Cambodia remains one of the most corrupt countries: TI

 

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PHNOM PENH (The Cambodia Herald) – Cambodia remains one of the 20 most corrupt countries in the world even though its corruption index slightly improves this year. 

Cambodia ranked 156th out of 175 countries, scoring 21 out of 100, a slight improvement from its last year's ranking of 160th out of 177 countries, according to the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) which was announced on Wednesday by Transparency International Cambodia. 

"The improvement might be incremental but it shows that Cambodia is slowly heading towards a more transparent and accountable future," said Rath Sophoan, Chairman of the Board of Director of Transparency International Cambodia (TI Cambodia).

"We encourage the government and all stakeholders to work together towards greater progress," he said. 

Cambodia's CPI score for 2014 indicates that Cambodia continues to be perceived as a highly corrupt country, the TI Cambodia said in a press release. Further progress is needed and governance reform should be a priority. 

"We are pleased to see an indication of improvement in the 2014 CPI which reflects the outcomes of some efforts towards reform," said Preap Kol, Executive Director of TI Cambodia. 

"Cambodia would greatly benefit from implementing the key recommendations elaborated in the National Integrity System Assessment (NISA) report released by TI Cambodia in September 2014," he said. 

TI Cambodia's NIS report called upon the government to undertake structural and systematic reforms within key national institutions, with a focus on the reform of the Judiciary, the passage of an Access to Information Law and the amendment of a number of articles of the current Anti-Corruption Law, said the press release. 

Nepotism and conflicts of interest within the National Assembly's Secretariat, which were recently brought to the public's notice, are serious concerns that require immediate action.