AMMAN —AlGhad— Jordan has dropped in rank to the 59th place, out of 180 countries in 2017, on the Corruption Perceptions Index, from the 57th place, out of 176 countries in 2016, according to the National Integrity System (NIS) — Jordan Chapter.
Jordan has maintained the overall score of 48 per cent in 2017 and 2016, having scored higher in previous years.
Reasons why Jordan has not climbed up the Index include failure to meet the obligations the government presented in the 2016 International Anti-Corruption Conference (IACC)
Also, the authorities in Jordan recurrently fail to disclose corruption and anti-graft related data and cases, in addition to lacking transparency in government owned corporations and the public sector.
The fact that the judiciary has very limited access to the state branches beyond executive device does not help in terms of transparency.
More so, restraints imposed on the civil society sector and the press have also contributed to the failure to progress Jordan’s rank.
On top of it all, evidence indicate that there has been no change in the spread of petty corruption, bribery, nepotism and recurring obstruction of investment. Naturally, this sheds doubt on the solidity of the government’s efforts to counter corruption.
