In the most recent Corruption Perception Index, Qatar ranked 19 among 178 countries covered by the index, ahead of Britain (20), the United States (22) and France (25). While the index is not set in stone, its figures are close to the truth, and so congratulations to Qatar for being the first Arab nation to be included in the list of the top twenty nations on the index. In the top third of the index, there were also other Arab countries present, including the UAE (28) - ahead of Israel- , and Oman (41), Bahrain (48), Jordan and Saudi Arabia together (50) and Kuwait (54). These are all favorable ranks, and perhaps the reader has noticed the common denominator among them, which is that the advanced ranks were occupied by rich oil-producing countries, with the exception of Jordan. On the other hand, the last ranks on the index went to Libya (146), Yemen (148), Sudan (172), Iraq (175) and Somalia, which no longer ranks last (178). Libya has rebelled against Muammar Gaddafi, and corruption in Iraq can be blamed on its rulers along with the U.S. occupation which brought them to power. There also are countries like Yemen, Sudan and Somalia, which are among the poorest countries in the world, and yet, corruption there has spread and the corrupt are robbing an inexistent pie. Even if Qatar were at the bottom of the list, there would still be some of its income left for every citizen, since Qatar has the highest per capita income in the world. Yet, corruption in Qatar is minimal, because the leadership is wise. The metaphorical pie in all Arab oil-producing countries is large enough to leave something for the ordinary citizen, but nonetheless, corruption in these countries is less belligerent than in our poor countries, where there is no pie to begin with. Between those who moved up the list and those who moved down, lies Egypt, specifically at the 93rd place, i.e. near the middle. Corruption in Egypt is blamed on the regime of Hosni Mubarak, and so we will have to wait and see how the new regime will stack up, and where Egypt will rank on the Corruption Perception Index a year from now. I am encouraged to expect a better result thanks to the positive information I heard about the new Prime Minister Dr. Essam Sharaf, in terms of his integrity, competence, and previous track record in public service. Perhaps the ministers in his cabinet will be like him, and I am specifically optimistic about the Foreign Minister, Ambassador Nabil al-Arabi, because I appreciate his competence, and I was greatly pleased that a dear friend remained in her post in the cabinet, and she is Fayza Abul Naga, Minister of International Cooperation. But I am at once both reassured and anxious. There are strong economic foundations built by the government of Ahmed Nazif. If these are developed by the new government after corruption is uprooted, we can expect a better future, especially for the young revolutionaries of Egypt. But I do not even want to think about failure, because it would mean that the one million educated but unemployed youths will become two million. There are several important economic agreements in place among countries in the region, including Egypt, Turkey, Syria and Jordan, and soon, Saudi Arabia. There also are electric linkage projects, which started between Egypt and Jordan, while Saudi Arabia is expected to join soon. This is to be followed by gas linkage which, if it reaches Turkey, would reach all of Europe. Meanwhile, Egyptian agricultural products are shipped today to Greece and Italy by sea, and then France, all in 24 hours, with a government guarantee for a minimum cargo load. All of this is indeed in place, and can be built upon. However, this now goes hand in hand with the chaos unleashed by the angry uprising, and I fear that if this shall continue, then it will impact the government's work, since people cannot eat freedom and democracy, but instead need bread. I have here in front of me an article published by the moderate newspaper The Christian Science Monitor, which asks whether Egypt is next in line to the failed revolutions in Lenin's Russia, Mao's China, and Khomeini's Iran. But to the writer of this article, I want to say ‘shut yourself up!' If I were to believe everything I read, heard or saw about Egypt these days, I would conclude that everyone in Egypt were thieves. Of course, this is impossible. While there indeed was rampant corruption in the country, making Egypt rank at the middle of the corruption index which I started my article with, Egypt has never had a lack of upstanding citizens, even in government. The rule today is that a given person is innocent until proven guilty. However, Egypt continues to adopt the principle of everyone is guilty until proven innocent. For this reason, we have seen individuals being banned from travel and their assets frozen, preventively, following anonymous complaints that had no signature on them. In this situation, the de facto ruler of Egypt becomes the Attorney General Abdel Meguid Mahmoud. Egyptian judges had honorable stances in confronting the regime of Hosni Mubarak. I wrote in this column that the Egyptian government, or indeed any government, cannot win any confrontation with judges, because it is they who enact, implement and expand on laws, and thus cannot be accused of being wrong as they are the reference point in right and wrong, and today, my confidence in the Egyptian justice system remains high. [email protected]
