Anonymous - #Op: Jamaica 02/05/2014If you ask Jamaicans to name the one thing preventing the country from actualising its potential, the answer you are most likely to receive is corruption. It is rampant at just about every level and in every sphere of society, from the politicians to the police to those in business. Naturally -- and unfortunately, the people who suffer the most as a result of corruption are those who can least afford it. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Transparency Internationals 2012 Global Corruption Perception Index (CPI) has ranked Jamaica 83 out of 176 countries. Maintaining a score of 3.3, Jamaica is basically in the same position it has been since 2010. In 2011, the country ranked 86 out of 182 countries and was ranked 87 out of 178 countries the year before. In 10 years, Jamaica has never scored higher than 4.0 on the CPI, which ranks countries according to their perceived levels of public sector corruption. A countrys score indicates the perceived level of public sector corruption on a scale of 0-100, where 0 means that a country is perceived as highly corrupt and 100 means it is perceived as very clean. Jamaicas corruption perception is at 38, which means it is very corrupt. Such a high level of corruption, real or perceived, does not bode well for Jamaicas development. According to the National Security Policy, ... corruption in its various forms is a serious threat to the social order and the rule of law ... inhibits the ability of the State to effectively discharge its responsibilities and obligations ... political institutions and freedoms can also be affected by corruption ... through the corruption of public officials ... through rewards but may also be coerced through direct threats. The existence of such rampant corruption has attracted much negative international attention, which could have serious implications for foreign direct investments (FDI), which are necessary to help create jobs and boost the ailing economy. Additionally, the Global Competitiveness Report 2012/13 identifies corruption as number three of the 16 most problematic factors for doing business in Jamaica -- ahead of tax rates, inefficient Government bureaucracy and even tax regulations. Earlier this year, Professor Trevor Munroe, in a contributed article, raised some of the same points, citing three major examples of corruption in Jamaica, which have all attracted significant international media attention: David Smith, whose Olint was exposed as a Ponzi scheme, was never indicted or prosecuted in Jamaica. However, he benefited in the sum of at least US$220 million and made tainted gifts ... of US$5 million to the Jamaica Labour Party ... and US$2 million to the Peoples National Party. (Turks and Caicos Islands Supreme Court Confiscation Order, April 2012). Christopher Dudus Coke, who was never indicted or tried for any serious crime locally, despite credible allegations of his responsibility for same over the years, received 55 contracts totalling $77 million through his company, Incomparable Enterprises, from Jamaican public-sector entities between 2006 and 2010, across both JLP and PNP administrations. No significant prosecution or arrest has yet been made in the current lottery scam, which has fleeced some 30,000 Americans out of between US$300 million and US$1 billion per year and led to scores of murders in St James alone. We will add one more example, the recent case with state minister Richard Azan, who was chided by Contractor General Dirk Harrison for being politically corrupt after instructing a private contractor to construct 10 shops at the market last September without the permission of the Clarendon Parish Council. Admittedly, this is pretty mild when compared to the others, but a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Azan basically received a slap on the wrist and was, in fact, reinstated. At the same time, Minister of Science, Technology, Energy and Mining Phillip Paulwell was also chided for improper intervention into the tender process for the construction of the 360-megawatt power plant and the acceptance of one of the bidders after the deadline that had been set. His response? I am fighting for Jamaicas very future, and I will not be derailed from my objective. Links: digjamaica/blog/2013/12/09/corruption-jamaicas-national-plague/ books.google/books?id=BRuelUtvHxcC&pg=PA227&lpg=PA227&dq=The%20Mexican%20cartels%20politicians%20of%20jamaica&source=bl&ots=KjVaNfU0BK&sig=un3EBFD7dZBer1IuOyGkTBjY5wc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=HUVVU_3sF8bisATZjoKwBA&ved=0CGkQ6AEwCTgK#v=onepage&q=The%20Mexican%20cartels%20politicians%20of%20jamaica&f=false
Posted on: Sat, 03 May 2014 14:41:48 +0000
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