28 Oct 2010

Fiji mum over exclusion from TI corruption index

7:31 pm on 28 October 2010

There has been no comment from Fiji over its continued exclusion from Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index which lists 178 countries.

The index lists countries and territories according to the level of perceived corruption in a country's public sector.

In 2006, the Fiji military staged a coup with the purported aim to eliminate corruption, and although Fiji has a Transparency International chapter, it doesn't figure in the report.

Among Pacific Island countries, Samoa had the highest ranking with 62nd place.

Vanuatu was ranked at 73, Kiribati at 91, Tonga at 101 and Papua New Guinea at 154.

Topping the list are Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore.

Earlier this week, a survey about budget transparency gave Fiji zero out of 100 possible points, saying it is virtually impossible for Fiji citizens to hold the government accountable for its management of the public's money.