{Berlin-based Transparency International released its yearly index Tuesday based on the perceived levels of corruption compiled from interviews with people in 177 countries.}
Based on expert opinion, the index measures the perceived levels of public sector corruption in countries worldwide, scoring them from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Covering 177 countries, the 2013 Corruption Perceptions Index paints a worrying picture. While a handful perform well, not one single country gets a perfect score. More than two-thirds score less than 50.
Among the East African Country, Rwanda ranked as a nation that has seen improvement. In 2009, it ranked 89th in the world and rose to 49 in the 2013 rankings with 68 score.
The report says Tanzania ranks on 111th place with 33 scores followed by Kenya which stands on 136th place with 27 score, Uganda on 140th place with 26 score while Burundi ranks on 167th place with 21 score.
Robert Barrington, executive director of Transparency International, says the worst performing countries are usually those undergoing conflict.
Commenting on Rwanda’s improvement, Barrington says “”Rwanda is a particularly interesting one because it did perform quite poorly for a number of years, but there’s been a concerted government effort to tackle corruption, and that’s now reaping rewards.”
The anti-corruption group lists Somalia, North Korea and Afghanistan as the most corrupt nations in the world.
War-torn Syria has declined over the same period, dropping from the 126th spot in 2009 to 168th in 2013.
Meanwhile countries like Denmark and New Zealand both ranked on the first place scoring over 90 scores. Finland and Sweden followed with 89 score each.
The Report says there is a need for greater accountability and leaders cannot look the other way. But recognising the problem is only the first step – governments need to turn pledges into actions.
It highlighted that all citizens deserve bribe-free services, and leaders that are answerable to the public, not to powerful friends. Working together, we can make this a reality.
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