The results of the 22nd survey on the business climate and the competitiveness of companies have just been published by the Tunisian Institute of Competitiveness and Quantitative Studies (ITCEQ), show that business leaders have an increasingly more negative as regards corruption in the institutional sector.
With 70% considering it a major constraint, corruption is denounced more by small businesses than by others. The analysis according to company size shows that corruption weighs much more on small companies (72%) than on medium and large ones (61 and 63% respectively).
The survey shows that the probability of requesting bribes in the private sector increased between 2021 and 2022. Indeed, according to the “TRACE Bribery Risk Matrix” ranking Tunisia saw the probability of requesting bribes -wine to the private sector increase by 4 points, from 41 in 2021 to 45 in 2022, thus placing Tunisia in 76th place, against 68th in 2021.
Moreover, the “Corruption Perception Index” report for the year 2022 shows that Tunisia saw its score drop by 4 points, from 44/100 to 40/100. This drop resulted in a loss of 15 positions compared to 2021, ranking Tunisia 85th out of 180 countries.
This decline in the ranking underlines the document, is explained by several factors including, in particular, the closure of the premises of the National Authority for the Fight against Corruption (INLUCC) for more than a year and a half. Such a measure has hampered, according to this report, the proper application of laws concerning the protection of whistleblowers and illicit enrichment.
In addition and according to International Transparency, the world average stands at 43/100, more than 2/3 of the countries have a score lower than 50/100 and 26 countries, including Tunisia, recorded their lowest score in 2022 Moreover, and from a comparative perspective, Tunisia comes in 8th position in the MENA region.
It is ahead of Morocco (94th with a score of 38/100), Turkey (101st with a score of 36/100) and Egypt (130th with a score of 30/100).
