By Umamah Bakharia

The Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index reveals that curbing corruption across the world has reached a standstill, with South Africa being one of the country’s who has not found an improvement in eliminating corruption over the past 10 years.

This year, the global average remains unchanged for the tenth year in a row, at just 43 out of a possible 100 points. Possible reasons for this is the increased abuse of human rights and the erosion of democracy.

Radio Islam spoke to Corruption Watch’s, Melusi Ncala on South Africa’s corruption curbs. 

“[When] we talk about corruption, we find that our officials, are involved in the most gross acts of corruption and so that cannot build well in a study like this,” says Ncala.

He adds that the index will risk South Africa’s economical future because it’s citizens and other will not see the country in a desirable destination in terms of investments.

According to Transparency International, their latest analysis shows that protecting human rights is a crucial step in fighting against corruption: “countries with well-protected civil liberties generally score higher on the CPI, while countries who violate civil liberties tend to score lower.”

“It’s not inspiring to see that your country is not making any progress as we try to curb corruption,” says Ncala.

On a global scale, South Africa is ranked along with Jamaica and Tunisia at 70. However, in the Sub-Saharan region, South Africa is ranked number 8.