Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

Bleak picture of inaction against corruption

Transparency International As the lowest-scoring region on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), with an average of 32, Sub-Saharan Africa’s performance paints a bleak picture of inaction against corruption. With a score of 66, the Seychelles earns the highest mark in the region, followed by Botswana (61), Cabo Verde (58), Rwanda (53) and Mauritius (52). At the bottom of the index are Somalia (9), South Sudan (12), Sudan (16) and Equatorial Guinea (16). While the Seychelles struggles with issues of money laundering, which is not measured by the CPI, several anti-corruption laws, including a recent access to information law, and a newly established anti-corruption commission have helped strengthen the country’s anti-corruption framework. In addition, despite some restrictions, dialogue between civil society and government occurs through a national civil society platform. Significant improvers since 2012, Cote d’Ivoire (35) and Senegal (45) still have much work to do. The political will demonstrated by the leaders of both countries, which saw a number of key legal, policy and institutional reforms implemented in their early days in office, has been on a backslide since 2016. SIGNIFICANT DECLINERS Since 2012, several countries, including Congo (19), Liberia (28), Madagascar (24) and Malawi (31) have significantly declined on the CPI. Congo has been the subject of repeated reports of money laundering and embezzlement of public funds by the country’s political elite with no action taken by national authorities. In Madagascar, despite a 2018 constitutional court ruling against electoral amendments favouring the incumbent president and cited as unconstitutional, judicial independence remains a concern. More recently, the national anti-corruption agency began legal action against more than half of the country’s parliamentarians, who stand accused of taking bribes. LOW SCORERS Towards the bottom of the index, with a score of 18, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) faces several corruption challenges. According to our recent report, Global Corruption Barometer – Africa, political integrity among government officials is extremely low, with 79 per cent of DRC citizens believing that all or most parliamentarians are involved in corruption. With the lowest score on the CPI, Somalia is not only one of the world’s most corrupt countries, but it is also, “one of the world’s most protracted cases of statelessness” according to the 2016 Bertelsmann Stiftung Transformation Index. State fragility and poor rule of law have left gaping holes for graft to flourish from petty bribery to high-level political corruption. Tackling corruption in the context of fragile states presents unique challenges, as fragility is both a cause and an effect of any downward trends in development. With plans underway in Somalia to hold the first “one person-one vote” election in fifty years, it is critical that political accountability structures to facilitate anti-corruption mechanisms are put in place. Continue: https://www.transparency.org/news/feature/cpi_2019_sub_saharan_africa