HYDERABAD, Aug 27: Corruption is both a cause of poverty and a barrier to overcome it, trapping millions in an unending cycle of misery and breeding social, economic and political unrest, says chief executive of Transparency International, Karachi, Saad Rasheed.

He said at a two-day workshop on “Youth in Governance” organised by his organisation in collaboration with the University of Sindh and Higher Education Commission on Tuesday that corruption denies the poor basic means of survival, forcing them to spend more of their income on bribes.

He said that human rights, too, are denied where corruption is rife because a fair trial comes with a hefty price tag where courts are corrupted. “We are all aware of the evils of corruption, which seems to be increasing day by day,” he remarked.

He said that it was a cross-cutting issue which if not addressed would fundamentally affect any attempt to promote a culture of respect for human rights or improvement in democratic reform process and good governance.

Mr Saad said that corruption distorts decision-making process and directly leads to absence of equal protection under the law, which becomes secondary to private interests of individuals and groups and undermines the very foundations of transparent governance – a prerequisite for democratic health and respect for human rights.

He said that the society must, therefore, demand good governance, rule of law, accountability and a code of conduct and ethics in government, independence of judiciary, an end to VIP culture and ‘one law for you and one law for me’ attitude of the government, waste of public funds and ensure that the funds were spent on improving quality of life of the ordinary citizens.

Mr Saad said that his organisation was fighting against corruption and bringing people together in a worldwide coalition to end the devastating impact of corruption on men, women and children around the world.

The vice-chancellor of the University of Sindh, Dr Mazharul Haq Siddiqui, who spoke as chief guest said that education, merit and justice were fundamentally important for sustainable development of society.

He said that cardinal principles of good governance were transparency, accountability and a system of check and balance. The governance did not relate to government or public sector only it also covered society as well as organisations, he said.

He said that the Sindh University had developed a system to enrol students and select faculty only on merit under a transparent system. Quality leadership in all fields could be raised only through quality education, he said.

Pakistan was not poor in natural resources, he said, adding that Japan was spending twice as much as all the Muslim countries combined on education.

Dr Asadullah Kazi, vice-chancellor of Isra University, Dr Rafia Ahmed Shaikh, pro-vice chancellor of SU, Dr Mansoor Kundi, dean of Languages of the University of Balochistan, Ms Hanifa Kazi and Umera Samreen also delivered lectures.