Kathmandu, January 28
The annual Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International has shown a slight increase in the status of corruption in Nepal in the past year.
The index made public across the world on Thursday has ranked Nepal in the 117th position among the 180 countries included in the research with a score of 33. Position-wise, Nepal has slid four positions down from the last year’s rank with a decrease of 1 mark in the score.
Six organisations involved in the survey have identified the existence of problems such as insufficient anti-corruption efforts from the government, abuse of rights in the public sector, weak actions against public officials, bribery in trade, and lack of access to information among the public in Nepal, informs Transparency International Nepal.
Consequently, the organisation has suggested empowerment of anti-corruption agencies, open and transparent contract system, protection of democracy, independence of civil organisations, and access to data analysis and information so as to improve the status of the country.
In November 2020, the organisation had made public its Global Corruption Barometer showing the ratio of people thinking that corruption is increasing in the country is 58 per cent, the highest in the Asian region. The government had officially refused to accept the report.
