Dear Editor,
PLEASE permit me some space in your letter column to articulate on the issue of corruption in Guyana. As last week came to a close, I was gripped by the internet coverage of the on-going soap opera in the National Assembly. The 2019 Budget speeches had everything–high-drama, pathos, comedy, accusations of betrayal and numerous references to corruption.
This is the one thing that stood out to me — corruption. The fact that our politics is primarily attached to corruption and the misuse of taxpayers’ money rather than the common character-driven political killers of sexual exploits or “Watergate” style lies.
Much has been said this week about corruption from both sides of the House. So, I hit the internet to see how corrupt Guyana is perceived by the world or to be more precise, the U.S. News and World Report for 2018 that states, “the phenomenon [corruption] is as old as human history…”, it has certainly been a constant companion of our country’s lack of development and it’s intrinsic to our politics, since our independence in 1966. We haven’t really been able to get a handle on it.
Until now…because out of the 180 countries surveyed, Guyana’s Corruption Perception Index of 2018 is 38 (ranked # 91). The higher the index number the less corrupt your country is perceived. To put it into perspective, New Zealand is perceived as the least corrupt country in the world with a CPI of 89 (ranked # 1).
So, Guyana isn’t doing too badly, only 51 index points off, 37 to go in the rankings. What is even more interesting is the fact that in 2012 our CPI was 28! It has only been in the past three years that Guyana has risen in this table, confirmed clearly by the “score and rank changes of 2016-2017” which puts Guyana as the ninth (9th) highest rise in the world with a 4 point rise in CPI and a whopping 17 point rise in the rankings!
Surely, this is cause for celebration.
This shows that Guyana is getting a handle on corruption and with its new approach to government accountability, transparency and administrative systems, it seems to be working. The opposition can bleat on about corruption in the Ministry of Public Infrastructure, Education and Finance, but this is all that they can do because the statistics, the current facts, not the ones from 1984, do not lie.
After three years, the government ministries are still trying to unravel and solve the numerous problems from the previous administration; but there is still work to do. I trust that the government looks at the Corruption Perception Index, pat themselves on that back and then get straight back to the task at hand, rebuilding our nation for all Guyanese and maybe we will be able to be one of the 80 countries in the 2020 U.S. News and World Report, Best Country rankings.
Regards
Mark Thomas
