Sri Lanka is ranked at the 101st place in Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index of 2022 released yesterday (31 January) and has scored 36 out of 100, one point lower than in the previous year (2021).
Sri Lanka ranks alongside Panama, Albania, Kazakhstan, Serbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Thailand.
Over the past decade, Sri Lanka’s score has remained relatively the same, with the highest being 40 in 2012 and the lowest being 36. The top countries in the Index are Denmark (90), Finland (87) and New Zealand (87) while South Sudan (13), Syria (13) and Somalia (12) remain at the bottom in 2022. According to the Transparency International Secretariat in Germany, corruption levels remain at a standstill worldwide, with most of the world failing to fight corruption, illustrated by 95% of the countries making little to no progress in the Index since 2017 while only a few governments have taken concrete action to tackle corruption, leading to pervasive corruption, coupled with crackdowns on civic space that have aggravated the situation.
Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) noted that Sri Lanka too demonstrates the same lack of progress in terms of resisting corruption, coupled with the suppression of the civil society, culminating from a lack of political will to change the system, even amidst the crippling effects of kleptocracy on the country’s economy and on the quality of life of citizens. The TISL urged the Government to understand the close connection between corruption, poor governance, the economy and the day-to-day lives of the people.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on which the Government is depending to resuscitate the fallen economy, also emphasised the need to reduce corruption-related vulnerabilities, by improving fiscal transparency, public financial management and a stronger anti-corruption legal framework.
The TISL reiterated that strengthening Parliamentary oversight on public finance, ensuring transparency and accountability in public procurement, de-politicising the public sector, auditing and reviewing the State-owned enterprises and strengthening law enforcement are some critical and urgent actions that are necessary if Sri Lankans are to fight corruption and usher in a true system change.
The TISL urged citizens to resist corruption and uphold personal integrity at all times, adopting a zero-tolerance policy to corruption in workplaces and businesses, fulfilling civic responsibilities, using the right to information, participating in governance, keep demanding critical reforms and voting differently and wisely at the upcoming elections.
The Corruption Perceptions Index scores 180 countries and territories based on the perceptions of public sector corruption. The scores reflect the views of experts and surveys from the business sector. The Index is calculated using data from 13 external sources, including the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, private risk and consulting companies and think tanks. On the scale of the Index, 100 is considered very clean and zero is considered highly corrupt. Types of public sector corruption and related criteria captured in it encompass bribery, the diversion of public funds, the effective prosecution of corruption-related cases, adequate legal frameworks, access to information, and legal protections for whistleblowers, journalists and investigators.