Media and civic freedom in the fight against corruption

May 28, 2018

Governments and businesses must do more to encourage free speech, independent media, political dissent and an open and engaged civil society

By Gerald Padde Auku

Transparency International annually launches the Corruption Perception Index (CPI). The most recent was launched in February, 2017. The findings indicated that, out of 180 ranked countries and territories, by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, majority of countries are making little or no progress in ending corruption.

Statistics show that more than two-thirds of countries scored below 50 on the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2017, with an average score of 43. Over the last six years, several countries improved their CPI score, including Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and the United Kingdom, while several countries experienced lower scores, including Somalia, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Australia.  

Notably, statistics showed that African continent performed better than some countries in Europe, Asia, Americas, Middle East and North America. For example Botswana ranked 34 with the score of 61, Seychelles ranked 36, score 60; Cabo Verde and Rwanda ranked 48, score 55 respectively; Namibia 53, 51; Mauritius 54, score 50.

These countries out performed countries such as; Serbia ranked 77 with score of 41, India 81, 40; Argentina 85, 39; Brazil 96, 37; Colombia 96, 27 and Russia 135, 29. Further Botswana, Seychelles, Cabo Verde, Rwanda and Namibia performed better than Italy ranked 54, 50; Slovakia 54, 50; Croatia 57, 49; Saudi Arabia 57, 49; Greece 59, 48; Cuba 62, 47 and Bulgaria 71, 43.

On the higher note, the index that uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean saw New Zealand and Denmark ranked highest with scores of 89 and 88 respectively.

Fascinatingly, CPI 2017 analysis further revealed that countries with the lowest protections for press and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) also tended to have the worst rates of corruption. For example, countries that repress the mouthpiece of their citizens and media, often score worse on the index and in this case, many journalists risk their lives while covering stories. Tragically, many even die in pursuit of their reports. The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) report showed that in the last six years, more than 9 out of 10 journalists were killed in countries that score 45 or less on the Corruption Perceptions Index.

Simply put, almost all journalists killed since 2012, were killed in highly corrupt countries. Implying that, on average, every week at least one journalist is killed in a country that is highly corrupt. One in five journalists that died were covering a story about corruption. Sadly, justice was never served in the majority of these cases. Brazil, which scored 37 in 2017 index, had 20 journalists killed in the last six years. Targeted for their investigations into local government corruption and drug-related crime, among other issues, reporters in Brazil risk their lives every day by simply doing their jobs. 

Additionally Hungary, which saw a ten-point decrease in the index over the last six years, moving from 55 in 2012 to 45 in 2017, is one of the most alarming examples of shrinking civil society space in Eastern Europe and Ukraine with the score of 30, continues to experience attacks against anti-corruption activists, NGOs and journalists exposing corruption.

Currently, civil society organisations are forced to fill out cumbersome e-declaration forms, which made daily operations very difficult. Despite calls to end this practice, as well as subsequent promises made by the government, these requirements still exist. Likewise, countries such as New Zealand, Denmark, and Germany among others with minimal protection of journalistic freedoms and engage civil society in open dialogue tend to have lower levels of corruption.   

The African countries on the other hand, have increasingly enacted the anti-corruption laws intended to fight graft in public sector of which some countries in the continent as sighted above are being fairly ranked. Despite of this initiative however, the CSOs and media space is shrinking as we have increasingly witnessed the crackdowns on civil society and media whose spaces are supposed to play complementary role in promoting good governance in any government implementing democratic principles. For example, Uganda which was ranked 151 with the score of 26 has of recent years witnessed the arrests of some activists for speaking out, office break-ins of NGOs and shutting of some NGOs and Media houses.

For example according to the Human Rights Network for Journalists report 2017, a total of 113 cases of violation and abuses were reported in Uganda. The Uganda police which is supposed to keep law and order was named as the leading violators of the media freedoms accounting to 83 cases out of 113. Police desecration include among others 45 arrests and dentation, 21 assault, 7 cases of malevolent damage to journalists' equipment's. Importantly, of 113 cases 13 of these were women journalists. Notably, 1 female journalist was kidnapped and incinerated while some others brutalized. The shutdown of the social media during 2016 general election was assumed to have denied citizens access to information breeding fertile ground for vote rigging. 

Finally when journalists are admonished for their investigations and citizen activists are fearful for organising and calling out corruption, those in power are able to continue their aggression without consequence. In this way, power will enable those who have it to continue to divert public funds away from the communities who need those most, while clamping down on opposition groups that speak out against this corruption. 

To better fight corruption, Governments and businesses must do more to encourage free speech, independent media, political dissent and an open and engaged civil society; Civil society should also continue to do more to collaborate and hold leaders and governments accountable. Corruption cannot be tackled if there is limited civic space for people to engage, or if media is too repressed to report cases of corruption; Governments should minimize regulations on media, including traditional and new media, and ensure that journalists can work without fear of repression or violence.

In addition, international donors may consider press freedom relevant to development aid or access to international organizations; Governments from top-performing countries in the CPI should ensure they do not play a role in perpetuating corruption from countries below them by ensuring strong controls and due diligence on the origins of funds entering their financial and business sectors and supporting free, open and accountable societies.

In addition, top performers should also provide technical and financial support to countries lower down the index and businesses should increase pressure on the countries in which they work to increase civil liberties.

Writer is a programs officer of Transparency International Uganda

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