted and are currently undergoing trial for robbing the country of several billions of naira under the fuel subsidy regime.

On Monday, the country’s most widely read newspaper, The PUNCH, ran a front page comment denouncing the management of the country’s resources by the Jonathan administration.

Appalled by the approval for the construction of N2.2bn banqueting hall for entertaining the President’s guests at the Villa, the paper’s editorial said, “Jonathan government has continuously demonstrated that the interest of the larger Nigerian citizens is not its priority and that profligacy is its cardinal principle.

“There are many depressing examples. In the 2011 budget, N18bn went for the maintenance of presidential planes, which could provide decent accommodation for 18 million people going by the UN-Habitat estimates. In the 2012 budget, it set aside N1.9bn for the purchase of an additional aircraft for the already bloated Presidential fleet and N1.5bn for guest houses for some senior lawmakers. This is happening in a country where a prized possession for many is a generator.”

Sincere 9gerian: Nonsense analysis. Are you creating your own ranking system or what? Using isolated examples of countries that moved up and down the ladder to arrive at your analysis is nothing but SENSELESS. Some countries may have done better than Nigeria but that doesn't change the fact that Nig scored 2.7 this year and 2.4 last year and Nigeria moved up 4 places. Even if we down play the fact that we moved up 4 places because the total countries examined this yr was 7 short of that of last, it is still UNDENIABLE that Nig scored 2.7 this yr compared to 2.4 last yr and the scoring system is INDEPENDENT of the total countries examined

Ghana moves up to 64th in 2012 Index but still not winning fight against corruption – TI
evalicous | December 5, 2012 | 0 Comments

With a score of 45 out of 100, Ghana’s position has improved on the 2012 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today December 5, 2012.

The country placed 64th, up from the 69th it ranked in the 2011 edition.

The Index put together by anti-corruption watchdog, Transparency International (TI), ranked Ghana among 174 countries in the 2012 edition compared to 182 in 2011.

The surveys and assessments used to compile the Index include questions relating to the bribery of public officials, kickbacks in public procurement, embezzlement of public funds, and questions that probe the strength and effectiveness of public-sector anti-corruption efforts.

According to the TI, it has updated this year’s Index in terms of methodology for computing the CPI following a “comprehensive review and consultation process, both within the Transparency International movement and with the help of external experts”.

“For 2012, CPI, Transparency International used the most recent years’ available data (2011 -2012) from each source for each country.

To reflect this, the Corruption Perceptions Index is presented on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean),” TI said in a statement.

TI’s local chapter, the Ghana Integrity Initiative (GII) in a statement said based on the new calculation, Ghana’s CPI score in 2011 which was 3.9 if re-calculated would have been 46. “This means that Ghana’s position on the CPI has dropped implying that Ghana is still not winning the fight against corruption,” it said.

However, the score and rank of Ghana showed that the country also performed much better than several other African countries with Eritrea, Guinea Bissau and Guinea at the very bottom with a score of 25, 25 and 24, respectively even though six African countries performed better than Ghana with Botswana leading with a score of 65 and ranking 30 globally.

According to the TI, many African countries dominated the bottom of the CPI with Zimbabwe (163), Burundi (165), Chad (165), Sudan (173) and Somalia (174), ranking lowest with scores of 20, 19, 19, 13 and 8, respectively.

Most of these low scoring countries are also conflict countries, it noted.

On the global front, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand tie for first place with scores of 90, helped by strong access to information systems and rules governing the behaviour of those in public positions.

The TI indicated that two-thirds of the 176 countries ranked in the 2012 index scored below 50, showing that public institutions need to be more transparent, and powerful officials more accountable.

“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 Chair of Transparency International.

“After a year of focus on corruption, we expect governments to take a tougher stance against the abuse of power. The Corruption Perceptions Index 2012 results demonstrate that societies continue to pay the high cost of corruption,” Labelle said.

Many of the countries where citizens challenged their leaders to stop corruption – from the Middle East to Asia to Europe – have seen their positions on the Index stagnate or worsen.

Source Ghana Business News

kulutempa: Occam, save your breath. You are dealing with people here who will deny themselves in the mirror. They have no stake in a better Nigeria and the only loyalty they have is to those who pay them to write the rubbish you are seeing here. They would rather die fighting for crumbs from their corrupt rulers, than taking their rightful place at the table and getting served what is theirs by birthright.