The latest report of the annual corruption perception survey by Transparency International (TI) reveals a slight progress in Sierra Leone’s fight against corruption.
According to the report released on Tuesday, January 25, Sierra Leone moved up one point in its score, from 33 in 2020 to 34 in 2021.
The TI Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranks countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, as determined by expert assessments and opinion surveys. It generally defines corruption as an “abuse of entrusted power for private gain”.
Countries and territories across the world are ranked by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, and the results are interpreted on a scale of 0, which indicates high levels of corruption, to 100, meaning the country has zero level of corruption.
TI also ranks countries in terms of performance against other countries. In this sense Sierra Leone jumps from 117 in 2020 to 115, out of the 180 countries surveyed.
TI is a German registered organization comprising advocates who dedicate their time reporting on corruption, with the goal of ending the scourge by promoting transparency, accountability and integrity. The organization said this year’s report reveals that corruption fight is at a standstill worldwide.
“This year, the global average remains unchanged for the tenth year in a row, at just 43 out of a possible 100 points. Despite multiple commitments, 131 countries have made no significant progress against corruption in the last decade. Two-thirds of countries score below 50, indicating that they have serious corruption problems, while 27 countries are at their lowest score ever,” it said.
As always, the world’s major democracies remain at the top as the least corrupt countries. In the list of the top six are Denmark, Finland and New Zealand at the top with a score of 88 and ranking 1 each, followed by Norway, Singapore and Sweden with a score of 85 and ranking 4 each.
At the bottom are countries in crisis or under authoritarian regimes, from South Sudan at bottom with a score of 11 and ranking 180, to Syria and Somalia with a score of 13 and ranking 178 each, then Venezuela with a score of 14 and ranking 177, and then Yemen and North Korea with a score of 16 and ranking 174 each.
In the Mano River Basin, Cote d’Ivoire tops the pack with a score of 36 and ranking 105, followed by Sierra Leone in second, then Liberia with a score of 29 and ranking 136 and then Guinea with score of 25 and ranking 150.
While Cote d’Ivoire’s score is unchanged from last year, Sierra Leone and Liberia moved just one point up each. Guinea, meanwhile, declined 3 points in score.
In the ECOWAS sub region, Sierra Leone ranks 8th, behind Cape Verde at the top with a score of 58 and ranking 39; Ghana and Senegal with a score of 43 and ranking 73 each; Benin and Burkina Faso with a score 42 and ranking 78 each; Gambia with a score of 32 and ranking 102, and then Cote d’Ivoire.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Sierra Leone was quick to react to the report, describing the country’s performance, albeit a minor improvement, as indication of progress in its efforts to root out graft.
The Commission says Sierra Leone’s latest score, which positioned it just above the sub-Saharan average, is the highest it has ever recorded since the CPI rankings began.
In three years consistently, Sierra Leone has moved fifteen (15) places upwards on the CPI, from 129 in 2018 to 115 in 2021, it notes.
“The 2021 CPI reveals that Sierra Leone continues to make remarkable progress in the World’s most respected corruption watchdog’s assessment and rankings and now leads sixty-four (64) countries in the global campaign against corruption, including thirty-two (32) African countries, among which are; Kenya, Guinea, Liberia, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Niger, Zambia, Mozambique and Egypt,” the statement, signed by ACC’s Director of Public Education and Outreach Patrick Sandi, stated.
TI, in its analysis, said overall the report shed a light on the nexus among the fight against corruption, Covid-19 and human rights. It said that as anti-corruption efforts stagnated worldwide, human rights and democracy also came under assault, noting that protecting human rights is crucial in the fight against graft.
According to TI, as countries with well-protected civil liberties generally score higher on the CPI, those who violate civil liberties tend to score lower.
Many countries, the watchdog adds, used the Covid-19 pandemic as excuse to curtail basic freedoms and side-step important checks and balances.
“In authoritarian contexts where control rests with a few, social movements are the last remaining check on power. It is the collective power held by ordinary people from all walks of life that will ultimately deliver accountability,” said Daniel Eriksson, Chief Executive Officer at Transparency International Secretariat.
