South Sudan was the most corrupt country in the globe in 2020, the Transparency International has said.

The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2020, a report by the TI, ranks the youngest country at the bottom on position 179 alongside war-tone Somalia. Each of them has a score of 12 points.

The report implies that the country has a lot to do to eliminate corruption owing to the repeating trend where it ranked at the bottom with similar points in 2019.

The country’s highest tally ever since independence came in 2014 and 2015 when it scored 15 points in the two years.

Top on the list are New Zealand and Denmark which have 88 points each. Finland, Switzerland, Singapore and Sweden follow with 85 points as the most accountable countries. USA comes at position 67 while South Africa opens the list for the African countries at position 69 with a score of 44. The report states that the data sourcing took the form of acquiring information from reputable organisations with no socio-political inclinations.

With the raging COVID-19 pandemic sweeping through countries, governments invested in heath sector to mitigate the spread of the virus. Consequently, the move provided a leeway for looting as some people squandered money meant for Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs).

According to the TI, this is the problem that made countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including South Sudan, to post meagre scores.

‘‘Across the region, the COVID-19 pandemic highlights structural gaps in national health care systems, corruption risks associated with public procurement and the misappropriation of emergency funds. The economic shock of the pandemic led to protests and dissent in many countries,’’ the report partly reads.

Worrying cases

The January 2021 TI report agrees with the findings of a 2020 USAID report which reveals how corruption is eating into the civil society organisations in South Sudan. The report is titled ‘2019 Civil Society Organization Sustainability Index’ and it unearths how individuals use corrupt means to siphon money from the donors straining, relationship between the organisations and the funders.

‘‘Corruption, self-interest, kickbacks, and other irregularities continued to undermine CSO’s relationships with donors in 2019,’’ the report party states.

‘‘For example, some donor employees were alleged [to be have demanded] kickbacks from potential grantees, with threats to award grants to other organisations if they do not receive payment. Staff members at international intermediary support organisations were also reported to demand bribes.’’