Transparency International (TI), the international NGO which compiles the annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) said that the accusation made by PL MP Michael Farrugia that the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation was responsible for Malta's worst ever score on the 2024 CPI is "categorically false," and the responsibility rests solely on government.
Malta obtained its lowest score ever, obtaining just 46 of the available 100 points. The highest scoring country in the 2024 index, with a score of 90, is Denmark, and the lowest scoring country with a score of 8 is South Sudan. Out of the European Union countries, only Bulgaria and Hungary rank lower than Malta in the 2024 index.
In a post on X, the anti-corruption NGO referred to Farrugia's argument in seeking to blame the foundation for the country's embarrassing performance, where he said that the foundation is named as the Malta contact of Transparency International.
The NGO said that TI uses 13 data sources to construct the Corruption Perceptions Index, none affiliated with the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation or any of their chapters.
It said that data sources include the World Bank, the World Economic Forum and the Economist Intelligence Unit.
"Our partners have no role in creating the Index. The responsibility for Malta's poor performance on the Index belongs to the government alone," the NGO said.
It continued that the factors that have led to Malta's drop on the CPI have already been widely known.
"The abuse of power by officials in Malta to the benefit of private interests and to the detriment of public health, and the criminal charges against former PM Joseph Muscat and other former public officers in connection with the three hospitals agreement with Vitals and Steward Healthcare, contributed to Malta's worst-ever score on the annual index," the NGO said.
It continued that since the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, most of the public inquiry recommendations into her assassination have yet to be implemented, including the government addressing rule of law deficiencies in the country.
"Instead of criticising civil society organisations like the DCG Foundation, the government of Malta should work with them to strengthen anti-corruption efforts and the rule of law," the NGO said.
It also linked the methodology used to gather information and calculate CPI, which can be found here: https://www.transparency.org/en/news/how-cpi-scores-are-calculated