Kuwait Ranks Seventh In The Arab World, Fifth In The Gulf, And 73rd Internationally On Gcpi 2021

Kuwait has made a qualitative leap in the Global Corruption Perceptions Index 2021, which was released yesterday by Transparency International, advancing 5 positions, to rank 73 globally.

Kuwait managed to increase the number of points it obtained by achieving 43 points out of a hundred, an improvement of one degree from last year, which jumped its global ranking by 5 places after it ranked 78 in the year 2020, reports Al-Rai daily.

Kuwait’s ranking in the Arab world did not change, and it remained in 7th place, while in the Gulf, it ranked fifth before the Kingdom of Bahrain.

According to the report, the improvement in Kuwait’s score is attributed to its improvement in the following two sources:
1 – The Bertelsmann Foundation, where Kuwait’s score reached 45 for the year 2021, an increase of 4 degrees over last year.
2 – The World Economic Forum, where Kuwait’s score reached 53, an increase of 5 degrees over last year.

On the other hand, Kuwait’s rating decreased by 5 degrees in the Varieties of Democracy Project, reaching 45 degrees for this year.

It is worth noting that all the 6 sources that participated in the evaluation of Kuwait updated their data during the year 2021.

The Global Corruption Perceptions Index report listed 10 requirements for improving transparency and integrity in Kuwait, as follows:
1 – Re-issuing the ‘Conflict of Interest’ Law.
2 – Completing the amendment of the Anti-Corruption Public Authority Law in its part related to the administrative and financial internal structure, and carrying out its duties as outlined by its establishment law.
3 – Issuing a law on appointment to leadership positions, and applying the principles of competence and merit in appointments and promotions.
4 – Developing e-government applications, increasing their services, disseminating mechanisms for providing electronic public services, simplifying procedures, eliminating bureaucracy in government transactions, and reducing the documentary cycle.
5 – Strengthening governance applications and risk management systems in the public sector, the adoption by government agencies of the rules and principles of governance, and corporate risk management in government agencies.
6 – Enforce the law fairly for all without favoritism in order to establish the foundations of justice and equity.
7- Activating accountability, especially with regard to the results of the monitoring reports issued by the regulatory bodies, and the speedy resolution of cases of administrative corruption and violation of public funds in both the Public Prosecution and the judiciary.
8 – Supporting civil society institutions concerned with combating corruption, engaging them in anti-corruption programs and projects, promoting freedom of the press and media at the institutional and individual levels, and supporting citizens’ efforts to report corruption.
9 – Developing Kuwaiti democracy, such as approving the draft law of the General Authority for Democracy that regulates electoral spending, political money, electoral media, and managing the entire electoral process, and the National Assembly Transparency and Integrity Law, which enhances the transparency of Parliament and ensures the integrity of the parliamentary performance, redrawing electoral districts to achieve justice, and developing the electoral system to ensure The participation of all voters fairly.
10 – Reviewing and developing the financial systems in the country, the proper selection of those responsible for them, and compliance with the regulations and procedures regulating the Central Agency for Public Tenders and any authority authorized to conduct contracts, purchases, and manage warehouses in public entities.

The Global Corruption Perceptions Index has adopted 6 sources for assessing Kuwait, which are the following:
1 – The Bertelsmann Foundation 2022 Transformation Index.
2 – Country risk rating, issued by The Economist Intelligence Unit 2021.
3 – Global Insight 2020 Country Risk Rating.
4 – Global Country Risk Guide issued by Political Risk Services 2021.
5 – Survey of Executives’ Opinions issued by the World Economic Forum 2020.
6 – Patterns of Democracy Project 2021.

The Middle East and North Africa region scored an average score of 39 for the third year in a row. Arab countries scored an average score of 34, and the Middle East and North Africa region is still viewed as a highly corrupt region, with little progress being made in controlling corruption.

The United Arab Emirates and Qatar achieved the best regional performance, scoring 69 and 63 degrees, respectively, while Libya (17 degrees), Yemen (16 degrees), Somalia (13 degrees), and Syria (12 degrees) were among the worst performers in the index.

In the report, Lebanon scored 24 points, its lowest level since 2012, as Lebanon (24) and Syria (13) witnessed a significant decrease in the Corruption Perceptions Index since 2012.

The Western European and European Union regions scored the highest in the Global Corruption Perceptions Index 2021, with the average score for Western European countries at 66. The lowest scores in Africa were the regions with the lowest average scores. Sub-Saharan Africa had an average score of 33, and then Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with an average score of 36.

The report considered that the most corrupt countries are those affected by long-term political and internal conflicts that have ruptured the infrastructure of governance, with Somalia (13), Syria (13), and South Sudan (11) still at the bottom of the Corruption Perceptions Index. Syria also ranks last in the field of civil liberties (Somalia and South Sudan are not ranked).

The report listed criteria for achieving a positive position in the fight against corruption:
1 – Respect for the rule of law.
2 – Strong and independent oversight bodies for the performance of public institutions and bodies.
3 – Free and independent media.
4 – Providing space for civil society institutions to work and express themselves.

 

SOURCE  :   TIMES KUWAIT

 

Comments Post Comment

Leave a Comment

Submit