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News
Jamaica beating back corruption
Country moves up from 99 to 87 on world perception index
BY PAUL HENRY Crime/Court Co-ordinator henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
JAMAICA'S improvement from number 99 to 87th place on the 2010 Corruption Perception Index is being hailed as a positive shift that could put the country in a position to attract investors.
"The importance of this of course lies in investors attention (investors look to see which are the countries that are improving on the charts)," said Professor Trevor Munroe, director of the National Action Forum (NAF), which presented the index report locally during a press briefing at the University of the West Indies (UWI) yesterday afternoon.
The report was released hours earlier by the German-based organisation Transparency International.
"Jamaica's improvement is significant against the backdrop of three successive years of decline and in the context of continued fall in other global rankings," said Munroe.
The decline in the various indices referred to by Munroe are the Human Development Index in which the island registered a decline in ranking from 92 to 100 between 2007 and 2009; the Ease of Doing Business Index, which saw a fall from 67 to 75 place (2009 to 2010); and the Environmental Performance from 54 in 2008 to 89 place this year.
"If we had a further decline it would be a cause for concern, not just for us here in Jamaica, but friends of Jamaica elsewhere along with the investing community," said Munroe. He, however, said there was no study to show whether or not foreign investment had been hampered by Jamaica's poor ranking in previous years.
Yesterday's release showed Jamaica improving 12 places on the Corruption Perception Index from the 99th place the Caribbean nation occupied last year. The ranking is three places shy of Jamaica's best -- 84th place two years ago.
Jamaica, Bhutan, Chile, Ecuador, Gambia, Haiti, Qatar, Kuwait and Macedonia were among the countries that had the biggest improvement. The island scored the same as India, Albania and Liberia at 3.3.
During yesterday's press briefing, Munroe said that concerted efforts by the Government, public authorities and the private sector assisted in the improved ranking of the island.
Munroe singled out, among others, the Jamaica Constabulary Force for its booting of corrupt cops, the work of the Office of the Contractor General and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in battling corruption, and the tax administration, department whose work aided in the gain. Figuring prominently in the mix was the extradition of former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke, said Munroe.
According to the report, Somalia is the most corrupt country in the world, followed by Afghanistan, Myanmar and Iraq. The annual report found that Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore tied for first place as the world's least corrupt nations. In the Americas, Canada was ranked as the least corrupt but was number six on the overall ranking; Barbados second, 17th overall; Chile third, and placing 21st on the world ranking; while the United States was placed at fourth, with a world ranking of 22 on the index. In addition to Barbados, Dominica and Trinidad and Tobago were the other English-speaking Caribbean countries that had a better showing than Jamaica. Dominica was placed at number 44 on the world ranking and Trinidad at 73.
Transparency International found that some countries that were especially hard hit by the fallout of the global financial crisis became more corrupt during the last year. Among those were Greece and Italy, as well as the United States, which fell from number 19 last year to 22 this year.
Of the 178 countries surveyed, nearly three quarters fell below an index score of five on a scale where zero is the most corrupt and 10 is the least. Transparency International's corruption index draws on 13 different surveys of business people and governance experts conducted between January 2009 and September 2010.
 
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10/27/2010
@ christopher Isaacs, congratulate this government for what? They are just as corrupt as the previous one, sorry, even more so. These people do not prosecute anyone of status or means for fear of having the guilty verdict overturned on appeal. The poor-man who tief one mango - 6 months! He should appeal!
Mr Christie, this has everything to do with the work that you are putting in. Si, palitician fraid fi face yu wen dem do wrong! Dem even willing fi pay back di money outta dem own packit! LOL
10/27/2010
I agree with you Jose. This does not mean that Jamaica is now less corrupt. this could mean that more countries have become more corrupt. Therefore we should not be over joyed about this report.
The high level of corruption still exists and it is at the very top.....Bruce Golding using people who are deemed to be bias in the Manatt enquiry, isn't this more and more corruption?
10/27/2010
Paula, You have nothing to do with this acheivement.
