By Andrew Green, Staff ReporterFOR INDIVIDUALS it may be that small payment to avoid a fine. For companies, it may involve a substantially bigger 'contribution' to help get a contract.
The good news is that Jamaica appears to be less corrupt than Haiti, according to the annual survey of global corruption released Wednesday by Transparency International.
The bad news is that the country is perceived to have become more corrupt than in the survey last year, which in turn was worse than the previous one. It shares that worsening outlook with Bahrain, Belize, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Oman, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, and Trinidad and Tobago.
"We have a lot of work to do," said Beverley Lopez, president of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica. She said Jamaica was positioned in the bottom quarter of the index and that needed to be changed.
"You see corruption all around," said Winston Dear, president of the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce. "I don't think any one of us can say we do not know of any corrupt acts in our system."
INDEPENDENT ORGANISATIONS
Transparency International's index is compiled from a series of polls on perceptions of corruption made by independent organisations. This year's report is based on 18 surveys conducted since 2002, by a dozen organisations.
The index focuses on corruption in the public sector, and defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. Only those countries which appear in three or more surveys are rated.
Of 146 countries in the survey, 106 scored lower than five compared with a best score of 10, the organisation said. Bangladesh, Haiti, Nigeria, Chad, Myanmar, Azerbaijan and Paraguay were perceived to be the most corrupt, all scoring lower than two.
Jamaica scored 3.3 in the latest survey. Last year it scored 3.8 and the year before that it scored 4.
The highest score this year was the 9.7 achieved by Finland. Barbados scored 7.3, the highest in CARICOM, outpacing France (7.1), Spain (7.1) and Japan (6.9). Suriname scored 4.3, Trinidad got 4.2 and Belize reached 3.8.
The United Kingdom scored 8.6 while the United States got 7.5. Haiti, with 1.5, tied for last place with Bangladesh.
HESITANT TO INVEST
"The corruption will affect business," Mr. Dear said. "People will be hesitant to invest in an environment which is corrupt."
"The private sector will continue to press for improvement", Mrs. Lopez said. "There is a need for greater transparency in the awarding of contracts particularly now in the post-Hurricane Ivan period. But generally there needs to be a greater openness in the conduct of the affairs of government", she said.
"Corruption occurs right throughout the system," Mr. Dear said. It is in the private sector as well as in government. "We have been lax in our business practices," the chamber president said. "We have got a wake up call."
