JAMAICA is now being perceived as moving forward in combating corruption and building integrity after nine years of essentially being in the same position, according to the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) which ranks the country 69th among the 168 countries assessed in 2015 — 16 places higher than it did on the previous index.

The most recent CPI results were discussed yesterday by the executive director of the National Integrity Action (NIA), Professor Trevor Munroe, at a press briefing at the Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston.

The CPI is considered among the most authoritative publications on the issue of corruption and is constructed from assessments of experts, academics, businesspeople, analysts and survey findings from international bodies such as the World Bank.

The NIA director said that the CPI indicated that corruption continues to “’be public enemy number one”, with two thirds of the 168 countries in the index scoring below 50 on a scale of zero to 100, where zero is perceived to be highly corrupt and 100 perceived to be very clean.

“As regards to Jamaica, the CPI 2015 results indicate that after nine years of marking time and more or less standing still… the CPI 2015 shows Jamaica advancing 16 places from number 85 of 175 countries in 2014 to number 69 of 168 countries in 2015,” Munroe stated.

He also noted that only 11 of the 168 countries on the 2015 index improved their ranking by 16 or more places; Jamaica advancing from the rank of 14th of 31 countries in the Americas in 2014 to the 7th of 26 in 2015, being in the top quartile for the first time in nine years.

Jamaica has also improved its score from 38 points in the previous index to 41 points last year out of a maximum score of 100, making it one of only 20 countries to improve their scores by three or more points. According to Munroe, no other country in the Americas made such an improvement.

“There is obviously still some way to go for Jamaica, but the NIA is pleased that our activities, along with that of our partners, is beginning to bear fruit after a period of blossoming,” the NIA director said.

Munroe noted that Jamaica’s improved CPI ranking can be attributed to a number of factors, such as a greater demand for accountability from Government and more responsiveness such as that which was demonstrated by the changes on the National Solid Waste Management Authority and National Housing Trust boards.

The growing public awareness arising from the activity of the NIA and its partners as well as intensified activity of the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency and the impact of performance audit reports by the Auditor General and the Office of the Contractor General’s investigative reports were also included in the list of factors responsible for the island’s movement.

“Jamaica’s movement in CPI 2015, despite the road ahead, is therefore important for at least three reasons, firstly, the advancement and enhancement prospects for investment and job creation; secondly, this step forward can begin to restore public confidence that more effective action is being taken against corruption,” Munroe said.

“This progress gives encouragement to NIA, its partners and all Jamaicans to renew and strengthen the call for more accountability, more transparency and more effective action by insisting on the passage, in a timely fashion, of pending anti-corruption legislation (Integrity Commission Act) and the plugging of loopholes in existing laws,” Munroe added.

He said additional measures towards this effort included enhancing law enforcement and upholding the rule of law for all, particularly those who consider themselves above the law; working to strengthen culture change among citizens, with a special focus on youth; and deepening engagement with international partners.