Transparency International (TI), on Thursday, released Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2020, revealing that Maldives climbed 14 points compared to 2019.
With a score of 43, Maldives is ranked 75 out of 180 countries in the 2020 CPI, marking a climb of 55 positions in country ranking.
Although the upward trajectory of the CPI index is an improvement, this is the fourth consecutive year in which Maldives is included among the two-thirds of countries to score below 50.
TI's local chapter, Transparency Maldives (TM) noted that Maldives continued to lag behind in effectively tackling corruption despite attaining progress in strengthening legal frameworks.
As the Maldives seeks to move towards adapting to the new normal and embark on recovering from the pandemic, it is imperative to look back on how the Maldives as a country is responding to the pandemic.
TI also stated that the 2020 CPI showed how corruption was a universal obstacle to effectively combating the pandemic, regardless of differences in scale and scope across regions.
"Corruption undermines an equitable response to COVID-19 and other crises, highlighting the importance of transparency and anti-corruption measures in emergency situations", highlighted the NGO.
- Strengthen oversight bodies to ensure that those in need have access to resources, as well as ensuring that anti-corruption authorities and oversight institution have sufficient funds, resources, and independence
- Ensure that contracts are open and transparent in order to combat wrongdoing, identify conflicts of interest and guarantee fair pricing
- Defend democracy and support civic spaces to create encouraging conditions for holding the government accountable
- Publish data and guarantee access to information to ensure that the public receives easy, accessible, timely and meaningful information, on matters including public spending and resource distribution
The CPI annually scores and ranks countries by their perceived level of public sector corruption according to surveys and expert assessments, using a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. The index is calculated using a composite assessment of a minimum of three separate sources.
Maldives’ 2020 score was compiled from three international sources between January 2019 to January 2020; the Global Insight Country Risk Ratings, Varieties of Democracy Project and World Bank CPIA.
Sign In