THE 2015 Transparency International (TI) Report is out.Guyana was, in 2014, ranked as the most corrupt country in the English-speaking Caribbean. Though its fortunes have improved on the corruption index by one point (from 30 to 29) in 2015, we Guyanese must not settle for this when we are capable of doing better.

According to TI, “Corruption corrodes the fabric of society. It undermines people’s trust in political and economic systems, institutions and leaders. It can cost people their freedom, health, money –- and sometimes their lives.”

As a nation and people, we ought to be concerned about this unsavoury image, and work assiduously to correct it; 2016 must be the year when Guyana realizes significant movement away from this taint.

The United Nations (UN) deems corruption a human rights’ violation by a government against its citizens. Corruption robs a nation of its scarce resources, which can be channelled into areas such as education, health care and decent wages — all considered human rights.

Whenever a State diverts its resources away from activities that can improve its citizens’ standard of living, it hurts everyone. Government officials, whether elected or appointed, who abrogate to themselves the authority to dispense with the people’s resources for personal gains are betraying the public’s trust, and should be held to account.

The UN Convention Against Corruption has outlined methods and procedures for identifying and dealing with the scourge of corruption. This nation is aware that, within recent months, efforts have been directed at tackling this problem. The establishment of the State Assets Recovery Unit (SARU) and news of plans to strengthen and deepen its scope through legislation and international outreach for technical advice and support are welcome signs. It should be pointed out that, in this regard, Guyana is heeding the guidelines of the United Nations, which sees assets’ recovery as “a particularly important issue for many developing countries where high-level corruption has plundered the national wealth, and where resources are badly needed for reconstruction and the rehabilitation of societies under new governments”.

In addition to the SARU, there is need for other institutional support to prosecute and prevent corruption. For instance, there is need for an independent, effective and efficient judiciary through which the State will not only do its job in ensuring cases are ironclad and well presented in the courts, but will also ensure that justice is swift and decisive.
Doing otherwise would strengthen the notion among persons that they are immune from prosecution and that the long arm of the law will not embrace them.

Constitutional bodies such as the Integrity Commission, Public Procurement Commission and Public Service Appellate Tribunal should be established; the first ensures the integrity of certain public officers, the second ensures the integrity of Government contracts, and the third allows public servants to have their grievances addressed. It may also be timely to look at strengthening and deepening the Office of the Ombudsman, and have the National Assembly treat it with deserving respect. Aside from being constitutional bodies, these institutions play an intertwining role in prevention and fighting corruption, ensuring justice in specific public organisations and institutions, and in ensuring that aggrieved persons get justice.

For TI, transparency means “shedding light on shady deals, weak enforcement of rules, and other illicit practices that undermine good governments, ethical businesses, and society at large.” To this end, it may be prudent to suggest that the Government of Guyana should establish a good working relationship with the local chapter of TI in the fight to remove Guyana from its present ignoble status. Guyanese are a resilient people, and are capable of working together and achieving whatever they set their minds to do. In the quest to put Guyana into the fold of least corrupt countries, every citizen and public institution can be a corruption watchdog. If we see something, know something, or think something does not look or sound right, we must be fearless enough to say something about it, and report it. While by design Government ought to operate in the interest and on behalf of the people, the people have a corresponding responsibility to ensure that this happens. These are goals we can achieve. Let us work together to put corruption where it belongs — in the dustbin or in jail.