Another ethical fail for South Africa – Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2020

The latest Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 that was released this week confirms a sad reality for South Africa: that the fraud and corruption being disclosed daily – such as recent revelations about the State Security Agency at the Zondo Commission – are not confined to our past.

The Corruption Perceptions Index, produced annually by Transparency International, scores 180 countries as regards the level of public sector corruption on a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 represents an extremely ethical public sector and 0 an extremely corrupt public sector.

For 2020 South Africa again scored in the lower, less ethical half of the scale, scoring only 44 out of a total of 100 – not a pass mark by most standards. And this score has remained in the same low range since 2012: 2020 = 44 | 2019 = 44 | 2018 = 43 | 2017 = 43 | 2016 = 45 | 2015 = 44 | 2014 = 44 | 2013 = 42 | 2012 = 43 |

That two thirds of the countries assessed scored below 50 and that the global average score was only 43/100 should not be a consolation. The defence that this is an external opinion is also not valid. Assessments are based on expert assessments and opinion surveys conducted in each country.

 The results across the six regions are also noteworthy.

1.    Western Europe and the European Union scored the best, with an average score of 66/100. Denmark scored the highest in this region, and Bulgaria the lowest.

2.    Asia Pacific scored an average of 45/100, with New Zealand scoring the highest, and North Korea the lowest.

3.    The Americas scored an average of 43/100, ranging from Canada at the top to Venezuela at the bottom.

4.    The Middle East and North Africa scored an average of 39/100, with the United Arab Emirates achieving the highest score and Syria the lowest.

5.    Eastern Europe and Central Asia scored an average of 36/100. Georgia scored the best and Turkmenistan the worst.  

6.    Sub-Saharan Africa scored the lowest results, with an average score of 32/100. Of the 49 countries assessed in this region, the Seychelles, which consistently achieves the best score, scored (66), followed by Botswana (60) and Cabo Verde (58). Regularly at the bottom of the Index are Sudan (16), South Sudan (12) and Somalia (12).

Comparing results over the 2012 to 2020 period for a selection of Sub-Saharan African countries (below) supports the generalised view that corruption is rampant in large parts of the continent. These results contrast starkly with the scores for New Zealand and Denmark (both scored 88/100 in 2020), the two countries that consistently rank first or second in the Index. An obvious conclusion is that the citizens of New Zealand or Denmark have a profoundly different experience as regards their public sector than in South Africa and many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Score range between 2020 and 2012, lowest to highest scores:

• Namibia         48 to 53
• Ghana            41 to 48
• Rwanda          40 to 56
• Zambia          33 to 38
• Tanzania        30 to 38
• Malawi          30 to 37
• Kenya            25 to 31
• Uganda          25 to 29
• Nigeria           25 to 28
• Mozambique  23 to 31
• Zimbabwe      20 to 24

These results should give rise to urgent action. But since the above scores reflect virtually no improvement over many years, the most optimistic deduction is that whatever action was taken was not effective. The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index recognised the countries whose scores has improved and declined: Greece and Myanmar improved, while Lebanon and Malawi declined. But the report notes that the other countries “made little or no progress in the fight against corruption in recent years”.

That corruption undermines the fabric of society is not in question. And because corruption impacts the poorest and most vulnerable in society disproportionately – not least because corruption depletes the funds that should ensure effective public sector service delivery – it exacerbates inequality. Corruption also erodes trust in the country’s leadership and its political and economic systems when, in a time of crisis, this is even more important than normal.

As to the impact of Covid-19, the Chair of Transparency International, Delia Ferriera Rubio, recognised that it is not merely a health and economic crisis. “It’s a corruption crisis. And one that we’re currently failing to manage.” Unfortunately, this also applies to South Africa. Mark Heywood, writing for the Daily Maverick in December 2020, aptly labelled Covid-19 as “the scandal of the year”. Here’s hoping that corruption associated with vaccine access and distribution does not eclipse the Covid-19 scandals to date.

The 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index provides sound recommendations about how corruption can be tackled: by strengthening oversight institutions, ensuring open and transparent contracting, defending democracy and promoting civil society organisations and the media, publishing relevant data and guaranteeing access to information.

However, sound recommendations only have effect when they are implemented. The crucial ingredient for implementation is political will. And a core manifestation of such political will is holding those found guilty of corruption to account, irrespective of their status or power. But that is likely to remain on hold until we can clearly and unequivocally answer the question that CNN's Richard Quest posed to Bruce Whitfield in January 2020 at the World Economic Forum in Davos: "How many people have gone to prison so far?”

 By Cynthia Schoeman

? Ethics Monitoring & Management Services (Pty) Ltd, 2021