This week the Maltese were once more regaled with news regarding rankings – only this time it was not in relation to gender equality. No – it was our turn to find out how we are faring in the separate fields of corruption and eGovernment.
Four and five, 45 The first ranking report to hit the public was news of the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) issued by Transparency International, an international non-governmental organisation fighting corruption and raising public awareness about the problem. Every year Transparency International publishes a comparative listing of perceptions about corruption worldwide. This index measures the perceived level of public-sector corruption in 180 countries around the world and is essentially a “survey of surveys” based on the findings of different expert and business surveys.
What can I say – the results were not much to be proud of. Malta came in the 45th position, following Oman, South Korea, Mauritius, Costa Rica and Macau. What is truly saddening, however, is the fact that up to last year, Malta was in 36th place. In fact I decided to track our rankings over time, and discovered that in 2007 we were in the 33rd position, in 2006 we were number 28, while in 2005 and 2004 we were ranked 25th worldwide.
So in the space of just four years, Malta slid from the 25th position to the 45th, reflecting a dramatic shift in the public’s perception about corruption in the country.
At this stage it is important to point out that the index does not measure actual corruption – the ranking we were given by Transparency International does not mean that we are the 45th most corrupt nation in the world. What it does mean is that people in Malta are losing faith in the structures that govern the country. As the years go by, more and more people are starting to believe that corruption in Malta has become a malignant cancer.
Can you blame them?
It is only those who live their life in blinkers, or with their heads permanently stuck in the sand, who have not been shocked by cases such as the VAT fraud saga and the judge bribery scandal.
It is only those who are sticking their fingers in their ears and humming loudly who have not heard about the ADT officials found guilty of taking bribes to give a pass mark to candidates taking a driving test.
Only those who never read the papers or watch the news bulletins are not aware of the controversy surrounding various permits that were issued by MEPA, only to be later declared illegal by their auditor.
The list goes on and on but I will not bore you with any more examples. You read MaltaToday, don’t you, so you don’t need me to tell you about them! Each case was covered in exhaustive detail by the investigative journalists of this newspaper, so you have no excuse not to be aware of each and every tawdry story.
It is clear that the greatest failing of the current administration is that it has lost the confidence of the people.
By itself, number 1 On a more positive note, however, on Thursday we discovered that Malta was ranked in the first position (jointly with Portugal) in an EU benchmarking exercise of e-government services.
In a report which bears the title Smarter, Faster, Better eGovernment, all the members of the EU were ranked according to the quality of their eGovernment services.
According to the authors of the report, “Malta has set an ambitious and comprehensive strategy for reforming government and the economy. It has shown significant progress on Information Society indicators, and is performing above the EU average. Its eGovernment performance has been remarkable in achieving full online availability and sophistication and high user-experience scores.”
Our country joined the benchmark in 2004 and has managed to improve its ranking every year. In fact we now lead the pack, in recognition of the fact that our eGovernment services are fully online and achieve the 100% mark also for online sophistication.
Finally, a ranking worth writing home about!
While the CPI result was an indication of where the government has failed, this eGovernment ranking is a clear pointer to the areas where it has done us proud. Nobody can deny that in the last few years we have seen a major growth in the ICT sector and that IT knowledge and skills in the country have proliferated in a truly amazing manner.
OK, the Smart this and Smart that was a little overdone at times – however whatever the slogan, we have come a long way. Nobody can deny that the range of eGovernment services available locally is exhaustive – you can order a birth certificate, renew your driving licence, receive SMS alerts whenever the Gozo Ferry Schedule changes, check out recent court judgements, download a government tender document, apply for a marriage grant, pay your taxes, file your VAT return, etc. This is tangible progress and sure beats standing in line at various government departments. You can do it all from the comfort of your own home or office.
I must say that sometimes all the ranking reports and statistical findings about Malta feels a little like attending a tombola party. Eight and Nine, 89 on gender equality (see my column two weeks ago), Four and Five, 45 on corruption perceptions and by itself, number one on eGovernment. Yes, number 1 is good.
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Every year Transparency International publishes a comparative listing of perceptions about corruption worldwide. This index measures the perceived level of public-sector corruption in 180 countries around the world and is essentially a “survey of surveys” based on the findings of different expert and business surveys.
