The Maldives has gained 14 points on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today.
The CPI released by Transparency International ranked the Maldives at 75 out of the 180 countries in the index in 2020. The organization's local arm Transparency Maldives said in a statement that compared with the 2019 index, the Maldives has climbed 14 points in score and 55 positions in country ranking.
It said that the Maldives' 2020 score was derived from three international scores including Global Insight Country Risk Ranking, Varieties of Democracy Project, and World Bank CPIA.
It added that the data for all three sources were collected from January 2019 to January 2020.
Transparency Maldives reiterated that while the upward trajectory in the CPI index is a positive step, Maldives still remains among the two-thirds of countries to score below 50.
It highlighted that despite the progress the Maldives has made in the recent past especially in the area of strengthening the legal framework the data shows that Maldives is still falling behind when it comes to effectively tackling corruption.
The organization made four key recommendations to the Maldivian government in order to fight corruption and maintain its upward trajectory in fighting the obstacles. These recommendations include;
- Strengthen oversight institutions to ensure resources reach those most in need. Anti-corruption authorities and oversight institutions must have sufficient funds, resources, and independence to perform their duties;
- Ensure open and transparent contracting to combat wrongdoing, identify conflicts of interest, and ensure fair pricing;
- Defend democracy and promote civic space to create enabling conditions for holding government accountable;
- Publish relevant data and guarantee access to information to ensure the public receives easy, accessible, timely, and meaningful information, including on public spending and resource distribution, which are particularly relevant in emergency situations
The CPI annually scores and ranks countries and territories by their perceived level of public sector corruption, drawing on surveys and expert assessments.
The index uses a scale of 0 to100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. The CPI is calculated using a composite assessment consisting of a minimum of three separate sources.
