Colombo, Jan 25 (NIA) – Sri Lanka has dropped 12 places to 95 in a global corruption index in 2016, when compared to 2015, a report released by Transparency International said here Wednesday.
The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) ranks countries according to the perceived level of public sector corruption where Sri Lanka is ranked 95th out of 176 countries with a poor score of 36.
The ranks are based on a scoring system that ranges between 0 (public sector perceived as highly corrupt) to 100 (public sector perceived as very clean).
Asoka Obeyesekere, Executive Director of Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) said that despite the passing of the Right to Information Act and the adoption of the Open Government Partnership National Action Plan, Sri Lanka was yet to see anti-corruption rhetoric leading to strong action.
A legislative reform agenda alone is not enough to put an end to impunity, he said.
Controversies such as the Central Bank Bond issue, the alleged Australian corruption scandal implicating the President and delays in corruption related prosecutions have raised serious questions about the government’s commitment towards good governance and anti-corruption, the Transparency International, Sri Lanka statement said.
Denmark and New Zealand are jointly ranked 1st in the 2016 CPI with a score of 90 followed by Finland, Sweden and Switzerland ranked 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively.
India has scored highest in the South Asian region with a score of 40 and ranked 79th overall.
India is followed by Sri Lanka and the Maldives which are jointly ranked 95th.
