CENTAL Highlights Troubling Concern

–As Liberia Declines In CPI Scores

The Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) says it is concerned about the latest Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report which shows Liberia declines from 41 in 2017 to 32 in 2018.

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was established in 1995 and is used to measure perceptions of corruption in the public sector in different countries and territories around the world.

According to a statement from the National Chapter of TI, the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), the CPI ranks countries based on how corrupt their public sectors are perceived, drawing on 13 surveys of experts and business people and the score ranges from 0 to 100 where 0 equals the highest level of perceived corruption, while 100 equals lowest level of perceived corruption.

CENTAL said this year’s 180 countries were targeted just as in 2017, saying “the results paint a sadly familiar picture more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, while the average score is just 43.Perhaps most disturbing is that the vast majority of countries assessed have made little to no progress including Liberia that is among the worst declining countries since 2012 from CPI score of 41, which is appreciable progress, then, we have since dropped by nine points to 32,” CENTAL said in a statement.

The best performers in Africa according to the report include Seychelles (66), Botswana (61), Cape Verde (57), Rwanda (56) respectively.

Meanwhile, in West Africa, the best performers include Senegal (45), and Ghana (41) while the worst performers are Guinea (28), Sierra Leone (30) and Liberia (32).

Liberia is ranked globally 120/180 with a CPI score of 32. But in a statement Tuesday January 29, 2019, CENTAL said it is deeply concerned about these developments.

“Liberia’s continuous underperformance, especially its position among the worst decliners worldwide. This speaks to the government’s inability to address entrenched culture of impunity band enforce existing anti-corruption laws and policies.

“Limited or no effort to comprehensively audit the past administration and prosecute alleged corrupt officials, violation of the National Code of Conduct for public officials and limited moral and financial support to public integrity institutions are counterproductive to the fight against corruption in the country,” CENTAL further lamented in a statement.

However, CENTAL said to reverse the trend and improve Liberia’s standing in the region and globally, officials of the three branches of the Liberian Government should declare their assets, income, liabilities, in full compliance with the National Code of Conduct for public officials.

The integrity institutions want a comprehensive audit of the past government commission to ensure that those who allegedly embezzled public resources are identified and prosecuted.

“Ensure the independence and vibrancy of anti-corruption institutions by giving them full moral, financial and logistical support to effectively operate. Ensure safe and secure environment for the media, civil society and other advocates to thrive,” CENTAL recommended.

TNR