Corruption has become even more widespread in South Africa.
That’s according to the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2023. This index ranks countries on the perceived levels of public sector corruption. It uses information from institutions such as World Bank and World Economic Forum, to compile this report. The CPI score is determined by assessing factors like “state capture”, “excessive red tape in the public sector” and “access to information on public affairs/government activities”.
The CPI shows corruption on a scale of 0 to 100 – with 0 indicating that a country is highly corrupt.
In this year’s report, South Africa obtained a score of 41 out of 100 points. It fell below the global average (which is a score of 43/100) – having lost two points compared to the year before.
This is the lowest score the country has ever received.
Globally, South Africa was ranked 83rd out of 180 countries, landing in the company of Kosovo, Burkina Faso and Vietnam.
The anti-corruption organisation, Corruption Watch, says South Africa is among 23 countries that dropped to their lowest-ever score – this means these countries are now classified as being “flawed democracies”.
The organisations executive director, Karam Singh, says there is a strong need for “accountable leaders of integrity” to emerge – as the country prepares for the upcoming elections.
“It is frustrating that, in a country like South Africa, where the corrupt have been exposed for all to see in such public processes as the Zondo Commission and robust media investigations, so few of the implicated parties have been brought to justice”.
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