It sure doesn't make for easy reading, but for us to start changing things means looking at the truth and acknowledging it. Our country is ranked 56 out of 178 with a score of 4.4 on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). The 2010 CPI measures the degree to which public sector corruption is perceived to exist in 178 countries around the world. It scores countries on a scale from 10 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt). The 2010 results are drawn from 13 surveys and assessments published between January 2009 and September 2010. So there is clearly a lot of work that remains to be done fighting corruption. The full results can be seen here

As for the rest of our Continent, one can only weep:

Transparency International released its annual report Tuesday surveying perceived corruption in 178 countries.

The 2010 list ranks six African nations among the 10 most corrupt countries. They are Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Burundi, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

Transparency International scores countries on a 10-point scale, with zero being the most corrupt. Forty-four of the 47 African nations scored less than five on the index, meaning they have serious levels of corruption.

The Berlin-based group ranked Botswana as the least corrupt African country, with a score of 5.8.

The report defines corruption as the "abuse of entrusted power for private gain," in public and private sectors. It scores countries based on assessments of the prevalence of bribery of public officials, embezzlement of public funds, kickbacks in public procurement, and questions about the effectiveness of public anti-corruption efforts.