ZAGREB, February 22, 2018 – This year’s Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index, which shows that in 2017 Croatia’s score was the same as in 2016 (49), highlights that the majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption, while further analysis shows journalists and activists in corrupt countries risking their lives every day in an effort to speak out.
TI, which marks its 25th anniversary this year, published its latest Corruption Perceptions Index on Wednesday.
Even though ending corruption is a long-lasting process, many countries have made little or no progress in the past six years. Further analysis of the results indicates that countries with the least protection for press and non-governmental organisations also tend to have the worst rates of corruption, says TI.
TI underlines that Croatia, which has kept its 2016 score, is faced with a string of scandals resulting from non-transparent contracts, suspicious public procurement procedures and covert concession awarding.
The lack of transparency regarding the adoption of Lex Agrokor (the law on emergency administration in systemic companies, specifically the Agrokor conglomerate) and the fact that Agrokor’s emergency administration did not sufficiently account for its actions has resulted in the public no longer trusting the entire process.
Also, the lack of transparency and public discussion about investments related to major public procurement cases and the operation of state-owned companies such as the HAC motorway operator continue to cost taxpayers dearly and additionally worsen the investment climate in the country and the possibility of overcoming economic instability.
Independent institutions are exposed to severe criticism from political decision-makers, they are systematically attacked and are often weakened by political appointments. If Croatia wants to make progress and achieve the average Corruption Perceptions Index score of EU countries, it must enhance transparency and enable oversight by independent institutions and the public so as to prevent the erosion of trust in the government, says TI.
The Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. This year, the index found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43.
New Zealand and Denmark rank highest with scores of 89 and 88 respectively. Syria, South Sudan and Somalia rank lowest with scores of 14, 12 and 9 respectively.
The best performing region is Western Europe with an average score of 66. The worst performing regions are Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32) and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 34).
