NEW YORK // High-profile prosecutions of corrupt executives and beefed-up financial tracking systems have helped make the UAE a better place to do business, an anti-graft watchdog said in its annual global survey.
The UAE moved up five places since last year to become the 30th least-corrupt country of the 180 assessed by businessmen and analysts in Transparency International's 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index.
That means the UAE has overtaken Israel (32) to become the Middle Eastern country perceived to be the least corrupt after Qatar (22). Globally, the list is topped by New Zealand (1), Denmark (2) and Singapore (3).
"The 2009 index shows improvement in the scores of Qatar, the UAE, Oman, Bahrain and Jordan," the Berlin-based research group said. "It remains to be seen whether this is due to increased political will to fight corruption or whether the negative effects of corruption are being masked by large surpluses, particularly in the oil and gas-rich Gulf states, which are fuelling rapid economic development."
Tamara Kamhawi, the regional coordinator for Transparency International, said: "The fact that they decided to take measures to punish high-level officials in the UAE for misconduct and abusing their office is one step to show they are serious about these reforms.
"After the financial crisis, we have seen a growing interest in transparency and accountability measures, which shows they are taking steps forward in this direction."
The anti-graft group undertakes the complicated task of assessing corruption levels in the public sector of a target country, grading on a scale of 0-10 based on a composite score from business surveys.
The UAE scored 6.5 in this year's report, up from 5.9 last year, propelling the country upwards on a list that is dominated by European and other Western countries.
The improvement comes only weeks after a Dubai judge handed down the longest term yet in the emirate's long-running corruption inquiry of Istithmar World, jailing a senior manager at the company for five years for embezzling $1.34 million (Dh4.9m). Dubai's massive anti-corruption inquiry, launched last year to fight a multi-billion-dirham fraud, was matched by Abu Dhabi last month announcing an eight-year training course for a new cadre of sleuths to crack down on financial crimes.
Huguette Labelle, the chairwoman of Transparency International, said governments must strengthen institutions against graft, particularly during a global recession that is being tackled with multi-billion-dollar public bailout packages.
"Stemming corruption requires strong oversight by parliaments, a well performing judiciary, independent and properly resourced audit and anti-corruption agencies, vigorous law enforcement, transparency in public budgets, revenue and aid flows, as well as space for independent media and a vibrant civil society," she said.
While this year's list was topped by politically stable countries with traditions of regulation and sound public institutions, fragile and war-torn states continued to linger at the bottom of the scale.
Somalia languishes at the bottom of the index with a score of 1.1, below Afghanistan (1.3) and Myanmar (1.4).
jreinl@thenational.ae
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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One in four Americans don't plan to retire
Nearly a quarter of Americans say they never plan to retire, according to a poll that suggests a disconnection between individuals' retirement plans and the realities of ageing in the workforce.
Experts say illness, injury, layoffs and caregiving responsibilities often force older workers to leave their jobs sooner than they'd like.
According to the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research, 23 per cent of workers, including nearly two in 10 of those over 50, don't expect to stop working. Roughly another quarter of Americans say they will continue working beyond their 65th birthday.
According to government data, about one in five people 65 and older was working or actively looking for a job in June. The study surveyed 1,423 adults in February this year.
For many, money has a lot to do with the decision to keep working.
"The average retirement age that we see in the data has gone up a little bit, but it hasn't gone up that much," says Anqi Chen, assistant director of savings research at the Centre for Retirement Research at Boston College. "So people have to live in retirement much longer, and they may not have enough assets to support themselves in retirement."
When asked how financially comfortable they feel about retirement, 14 per cent of Americans under the age of 50 and 29 per cent over 50 say they feel extremely or very prepared, according to the poll. About another four in 10 older adults say they do feel somewhat prepared, while just about one-third feel unprepared.
"One of the things about thinking about never retiring is that you didn't save a whole lot of money," says Ronni Bennett, 78, who was pushed out of her job as a New York City-based website editor at 63.
She searched for work in the immediate aftermath of her layoff, a process she describes as akin to "banging my head against a wall." Finding Manhattan too expensive without a steady stream of income, she eventually moved to Portland, Maine. A few years later, she moved again, to Lake Oswego, Oregon. "Sometimes I fantasise that if I win the lottery, I'd go back to New York," says Ms Bennett.
Scores in brief:
Day 1
New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38
Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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