Among Portuguese-speaking countries, Cape Verde ranks the highest, while Equatorial Guinea ranks the lowest in the 2025 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which evaluates how citizens perceive the integrity of the public sector. In Mozambique, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has high hopes for new personnel.
The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), produced by the non-governmental organization Transparency International, this year ranks 182 countries and territories based on citizens’ assessments of public sector corruption, on a scale from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean), for the year 2025.
Cape Verde (62 points) emerges as the best-ranked country in the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP), maintaining its 2024 score, followed by Portugal (56), which dropped one point compared to the previous year. These are the only two CPLP countries above the “waterline,” meaning scores above 50 on the CPI.
Other CPLP countries score below the waterline: Timor-Leste (44), São Tomé and Príncipe (43), Brazil (35), Angola (32)—just above the Sub-Saharan Africa average of 32 points—Guinea-Bissau (21), Mozambique (21), and Equatorial Guinea (15). Globally, the CPI average fell for the first time in more than a decade, to just 42 points. The NGO’s report notes that “the vast majority of countries are failing to keep corruption under control,” highlighting that “122 out of 182 countries scored below 50 on the index.”
At the same time, the number of countries scoring above 80 dropped from 12 a decade ago to only five this year, with a particularly “worrying trend of democracies showing a deterioration in corruption perception,” the NGO emphasized.
Insufficient Efforts
Cases such as Angola (32), which has improved 17 points since 2015 due to anti-corruption measures, are acknowledged. However, despite progress over the last decade, the report reflects public sentiment: “Many Angolans view the government’s anti-corruption efforts as insufficient and believe that ordinary people risk retaliation if they report corruption.”
The report notes that “the vast majority of countries are failing to keep corruption under control,” with “122 of 182 countries scoring below 50.”
On a positive note, Timor-Leste (44) is highlighted among countries showing consistent and statistically significant progress since 2012 “due to structural reforms that strengthened oversight institutions.” However, these countries still score in the lower range of the index, “with much room for improvement.”
Mozambique: Ten-Point Decline Over a Decade
Mozambique (21) saw a drop of four points in this report, accumulating a ten-point decline over the past decade, according to Transparency International. The NGO cites official figures showing “334 new corruption cases in the first quarter of 2025, costing around $4.1 million [€3.3 million], highlighting the scale of the challenge.”
Scrutiny of government action by civil society and the press, also evaluated in the report, provides voters with the information needed to sanction corruption and reward integrity at the ballot box. Brazil is listed among countries “particularly dangerous for journalists reporting on corruption,” alongside Saudi Arabia, Peru, India, Mexico, Pakistan, and Iraq.
Warning: Dangerous Disregard for Norms
François Valérian, president of Transparency International, states that the NGO’s research and experience as a global anti-corruption movement “show there is a clear roadmap for holding power accountable for the common good, from democratic processes and independent oversight to a free and open civil society.”
“At a time when we are witnessing a dangerous disregard for international norms by some states, we call on governments and leaders to act with integrity and fulfill their responsibilities to provide a better future for people worldwide,” the organization emphasized.
The Role of the Public Prosecutor
Mozambique’s Attorney General stresses that corruption, economic crimes, or organized crime cannot be effectively fought unless the Public Prosecutor’s Office ensures high internal standards. “It is neither reasonable nor institutionally sustainable to demand firm results in combating corruption, economic and financial crimes, or organized crime if the Public Prosecutor’s Office itself does not guarantee high internal standards of integrity, accountability, and exemplary conduct,” said Américo Letela during a recent ceremony in Maputo for the induction of new staff members.
He noted that the effectiveness of the Public Prosecutor’s Office largely depends on its coherence, credibility, and internal transparency. “The appointment of new personnel aligns with ongoing efforts to inject a renewed dynamic into the structure of the Public Prosecutor’s Office,” he stated.
Key Appointments for Regional Anti-Corruption Efforts
For the Attorney General, strengthening the institutional capacity of the Public Prosecutor’s Office requires renewing and reinforcing leadership in provincial anti-corruption offices, which are central to the state’s criminal policy in prevention, investigation, and enforcement.
Thus, the appointments of Joaquim Tomo as Director of the Zambézia Provincial Anti-Corruption Office, Marina Janeiro in Manica, Heliodora Victorino in Sofala, and Cristóvão Mondlane in Gaza, demand “frontline leadership” in one of the most sensitive areas of contemporary criminal action. “Fighting corruption is a national imperative, vital for consolidating the rule of law, citizens’ trust in institutions, and the country’s development. In this mission, provincial anti-corruption offices must act strictly according to legal criteria, anchored in evidence and law, rejecting any form of selectivity, instrumentalization, or undue interference,” he emphasized.
To reinforce leadership and coordination within the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Letela also announced the appointment of Jorge Tivane as legal and strategic advisor to the Deputy Attorney General, “supporting the analysis of complex matters, decision preparation, and monitoring institutional priorities.”
Source: Editorial Staff; Photo Credit: D.R.