10/27/2010
Every day a poor innocent citizen have been Murdered by the Police, and no propper investigation. The police is a Mini God, the Corrupt Governance support it, cover it up; the Police is on the Streets free. No justice for the Poor. Strange that the PNP want's to return, and they are silent on these Murders. The Country is on the brink of a Revolt, wait and see. Enough is enough. Shot the Girl at her Gate, then telling lies, how can a police shot a young innocent Woman so many times?:
10/27/2010
@ Elli Deedo, right on! Yes we are glad for the improved mark, but we can't hide the fact that some of those who swore to serve and protect are the ones killing us in cold blood. Example, the two young man in Clarendon that the police took away from the grandmother and then shoot them to death. Regardless of what they did, there must be another way to handle things. The police dem bareface just like the criminals
10/27/2010
Shouldn't all the events concerning Dudus- before, during and after, mean that we are MORE corrupt, not less???
10/27/2010
Those people who have been shot to death, shot and injured, who were not shooting at the Police, those who wer not found in possession of any firearm, Citizens who are living in a community where police proclaimed they are looking for Gun men, and was fired on. These people are still suffering from Gun shot wounds; this is in-humein injustice, and corruption. The latest occurence of injustice was on the (23.10.10.) in eltham park. a young woman was shot several times, standing at her gate.
10/27/2010
Very good.
positive movements!
It is also` perception index.
It is to JLP better performances; then their are other `perceptions`
We do not want the positive one to stop.
10/27/2010
Bruce and his Admin seem to be making the change.
Keep it up!!
10/27/2010
The Gov. must be congratulated even if grudgeingly so, because can anybody contemplate had the reverse been true? Imagine us being poorer and concieved as being more currupt! may as well the whole Gov would have had to resign because the assault would not be able to be sustained.
10/27/2010
This report on our Jamaica on the subject of Corruption is meant to ease a bit of the embarrassment off the Government. This is not authentic, there is no evidence to authenticate such claim. This organization need to provide more evidence, in details. The root of the plant must not be allowed to remain, it will always continue to grow. Let us not try to delude the Citizens of our Country. The endemic of crime and illiteracy, have inflicted a devastating effect on our society. Must be addressed
10/27/2010
These statistics are useless if we in jamaica know for a fact that nothing has really changed in terms of the level of corruption taking place
10/27/2010
For those who ask if we did better or other countries did worse. The index scores you from a maximum of 10 points. Last year our score was 3.0. This year it is 3.4. So we did in deed perform better, regardless of what other countries did.
10/27/2010
Ahhm did we did better or did the other nations did worst the report did not say it only said we moved up......anyway we moved up so congrats
10/27/2010
Welcome news. No trafigura and the like but Dudugate mars the picture. Food production up but jobs and new industrial production stagnant.
Unlike those bleating for your removal, Mr. PM, I suggest you find a way to attract new industry and bring the dead back to life if you want a second term. Jamaica needs it and if there are jobs,crime will plummet.
10/27/2010
Heeding Clinton's advice in conjunction with this positive report it is the right time for constitutional reforms with strict separation of powers and local autonomy.
10/27/2010
Well done! Most of the credit must be given to Mr. Christie for his relentless efforts. Don't ease up Mr. Christie. Glad to see Mr. Christie and Paula Llewellyn shaking hands; the fight against corruption and other crimes require a united front.
10/27/2010
No that the slide has stopped in terms of perceived corruption in Jamaica, its simply not the time to put back in the other party.
They dragged us down 50 in 1999 when this index was created and speed with which we were going carried that perception to 99 in 2009 before this recovery now to 84.
This means that the PNP was so bad that they double our negative positive on the corruption index in just under ten years.
This is astounding , now they are clamouring for leadership again??
10/27/2010
this is the problem with statistics. they can mean whatever you want them to mean. It doesn't mean JA is less corrupt, it could also mean other countries are becoming more corrupt than we. look at the US it dropped in the rankings. does that show the US is getting more corrupt or 2 other countries are getting better. It feels like to me the corruption is getting worse. All relative, i guess.
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