Most countries including Ghana make little to no progress in tackling corruption in 2023

The 2023 global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released yesterday January 30, 2024 shows that most countries of the world including Ghana, have made little to no progress in tackling public sector corruption.

According to the Index, the global average remains unchanged at 43 for the twelfth year in a row, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50.

“This indicates serious corruption problems,” Transparency International, the publishers of the Index says.

The 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today by Transparency International shows that most countries have made little to no progress in tackling public sector corruption. The CPI global average remains unchanged at 43 for the twelfth year in a row, with more than two-thirds of countries scoring below 50. This indicates serious corruption problems.

Citing the Rule of Law Index, it says the world is experiencing a decline in the functioning of justice systems.

“Countries with the lowest scores in this index are also scoring very low on the CPI, highlighting a clear connection between access to justice and corruption. Both authoritarian regimes and democratic leaders undermining justice contribute to increasing impunity for corruption and, in some cases, even encourage it by removing consequences for wrongdoers,” it says.

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

With a score of 40/100 Ghana ranks at 70 among 180 countries. The country has been ranked at 70 since 2022.

The CPI shows that despite a regional survey ranking corruption among the most important problems that Africans want their governments to address, countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a long way to go in their fight against corruption.

Seychelles tops the countries in Africa with a CPI score of 71, making it the top scorer in the region, followed by Cape Verde with 64 and Botswana, 59. The lowest performing countries are Equatorial Guinea, 17, South Sudan, 13, and Somalia 11, all of them showing no sign of improvement.

Authors of the CPI note that despite an economic growth rate of 3.3 per cent in 2023, sub-Saharan Africa continues to grapple with extreme poverty, affecting about 462 million people.

“The region’s persistent challenges stem from decades of severe underfunding in public sectors, exacerbated by corruption and illicit financial flows siphoning resources away from basic public services. Addressing social and economic issues remains ineffective, often at the expense of the most vulnerable population. Corruption in justice delivery mechanisms disproportionately affects the poorest citizens and those who depend primarily on public services, such as people living with disabilities or women and children, hindering the realisation of global and regional development goals,” they said.

By Emmanuel K Dogbevi

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