Lebanon's rampant corruption at center of its many crises: report

Transparency International's recent CPI index states, "this has caused pervasive civil unrest – and violent conflict – as people fight for their rights and voices to be heard. The instability and consolidation of power, in turn, fuels political corruption, feeding the vicious cycle of authoritarianism, corruption, and conflict across the Arab world."  

Based on the index, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (CPI score: 67) and Qatar (58) are the top scorers among the Arab States, while Libya (17), Yemen (16), and Syria (13) are among the worst.  

Ranking 180 countries and territories around the world by their levels of public sector corruption on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), the global average remained unchanged for over a decade at 43 out of 100, as more than two-thirds of countries score below 50. In comparison, 26 countries have fallen to their lowest scores, as the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index shows that most countries are failing to stop corruption.   

Lebanon scored 24/100, ranking 150/180, with zero score change since 2021.  

Based on the index, "Lebanon has been caught in a spiral of economic, political and social disasters since its financial sector imploded as a result of overspending and corruption in 2019, exacerbated by the devastating Beirut port explosion of the following year."  

The Lebanese state could also not pay civil servants and soldiers or provide essential services like healthcare, water, food, and electricity. According to the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, this is very alarming "as four in five citizens have been dragged into poverty during the crisis, while inflation further skyrocketed in 2022."  

Transparency International also reported that Lebanon's banks played a vital role in "funneling the wealth of powerful Lebanese abroad."  

"To make things worse, the country has been without a functioning government since the end of October, further delaying crucial reforms to improve economic and monetary governance," it added. 

Additionally, Lebanon's Corruption is the leading cause of its many crises, as "state employees siphon money from procurement processes intended to rebuild, while other officials avoid accountability on many counts, even for the port explosion for which there is evidence suggesting they knew of the risks. A 2020 anti-corruption law took important steps to correct some of these issues, but it's still insufficient. Gaps remain in transparency in appointments for the anti-corruption commission and the subsequent public procurement law passed in 2021."  

"Rampant corruption, paired with the dire economic situation, will only deepen the distrust in politics and the social tensions tearing apart the country. Existing conflicts will worsen without decisive political reforms to reign in corruption and alleviate the impact of the crises," Transparency International concluded.