By Staff Reporter, Dar and Kigali
The Transparency International
has ranked Tanzania the second country
in East Africa after Rwanda in the war against corruption. This comes after a recent 38-nation
Pew Research report named Tanzania a democratic country in Africa ahead of
Kenya and Ghana
The 2018 Corruption
Perception Index (CPI) report released yesterday put Tanzania at an average
score of 36 points behind Rwanda which has scored 56 points. Other East African
countries with their scores in brackets are as follows: Uganda (26), Burundi
(17), and Congo (19)
Tanzania
which is placed 99th out of 180 countries in the 2018 Transparency International
corruption index has improved due to efforts made by President John Magufuli
who has earned himself credibility and acclaim, both in and outside Tanzania,
for his fight against corruption.
It
should be noted Tanzania was ranked among the top 20 countries in Africa with
the least corruption and was also placed 117th out of 168 countries in
Transparency International’s 2015 Corruption Index when President Magufuli was
assuming power.
Since
assuming power in 2015 President Magufuli has been sweeping away the country's
reputation for endemic corruption and poor public services. For example,
he fired six senior officials in the Tanzania Revenue Authority, including
Commissioner General Rashid Bade, because of corruption.
He
also suspended the Director General of the Tanzania Ports Authority, Ephraim
Mgawe, over a scandal involving the non-payment of $40 million in import taxes.
Magufuli
also sacked Edward Hoseah, the long-serving Director General of the Prevention
and Combating of Corruption Bureau (PCCB), due to the slow pace of the fight
against graft.
Rwandan
researcher and political commentator Christophe Kayumba told DW recently that,
unlike other African heads of state, Magufuli has translated his intentions into
actions. “Magufuli has actually acted on his words. He has suspended corrupt
officials and reduced public expenditure,” Kayumba said.
The
African Union estimates that $50 billion is lost to corruption and other
financial crimes across Africa each year. Many heads of state on the continent
have vowed to eradicate corruption from their countries. Legislation to punish
the vice has been drafted and anti-corruption authorities have been formed.
However, on the ground, little seems to have changed.
According
to a local newspaper, Tanzania
Daily News, besides cutting costs and taking
administrative action against incompetent and corrupt public servants, More
than 596 cases related to corruption are currently before the courts.
The
index, ranked 180 countries and their territories by their perceived levels of
public sector corruption using experts and business people.
At the very bottom of the index for
the seventh year in a row, Somalia scores 10 points, followed by South Sudan
(13) to round out the lowest scores in the region. With an average score of
just 32, Sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest scoring region on the index, followed
closely by Eastern Europe and Central Asia, with an average score of 35.
Ends-
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