Zambia’s Anti-Corruption Gains Face Setback
By Francis Maingaila ♥️
Lusaka, Zambia — 10 February 2026
Zambia’s anti-corruption progress has suffered a significant setback, with the country’s score on the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) declining for the first time in five years, Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) has revealed.
The country now ranks below 100 of the 182 nations assessed, signaling a reversal in anti-corruption gains previously recorded.
The CPI, produced annually by Transparency International, evaluates perceived public sector corruption using independent data sources. Scores range from 0, representing a highly corrupt public sector, to 100, indicating very low corruption.
According to TIZ, Zambia’s score fell from 39 in 2024 to 37 in 2025, with 98 countries outperforming the country in global rankings.
TIZ President Priscila Chikonde attributed the decline to systemic weaknesses in governance.
She highlighted collusion between business entities, officials, and professional gatekeepers as a key factor undermining accountability and fair competition.
Limited access to beneficial ownership information, she said, further increases risks of corruption in public procurement and investment.
Chikonde also pointed to the lack of transparency in political party financing, including donations from companies involved in public procurement, which she said exposes Zambia’s democratic processes to illicit influence.
“The CPI decline reflects the broader governance challenges facing Zambia, including political interference and procurement corruption,” Chikonde said.
She further highlighted a 15-point drop in the World Economic Forum’s Executive Opinion Survey, which measures bribery and corruption in business operations, investment, and procurement, as a key contributor to the country’s lower score.
Chikonde called on government agencies, particularly the Public Procurement Authority, to enforce existing regulations and ensure political neutrality in their operations.
She also urged law enforcement agencies to uphold accountability and called on civil society to intensify monitoring and advocacy against political corruption.
“The CPI is not an end in itself. Laws must be enforced impartially, accountability must be visible, and integrity should guide every decision,” Chikonde said.
He emphasized the need for clean governance ahead of the 2026 January elections.
She warned that the two-point drop places Zambia below its projected CPI trajectory, potentially jeopardizing the target of 40 out of 100 by 2026.
“With Zambia now at 37, there is a real risk that the country may not achieve its anti-corruption targets unless corrective measures are taken,” Chikonde said.
Bright Chizonde, Advocacy, Policy, and Research Manager at TIZ, said the decline reflects long-term patterns rather than isolated incidents.
He explained that corruption tends to peak during election periods, often linked to political financing and active engagement of political parties.
“While Transparency International has not specifically analyzed CPI performance during election years, existing data for African countries indicates similar trends,” Chizonde said.
He added that the diversion of public funds into private entities is a recurring form of corruption, often connected to opaque financing practices.
Chizonde differentiated between grand corruption, which involves high-level embezzlement or misappropriation of public resources, and procurement corruption, which relates to manipulation of public contracts for specific players.
“Both forms undermine public trust and weaken institutional integrity,” he said.
Despite ongoing interventions, Chizonde noted that outcomes have not always met expectations.
Chimuka Nachibinga, Governance and Institutional Strengthening Manager at TIZ, said the decline is consistent across multiple independent data sources, despite some gaps in reporting from institutions such as the African Development Bank.
“The overall trend is confirmed by other data. There is no contradiction in the movement,” Nachibinga said.
He said Zambia’s underperformance was primarily driven by diversion of public funds, procurement corruption, and grand corruption, with political financing and state capture posing additional risks.
Regionally, Zambia trailed peers such as Tanzania, which recorded a CPI score of 40 in 2025.
TIZ emphasized the importance of community-level evaluations in assessing anti-corruption interventions.
Feedback from local organizations, including Mediji, provided critical insights into areas where reforms are working and where improvements are needed.
Experts at TIZ also recommended further research to examine the impact of electoral cycles on CPI trends, emphasizing that robust data is essential for developing effective governance reforms and policies.
British High Commission Chargé d’Affaires Simon Brinke said strong governance remains critical for Zambia’s development agenda and international partnerships.
He added that transparency in political financing is vital to safeguard public interest. Swedish Embassy Programme Manager Mwondela Malala described the CPI results as a “call to action,” urging Zambia to pursue sustained reforms rather than short-term anti-corruption measures.
Globally, the CPI also showed a decline in the average score, reflecting the growing difficulty of controlling corruption worldwide.
Sub-Saharan Africa remained the lowest-performing region, with only four of its 49 countries scoring above 50.
TIZ said the CPI serves as a benchmark to assess institutional integrity and an
of individual scandals.
Comments
Post a Comment