For three years, Angola has been consecutively climbing places in the index that assesses corruption in 180 countries, moving from 167th to 142nd, in which the closer to the first place the more transparent and less corruption there is in that country, according to the 2020 Corruption Perception Index (CPI).

The index prepared by Transparency International (TI) evaluates 180 countries and territories according to the levels of perception of corruption in the public sector, using a scale from zero to 100 points, in which zero qualifies a country/territory as “highly corrupt” and 100 a “very upright”, free of corruption.

According to the index, in 2020 Angola obtained 27 points, one more than in 2019, being the second consecutive year to rise in terms of scores, being the highest score that the country recorded in this index.

Since João Lourenço took office as President of the Republic, Angola has constantly improved its position in this ranking. At the end of 2017, when he took the reins of the country, João Lourenço made the fight against corruption one of the buzzwords of his governance, being criticized by some, who say it was merely selective, and applauded by others. Even so, given the perception that was created in the country, but also abroad about the fight against corruption, Angola has climbed places in the ranking of Transparency International and is now in the third consecutive year to improve positions.

Today it is the 38th most corrupt country in the world, but in 2017 it was the 14th. It is currently the fifth worst ranked in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) – but is better than Madagascar, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and DRC – when in 2017 it was the most corrupt of this community. Thus, the improvement seen in this ranking is good news for the country which, at this time, seeks at all costs to make itself attractive to foreign private investment, important for job creation and for the country to return to economic growth, breaking a trend of five consecutive recessions.

Angola still far from the world average

Despite the improvements, Angola is still far from the world average, which is 43 points. Overall, two-thirds of countries scored below 50, as in previous years. In addition to performing poorly, nearly half of the countries have been stuck on the CPI for nearly a decade as they have failed to make significant changes to raise their score and fight corruption in the public sector.

As for 2020, the organization writes that “Covid-19 is not only an economic and health crisis, but also a corruption crisis, in which countless lives have been lost thanks to the insidious effects of corruption undermining efforts aimed at providing a response. fair and equitable global The organization reveals that corruption diverts public spending for essential public services and that countries with higher levels of corruption, regardless of economic development, tend to spend less on health. For TI, “corruption continues to contribute to setbacks in democracy during the Covid-19 pandemic. Countries with higher levels of corruption employ less democratic responses to the crisis”.

Sub-Saharan Africa is the region with the most corruption

In this sense, Sub-Saharan Africa is once again the worst classified region in the ranking, with 32 points, which compares, for example, with Western Europe and the European Union, which recorded 66 points out of a possible 100. Across sub-Saharan Africa, the Covid-19 pandemic highlights the structural flaws in national health systems, as well as the corruption risks associated with public procurement and the embezzlement of emergency funds. The economic shock generated by the pandemic has caused demonstrations and discontent in many countries, including South Africa (44 points), Angola (27) and Zimbabwe (24), protesting against rising costs of living, corruption and the proliferation of misuse of emergency funds. “To reverse the current situation, in which the region has the worst performance in the CPI, the governments of Sub-Saharan Africa need to take decisive measures, especially in the economies that are already weakened by the current economic recession, resulting from Covid-19”, reveals the report.

Portugal remains the best-ranked Portuguese-speaking country in the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, occupying position 33, followed by Cape Verde (41st), Brazil (94th), Angola (142nd) , Mozambique (149th), with Guinea Bissau occupying the last place in 195th position.

Source: Expansão