Egypt score drops one point in Corruption Perceptions Index 2015

Egypt dropped one point in the 2015 Corruption Perceptions Index compared to the previous year with a score of 36/100, Transparency International reported on Wednesday, stating that political corruption remains a huge challenge for the government.

Despite the poor score, the most populous Arab nation slightly went up in the ranking of countries, placing 88th out of 168 countries in 2015 against 94th out of 175 in 2014.

“The rise of ISIS and the ensuing fight against terrorism have been used by many governments as an excuse to crack down on civil liberties and civil society,” Ghada Zughayar, the director of the MENA department at Transparency International, said in the report.

Among the bottom countries in the index were the Arab nations of Sudan (score 12/100), Iraq and Libya (16/100).

The Germany-based NGO said on its website that governments need to give space to civil society to be their serious partner in the fight against corruption.

“Security will only succeed long-term if governments make a genuine break with cronyism and build trust with citizens,” said Zughayar. “This will require a huge change in political will.”

The Arab Gulf Kingdom of Saudi Arabia saw an upward movement in the index for the third year in a row, scoring 52/100 amid increased participation of women in political life.

Scandinavian countries were registered the least corrupt, with Denmark topping of the list.

source:Ahram online