Tunisia pledges to fight corruption amid criticism of poor governance

The Tunisian government issued a declaration, pledging to fight corruption, the official TAP press agency reported on Saturday.

“Corruption cripples social, economic and political development and represents a threat to the rights of Tunisians,” according to the declaration, which was issued as the world is set to mark the International Anti-Corruption Day on Sunday.

The government calls on the constituent assembly, educational institutions and the media “to set up a culture of fight against corruption and to promote integrity and good governance,” the declaration said.

In the past, anti-graft campaigns have failed due to the absence of clear objectives and vision, it said, stressing the need to adopt “a plural, global approach and to set up anti-graft mechanisms.”

Observers note that since the toppling of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali almost two years ago, Tunisia’s attempts to restitute the foreign assets of the former president and his family have yielded little result so far.

In its latest report on corruption of the world’s countries, Transparency International puts Tunisia 75th out of 176 nations. The country loses two places in comparison with the 2011 ranking.

Xinhuanet