Rwanda and Tanzania have scored high points in efforts to eradicate corruption according to the global Corruption Perceptions Index released by Transparency International.
According to the findings, Rwanda and Tanzania did well in the East African region.
Rwanda gained 53 points followed by Tanzania with 37 as Kenya and Uganda scored 28 while Burundi with 19 and South Sudan with 12 points.
The report said that Kenya is dragging in fighting corruption, obtaining 28 out of 100, a score which is below the global average score of 43 and the Sub-Saharan average score of 32.
Kenya is also listed at position 137 out of 180 countries and territories assessed.
The country also failed to regulate funds used in campaigns despite enacting the Election Campaign Financing Act in 2013.
This has made elections in Kenya among the most expensive in Africa.
“Governments must urgently address the corrupting role of big money in political party financing and the undue influence it exerts on our political systems,” Delia Ferreira Rubio, the chairperson of Transparency International, said.
Since 2012, Kenya has scored between 25 and 28, out of 100, having recorded a score of 27 in 2018, depicting slow progress in the fight against corruption.
Seychelles and Botswana led in sub-Saharan Africa with 66 and 61 points respectively.
Ethiopia scored 37, Zambia 34, Nigeria 26, Zimbabwe 24 and the Democratic Republic of Congo 18.
The CPI measures the perceived levels of corruption in the public sector in countries and territories worldwide, drawing on 13 expert assessments and surveys of business executives.
