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EDITORIAL - Corruption: real and perceived
published: Friday | September 28, 2007
Jamaica's fall in ranking in Trans-parency International's (TI) Corruption Perception Index for 2007 may not be of any real significance in the general scheme of things. Except that TI's global network among civic organisations would help in cementing the perception in disparate locales of Jamaica as a country where corruption flourishes.
When investors weigh all the factors in deciding where to put their capital, the level of corruption is among them, and the extent to which this is perceived as a problem determines where they will go and what they are prepared to do. Of course, not all potential investors find corruption to be a problem - depending on their character and what they are about, they may actually thrive on it. Operating above board is not in their best interest.
Of more significance than the report and analysis of any overseas-based organisation is the experience of Jamaicans who live and work here.
It has become a truism that at various levels, in order to get business done, one must be prepared to pay bribes. The stories are myriad - of policemen demanding and/or accepting bribes to file or drop charges or to make important documents needed for court cases disappear.
Businessmen have devised creative ways to circumvent official bureaucracy, and there are still reports of touts being available to enable the quick processing of documents at tax offices and the Registrar General's Department.
Never mind the valid arguments advanced for people trying to beat the system, in the long run corruption costs the country more. It costs in terms of actual money spent by persons seeking to speed up their transactions; it costs the state in trying to establish systems to stamp it out and it costs in what may be seen as an intangible, devaluing the moral fibre of the society.
For where corruption thrives, so does criminality - both white collar and the violent.
Indeed, if one can pay money to beat the system to get things done, then one can also pay money to see that things do not get done. Gatekeepers can be enticed to look the other way.
Of significance in the just-released report is the part that last year's controversial Trafigura transaction apparently played in Jamaica's evaluation. The perception of public officials or persons closely allied to the then governing party being involved in questionable financial arrangements with a private company doing business on behalf of the state was disturbing to the country at large.
That transaction and the links between our political parties with persons, groups and institutions who funded the just-concluded election campaign, have deepened the concerns about the need for transparency in how the country's political affairs are financed.
The new government has listed the elimination of corruption as a key factor in saving money in the public sector. This they must do. But corruption is not a public sector problem - it is a national problem. It must be rooted out by people of goodwill and persons of integrity who must remain steadfast in their commitment that the rule of law should prevail.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
published: Friday | September 28, 2007
Jamaica's fall in ranking in Trans-parency International's (TI) Corruption Perception Index for 2007 may not be of any real significance in the general scheme of things. Except that TI's global network among civic organisations would help in cementing the perception in disparate locales of Jamaica as a country where corruption flourishes.
When investors weigh all the factors in deciding where to put their capital, the level of corruption is among them, and the extent to which this is perceived as a problem determines where they will go and what they are prepared to do. Of course, not all potential investors find corruption to be a problem - depending on their character and what they are about, they may actually thrive on it. Operating above board is not in their best interest.
Of more significance than the report and analysis of any overseas-based organisation is the experience of Jamaicans who live and work here.
It has become a truism that at various levels, in order to get business done, one must be prepared to pay bribes. The stories are myriad - of policemen demanding and/or accepting bribes to file or drop charges or to make important documents needed for court cases disappear.
Businessmen have devised creative ways to circumvent official bureaucracy, and there are still reports of touts being available to enable the quick processing of documents at tax offices and the Registrar General's Department.
Never mind the valid arguments advanced for people trying to beat the system, in the long run corruption costs the country more. It costs in terms of actual money spent by persons seeking to speed up their transactions; it costs the state in trying to establish systems to stamp it out and it costs in what may be seen as an intangible, devaluing the moral fibre of the society.
For where corruption thrives, so does criminality - both white collar and the violent.
Indeed, if one can pay money to beat the system to get things done, then one can also pay money to see that things do not get done. Gatekeepers can be enticed to look the other way.
Of significance in the just-released report is the part that last year's controversial Trafigura transaction apparently played in Jamaica's evaluation. The perception of public officials or persons closely allied to the then governing party being involved in questionable financial arrangements with a private company doing business on behalf of the state was disturbing to the country at large.
That transaction and the links between our political parties with persons, groups and institutions who funded the just-concluded election campaign, have deepened the concerns about the need for transparency in how the country's political affairs are financed.
The new government has listed the elimination of corruption as a key factor in saving money in the public sector. This they must do. But corruption is not a public sector problem - it is a national problem. It must be rooted out by people of goodwill and persons of integrity who must remain steadfast in their commitment that the rule of law should prevail.
The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.
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