We take no comfort in the fact that dishonesty and corruption are not unique to Jamaica. Transparency International tells us that 68 per cent of countries worldwide have a serious corruption problem, and half of those countries are in the G20.

In fact, the global coalition against corruption states on its website that not one single country, anywhere in the world, is corruption-free. In addition, the coalition declares that poor countries lose US$1 trillion a year to corruption.

Here in Jamaica, we have been struggling with corruption for a long time, as the problem has permeated many of our institutions.

We see it often – corrupt police taking bribes from equally corrupt citizens, politicians and so-called businessmen who cannot account for their wealth, drivers operating vehicles without a driver’s licence or insurance, households stealing electricity, importers who avoid paying Customs duties, people squatting on property belonging to other individuals, and, most recently, political party candidates who cannot account for campaign donations entrusted to them, as well as individuals who are paid excessive amounts in pension and retirement benefits in breach of government guidelines.

Dishonesty is evident at all levels of society, from the poor to the rich.

While a starving poor man stealing a mango is wrong, the damage to the owner of the mango tree and to society as a whole is minimal compared to the impact that white collar crime, which largely goes unpunished, has on the nation.

It is bad enough that there is such widespread dishonesty. What makes it worse is that some Jamaicans find it acceptable and justify it as “man haffi live” or “man mus’ eat a food”.

Jamaica was ranked 69th on Transparency International’s Global Perceptions Index for the year 2015. While that represents an improvement over the three previous years, the fact is that we still have a problem which, if we fail to seriously tackle, will continue to present an obstacle to sustainable economic development.

As it now stands, criminality, which is one form of corruption, imposes an enormous economic burden on the country as the cost of security for businesses and householders adds up to several percentage points of GDP.

Add to that the fact that corruption discourages investment, thus contribuing to unemployment, lost production, increases in inequality, and reduction in efficiency. One can therefore appreciate why it is extremely important that every law-abiding Jamaican should not sit by and allow this cancer to continue eating away at the country.

People should not flout the country’s laws and receive a mere slap on the wrist simply because of their station in life. This is a matter on which the Government must not yield, as it will lose its moral authority.