Pakistan drops three spots on Corruption Perceptions Index
Foreign LNG firms to invest $500m
A parliamentary body was informed that international companies investing in liquefied natural gas (LNG) will bring in roughly $500 million foreign direct investment without any financial subsidy and off-take guarantees from the government which earlier placed unnecessary financial burden on the state.
During the meeting of Standing Committee of National Assembly on Maritime Affairs, members inquired about the details of two new LNG terminals. Members were briefed that $10 million was being paid for the land alone. The basic premise of LNG imports over the past decade had been to reduce import bill through substitution of expensive furnace oil. Its introduction would also increase power sector efficiencies and lower carbon emissions.
The committee was informed that previously the government had committed to pay roughly $250,000 per day per terminal for Rental and ReGasification charges that would cost the government some Rs420 billion over 15 years. Members were also informed that the government was not giving any Rental and Regasification charges or any off take guarantee in any form for new LNG terminals.
The committee members noted that the terms on which two new LNG terminals are being installed at Port Qasim were an excellent initiative by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs (MoMA).
The members were also briefed about the ministry's participation in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
According to the officials from the ministry, it was the for the first time in the history of the country that a federal minister not only addressed representatives from 88 countries but also solicited the case of Pakistan effectively.
Secretary Maritime Affairs Rizwan Ahmed informed members that Pakistan was appointing a permanent representative in IMO and was planning to contest the elections in 2021. Pakistan's significance in the context of global and regional maritime affairs came under discussion. The meeting was informed that Pakistan could provide a new dimension to the international maritime trade by linking various nations with Central Asia, South Asia and Middle East via sea route.
The committee members were also made acquainted with Indian Ocean Tuna Commission conference held in Pakistan hosted by MoMA and initiatives that will bolster deep sea fishing increasing presence in the global seafood market. Members had taken notice of the rapidly depleting stocks of fish in Pakistan. They learnt that while all the management and regulation of local fishing boats is being done by the provincial fisheries departments of Sindh and Balochistan.
Pakistan ranked 120 out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perceptions Index 2019 released by Transparency International on Thursday, slipping by three spots from the previous year's ranking despite increased anticorruption efforts.
On a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), Pakistan was assigned a score of 32, a point lower than its score of 33 on the 2018 index and well below the global average of 43. The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives.
According to Transparency International Pakistan (TIP) Chairman Sohail Muzaffar, on clarification sought against the lowering of Pakistan's score by one point on CPI 2019, the Transparency International Secretariat explained that many countries have not performed well this year.
Many developed countries including Canada, France,
United Kingdom and Denmark have scored less than last year, though Denmark attained the first rank on CPI 2019.
In the index, the average score for Asia-Pacific is 45 out of 100, showing Afghanistan as 'highly corrupt' with a score of 16. New Zealand was on the top of the ranking in the region with a score of 87 followed by Singapore ranked fourth with a score of 85.
TIP Chairman Muzaffar said that the National Accountability Bureau under its present chairman has performed much better, and NAB was rejuvenated after it took various initiatives, including adopting the combined investigation team (CIT) system, in order to have collective wisdom in the conduct of inquiries or investigations on merit. NAB has collected Rs153 billion from corrupt elements and filed 530 references and its overall conviction ratio in the accountability courts is about 70 per cent, the statement noted.
Analysis shows that countries that perform well on the CPI also have stronger enforcement of campaign finance regulations and broader range of political consultation, a press release issued by Transparency International Pakistan said.
Countries where campaign finance regulations are comprehensive and systematically enforced have an average score of 70 on the CPI, whereas countries where such regulations either don't exist or are poorly enforced score an average of just 34 and 35, respectively.
"The lack of real progress against corruption in most countries is disappointing and has profound negative effects on citizens around the world," said Patricia Moreira, Managing Director of Transparency International. "To have any chance of ending corruption and improving peoples' lives, we must tackle the relationship between politics and big money.
All citizens must be represented in decision making."
Countries in which elections and political party financing are open to undue influence from vested interests are less able to combat corruption, the analysis of the results finds.