Transparency International unveiled this week the results of its Global Corruption Perception Index for the year 2022. With a score of 29/100, Gabon has fallen slightly by two points but remains the country where corruption is least acute within the Economic Community of Central African States. This is an encouragement for the authorities who have made the fight against corruption a priority for the past three years.
As in the previous year, Gabon remains at the top of the CEMAC countries where corruption is least strong in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 2022 published on Tuesday 31 December by the non-governmental organisation Transparency International (TI) based in Berlin, Germany.
With a score of 29/100, Gabon loses two points compared to the previous ranking but retains its first place in the CEMAC zone.
It is clearly ahead of its pursuers: Cameroon (26), Central African Republic (24), Congo (21), DRC (20) and Chad (19). Equatorial Guinea closes the gap (17).
Since 2019, Gabon has made the fight against corruption one of its priorities. This is being carried out across the board through Operation Scorpion, which has landed some thirty senior officials in prison, the establishment of a task force to verify the reality of external and internal debts claimed from the state, legal action, including before the International Court of Arbitration, etc.
Deceptive decline
As for Gabon’s decline in the rankings compared to last year, it should be put into perspective. « There is an optical effect. The more you fight against corruption, the more important corruption appears at first. It’s like lifting a carpet and realising that there is a lot of dust. It has always been there but now we see it (…) In the medium to long term, it’s a good sign. Gabon is where it is today, » says an expert who has worked with Transparency and knows the country well.
