New York, 2nd December, 2025 – Sierra Leone’s Anti-Corruption Commissioner, Francis Ben Kaifala, has urged the international community to rethink how corruption is measured, warning that existing tools such as Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) often misrepresent realities on the ground, particularly in developing countries.
Speaking at the 2nd Global Conference on Harnessing Data to Improve Corruption Measurement at the United Nations Headquarters, Kaifala said Sierra Leone welcomed efforts to “re-imagine and redefine the methodologies and related tools of measuring corruption globally.”
He criticized the CPI and similar surveys for relying heavily on perception rather than actual prevalence. “Firstly, they measure perception and not actual prevalence; and perceptions can be subjective and potentially unreliable,” Kaifala noted. He added that the CPI’s reliance on desk reviews and unidentified experts often “discounts the efforts we are putting into controlling corruption” and risks discouraging progress made by anti-graft agencies.
Kaifala, who previously served as a Board Member of the African Union Advisory Board on Corruption and President of the Network of Anti-Corruption Institutions in West Africa, recalled that discussions around the CPI in regional forums were often met with “disapproval to outrage.” Many African officials, he said, viewed the index as “part of a purpose-driven smear campaign.”
Despite these criticisms, Kaifala acknowledged the importance of credible measurement tools. “A good measurement tool will help us study what other countries that are faring better in the indexes may be doing and seek to replicate or better them in our respective countries,” he explained. He emphasized that new methodologies should capture prevalence levels, incorporate anti-corruption efforts, and provide actionable insights for governments and civil society.
“When we build an acceptable formula that strongly incorporates effort, we provide anti-corruption agencies and civil society actors a credible reflection of the situation in their countries,” Kaifala said. “The yearly release of the new index will remind us of the persistence of corruption and the need to take more robust steps to reverse its grip on development.”
The Commissioner concluded by reaffirming Sierra Leone’s support for the initiative, stressing that while corruption remains a real challenge, measurement tools must evolve to ensure fairness, accuracy, and accountability.
