ACCORDING to Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2002, international and local business interests continue to view Jamaica as a country with mid-level corruption.

The report, which highlights corrupt dealings between “political elites” and their “cronies” in the private sector worldwide, gave Jamaica a score of four on an index where 10 represents highly clean and 0 indicates highly corrupt.

This latest score, which inched forward from the 3.8 achieved last year, places the island at 45 among the 102 countries surveyed for this year’s CPI. Brazil, Bulgaria, Peru and Poland share ranking with Jamaica.

Among Caribbean countries surveyed, Trinidad and Tobago scored 4.9, Dominican Republic 3.5 and Haiti 2.2.

Finland was ruled the most cleanly-run country with a score of 9.7 followed by Denmark and New Zealand which both scored 9.5. The United States of America, with its recent corporate scandals, scored 7.7. Bangladesh is at the bottom of the corruption index with a score of 1.2, preceded by Nigeria, which scored 1.6.

An anti-corruption coalition, the German-based Transparency International (TI) first launched the corruption perception index in 1995, which is a poll of polls reflecting the perceptions of business people and resident and non-resident country analysts.

TI developed its corruption index from surveys/studies of countries conducted by institutions such as the Economist Intelligence Unit, the World Bank, World Economic Forum and PricewaterhouseCoopers. In addition, Gallup International polling organisation conducted a poll of business people/risk analysts on behalf of TI.

Peter Eigen, chairman of the anti-corruption organisation, notes the widespread nature of corruption, which he says is demonstrated by seven out of 10 countries surveyed scoring less than five.

“Corrupt political elites in the developing world, working hand-in-hand with greedy business people and unscrupulous investors,” says Eigen “are putting private gain before the welfare of citizens and the economic development of their countries.”

Yesterday, Anthony Chang, outgoing president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, noted that the current administration had, “on the surface”, introduced laws to combat corruption and to foster transparency and access to information.

But Chang said that Jamaica’s high level of bureaucracy and red tape encouraged corruption and bribery. “A lot of red tape tends to increase the propensity for corruption because, to get over the hurdles, people bribe other people,” he stressed.

In his reaction to the CPI score for Jamaica, Audley Shaw, the opposition spokesman on finance, agreed with the finding.

“If we take the report at face value, I would say that the manifestations of corruption are plain to see everywhere. And, in fact, the situation is worse than the Index indicates,” Shaw told the Observer.

Citing examples of corruption, he charged that the administration had violated established procedures to grant contracts and illegally granted contracts to party favourites as part of a grand scheme to finance a slush fund.

“Some of that money that has been corruptly gained at the expense of taxpayers is now showing up on the campaign trail,” claimed Shaw “where main anchors and don men of the People’s National Party are now marauding the countryside and spending money with wild abandon.”

“They are at that final stage in the corruption process now where they are trying to influence voters with taxpayers’ moneys that have been illicitly gained,” he added.

Echoing a view by chairman of TI, Shaw said the government was giving the concept of transparency and fairness in the award of contracts “lip service”.