Corruption index 2017: Nepal jumps nine places to 122nd spot
Nepal improved its global corruption index in 2017, jumping to 122nd spot from 131, but it continues to trail behind many South Asian countries in the rankings led by 26th-ranked Bhutan, according to Corruption Perception Index-2017.
Nepal improved its global corruption index in 2017, jumping to 122nd spot from 131, but it continues to trail behind many South Asian countries in the rankings led by 26th-ranked Bhutan, according to Corruption Perception Index-2017.
The CPI-2017 unveiled by Transparency International Nepal (TI-N) here on Thursday ranked Nepal 122nd out of 180 countries with a score of 31. The country improved by nine spots compared to CPI 2016 when it was ranked 131th out of 176 countries with a score of 27.
The CPI measures the extent of corruption within a country on a scale ranging from zero to 100. According to the TI-N, countries that score below 50 are perceived as highly corrupt and those that secure 100 are cleanest.
In fact, Nepal received best score since 2013 with score remaining 31 in both years. Nepal was ranked 116th position out of 177 countries ranked in CPI-2013. In South Asia, Nepal is third most corrupt country after Afghanistan and Bangladesh who have been ranked 177th and 143th respectively.
Experts said that Nepal’s improvement in CPI-2017 should not be considered that the country has become less corrupt.
Transparency International-Nepal (TI-N) President Sri Hari Aryal said, “Nepal’s ranking improved in 2017 because the country held key elections-local, provincial and central levels which are expected to establish a system of governance at all three levels.”
Aryal said questions have been continuously asked about the conduct of lawmakers, ministers, judges and the officials of security agencies.
“Some lawmakers under the previous parliament were found involved in law-making process where they had a conflict of interest,” he said. Experts say that prevalence of corrupt practices has put Nepal’s score continuously below 31 or below in the recent years.
Countries like Bhutan, India and Pakistan improved their rankings over the period. Bhutan consistently has remained as the highest ranked country in the region over the last several years.
According to TI-N, the score allocated is an average score from among different scores on the performance of Nepal regarding corrupt practices given by institutions that include: The World Bank (WB), the World Economic Forum (WEF), Global Insight, Bertelsmann Foundation, World Justice Project (WJP) and Varieties of Democracy Projects (V-DEM).
The V-Dem which observes the political corruption and Bertelsmann Foundation oversees whether actions were taken against those who abused public positions, have given the lowest common score of 25. Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) former Chief Commissioner Surya Nath Upadhyaya said, “The low score given by V-Dem suggests political corruption is still rife in the country.”
Experts said that low score in political corruption suggests it is huge challenge. After the recent elections, the country has entered into new federal structure. “There is risk of policy corruption from among those who were elected in the recent elections because many have been elected with the campaign financing from certain interest groups,” said Upadhyaya. “As many contractors and businessmen from different fields have also been elected, there is risk they may involve in policy making to serve their business interests.”
Prithvi Man Shrestha is a political reporter for The Kathmandu Post, covering the governance-related issues including corruption and irregularities in the government machinery. Before joining The Kathmandu Post in 2009, he worked at nepalnews.com and Rising Nepal primarily covering the issues of political and economic affairs for three years.
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