Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2016 (Press Release)

PRESS RELEASE

Phnom Penh, 25 January 2017 – The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) results released by Transparency International on 25 January 2017 revealed that the perception of corruption in the public sector for Cambodia has not changed in 2016. Cambodia maintains the same score as last year, 21 out of a maximum score of 100 and is ranked 156 in the global ranking among 176 countries included in the CPI list. The change of ranking position for Cambodia in the 2016 CPI is due to the inclusion of 8 additional countries in the CPI list from 168 (in 2015) to 176 (in 2016). Therefore, this change in the ranking position should not be interpreted to mean that Cambodia’s performance in 2016 is worse than in 2015.

The 2016 results clearly show that despite the Government’s reform efforts, which have yielded some improvements in a few specific sectors, the improvements were too slim to help change the perception of the experts, business community insiders and the public at large. It is also noted that many fundamental anti-corruption reforms recommended by governance and anti-corruption experts have not been undertaken in an effective and timely manner. Indeed, for the past few years, TI Cambodia has consistently called upon the Government to undertake structural and systematic reforms within key national institutions, specifically   to reform the judiciary, and passage of an Access to Information Law and a Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers (Reporting Persons) that meet international standards. Additionally, TI Cambodia has suggested amendments to a number of articles of the current Anti-Corruption Law, including emphasizing the importance of public asset declaration and including spouses and immediate family members in asset declaration requirements. Moreover, it is vital that the independence of the Anti-Corruption Unit be guaranteed. Finally, TI Cambodia has recommended efforts to combat nepotism and conflicts of interest in public institutions.  However, so far, too little has been done or fully achieved.

While Cambodia’s score for 2016 CPI has not changed, there are some noticeable improvements among several ASEAN member states, for instance: Myanmar increased 6 scores (from 22 to 28); Laos increased 5 scores (from 25 to 30); Vietnam increased 2 scores (from 31 to 33). However, Singapore decreased 1 score (from 85 down to 84); Malaysia decreased 1 score (from 50 down to 49) and Thailand decreased 3 score (down from 38 to 35).

“The score for Cambodia in the 2016 CPI reveals the fact that the Cambodian public administration, although achieving some results in some specific areas, have not made much progress towards creating a culture of transparency and integrity”, said Ok Serei Sopheak, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Transparency International Cambodia (TI Cambodia). “The very fact that Myanmar has made greater and faster positive progress than Cambodia should be a matter of deep reflection and also a lesson-learned for Cambodia’s reformers” he continued.

The CPI, which provides a yearly snapshot of perceived public sector corruption by ranking countries from across the globe on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), is the most widely used corruption indicator. It captures the informed views of experts, business people and the public in countries around the globe. The CPI uses data sources from many reputable institutions. It is scrutinised by investors worldwide and research has shown that there is a clear correlation between a higher CPI and higher rates of foreign investment.

2016 Country Rank: 156 of 176

2016 Country Score: 21 of 100

Last year’s 2015 Country Rank: 150 of 168

“Although Cambodia’s score remains the same as last year, we have observed some encouraging Government efforts to implement the reform agenda which have yielded some concrete results, for example the increased revenue from tax collection, and reduction of petty corruption in providing some essential public services to the people among other noticeable reformed areas” said Preap Kol, Executive Director of TI Cambodia. “But unless fundamental reforms proposed above take place, it is hard to foresee a shift in the perception on corruption in the CPI” he added. 

TI Cambodia once again calls upon the Government to step up the reform agenda as a matter of priority. TI Cambodia is committed and stands ready to engage with the Government and all relevant stakeholders to help implement key reforms and to promote greater transparency, integrity, accountability and sustainable democratic development in Cambodia.

About the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI)

First established in 1995, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a composite index that ranks countries and territories from around the globe based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived to be, from a scale to 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean). It aggregates data from a number of different reputable sources that provide perceptions of business people and in-country experts of the level of corruption in the public sector.

The 2016 CPI ranks 176 countries and territories, drawing on up to 13 surveys covering expert assessments and views of business people. In the case of Cambodia, eight sources were used – namely:

1. The Bertelsmann Foundation Transformation Index 2016,
2. The Economist Intelligence Unit Country Risk Ratings 2016,
3. The Global Insight Country Risk Ratings 2015,
4. The Political and Economic Risk Consultancy Asian Intelligence 2016,
5. The World Bank – Country Policy and Institutional Assessment 2015,
6. The World Economic Forum Executive Opinion Survey (EOS) 2016,
7. The World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2016,
8. The Varieties of Democracy (VDEM) Project 2016.

For a full list of the data sources, the type of respondents and the specific questions they ask, please see the CPI sources description document on www.transparency.org

Media Contacts:

Mr Ok Serei Sopheak, Chairman of the Board of Directors, (+855) 012 815 302, sokserei@ticambodia.org

Mr Preap Kol, Executive Director, (+855) 012 877 833, kolpreap@ticambodia.org

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Transparency International is the civil society organisation leading the fight against corruption

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សម្រាប់សេចក្ដីថ្លែងការណ៍ព័ត៌មានជាភាសាខ្មែរ សូមចុចនៅ ទីនេះ

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