Corruption Control Improves

The World Bank has reported that South Africa's control of corruption has improved by 3%, increasing from 68% to 71%.

This is according to a report, Governance Matters 2007: Worldwide Governance Indicators 1996-2006, which was published on Tuesday by the World Bank Institute and the World Bank Development Economics Vice-Presidency.

The report shows that a number of African countries, including South Africa, are making progress in improving governance and fighting corruption. This is encouraging given that good governance and corruption control are fundamental for long-term growth and reducing poverty.

'The hopeful news is that a considerable number of countries, including in Africa, are showing that it is possible to make significant governance progress in a relatively short period of time. Such improvements in governance are critical for aid effectiveness and for sustained long-run growth' says Daniel Kaufmann, co-author of the report and Director of Global Programs at the World Bank Institute.

'Bribery around the world is estimated at about US $1 trillion dollars and the burden of corruption falls disproportionately on the bottom billion people living in extreme poverty,' Kaufmann said.

The report is the sixth update of the Worldwide Governance Indicators, reflecting work over the past decade to develop evidence-based measures that help development stakeholders track the quality of institutions, support capacity building, improve governance, and address corruption.

The indicators cover 212 countries and territories, drawing on 33 different data sources to capture the views of tens of thousands of survey respondents worldwide, as well as thousands of experts in the private, NGO and public sectors. Anti-Corruption Internet Site Launched