Malta still significant decliner in Corruption Perceptions Index

Malta has ranked 50 in the Corruption Perceptions Index, with a score of 54 for the 2019 index.

Its score is identical to 2018, when the island underwent its sharpest decline ever in Transparency International’s CPI, decreasing by six points to a score of 54. This made it a significant decliner on the CPI, over the last three years, moving from 60 in 2015 to 54 in 2018.

Despite calls from Maltese citizens, Daphne Caruana Galizia’s family and the international community to solve the case, the government was accused of dragging its feet in the judicial procedures. “Several scandals involving the Panama Papers, the collapse of a Maltese bank and the “golden visa” scheme that sells Maltese citizenship to wealthy overseas investors may also contribute to Malta’s decline on the CPI.”

Malta was sandwiched between Grenada and Saint Lucia in the country ranking. Denmark and New Zealand took joint number one position in the CPI as the least corrupt nations. Malta scored above Italy, which is the next EU country in line after Malta in the CPI. EU member states Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria were the worst EU performers.

Malta lost six points in the corruption perceptions index for 2018, a full year after the assassination of the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

More than two-thirds of countries – along with many of the world’s most advanced economies – are stagnating or showing signs of backsliding in their anti-corruption efforts, according to the 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today by Transparency International.

Read the report

Countries in which elections and political party financing are open to undue influence from vested interests are less able to combat corruption, analysis of the results finds.

“Frustration with government corruption and lack of trust in institutions speaks to a need for greater political integrity,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International. “Governments must urgently address the corrupting role of big money in political party financing and the undue influence it exerts on our political systems.” 

The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives. It uses a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).

More than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of only 43. Since 2012, only 22 countries have significantly improved their scores, including Estonia, Greece and Guyana. Twenty-one have significantly declined, including Australia, Canada and Nicaragua.

Our research shows several of the most advanced economies cannot afford to be complacent if they are to keep up their anti-corruption momentum. Four G7 countries score lower than last year: Canada (-4), France (-3), the UK (-3) and the US (-2). Germany and Japan have seen no improvement, while Italy gained one point.

Political integrity

Analysis shows that countries that perform well on the CPI also have stronger enforcement of campaign finance regulations and broader range of political consultation.

Countries where campaign finance regulations are comprehensive and systematically enforced have an average score of 70 on the CPI, whereas countries where such regulations either don’t exist or are poorly enforced score an average of just 34 and 35 respectively. Sixty per cent of the countries that significantly improved their CPI scores since 2012 also strengthened regulations around campaign donations.

“The lack of real progress against corruption in most countries is disappointing and has profound negative effects on citizens around the world,” said Patricia Moreira, Managing Director of Transparency International. “To have any chance of ending corruption and improving peoples’ lives, we must tackle the relationship between politics and big money. All citizens must be represented in decision making.”

Countries with broader and more open consultation processes score an average of 61 on the CPI. By contrast, where there is little to no consultation, the average score is just 32. A vast majority of countries that significantly decreased their CPI scores since 2012 do not engage the most relevant political, social and business actors in political decision-making.

Recommendations

To reduce corruption and restore trust in politics, Transparency International recommends that governments:

• Reinforce checks and balances and promote separation of powers.
• Tackle preferential treatment to ensure budgets and public services aren’t driven by personal connections or biased towards special interests;
• Control political financing to prevent excessive money and influence in politics;
• Manage conflicts of interest and address “revolving doors”;
• Regulate lobbying activities by promoting open and meaningful access to decision-making;
• Strengthen electoral integrity and prevent and sanction misinformation campaigns;
• Empower citizens and protect activists, whistleblowers and journalists;