The 2017 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), published by Transparency International, 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 risk their lives every day in an effort to speak out. Kenya scored 28 points out of the possible 100, a slight improvement from 26 points in 2016 and 25 in 2015. However, the score is still lower than the combined average score for Africa, which is 32.
The survey indicates that countries with the least protection for press and non- governmental organisations (NGOs) also tend to have the worst rates of corruption. The findings are very much a reflection of the situation in Kenya particularly in view of events after the 2017 General Elections by Government targeting NGOs in the governance sector and curtailing of media freedoms during a shutdown of major broadcasters on 30th January 2018 resulting from covering of the opposition’s ‘Swearing In’ ceremony.
The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people, 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. Unfortunately, compared to recent years, this poor performance is nothing new.
