Sri Lanka has slipped five places to 97 in the annual corruption perceptions index in an annual perception survey conducted among 180 countries, by Transparency International, a corruption watchdog.
"What we see is a clear indictment on Sri Lanka and the urgent need for major systemic changes to wipe out corruption," J C Weliamuna, executive director of Transparency International's Sri Lanka chapter said.
"The lesson to learn from the CPI reading this year is that anti corruption should be nothing less than a national priority."
Though the index is based on perceptions, Weliamuna says it is widely watched and quoted.
It ranks countries in terms of the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians.
Sri Lanka's score of the corruption perceptions index (CPI) fell to 3.1 (from 3.2 last year) which "a serious corruption problem in the public sector in the country," Transparency International Sri Lanka said.
The CPI places the least corrupt countries on a score of 0 and the most highly corrupt on a scale of 10.
India had a score of 3.4 while Maldives 2.5, Bangladesh 2.4, Pakistan 2.4, Nepal 2.3 and Bhutan 5.0.
Transparency International cheifl Hugette Labelle says that corruption requires oversight by parliaments, a well performing judiciary, independent and properly resourced audit and anti-corruption agencies, vigorous law enforcement, transparency in public budgets, revenue and aid flows, as well as space for independent media and a vibrant civil society.
© Lanka Business Online
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