LAST week it was announced that Guyana had improved its rating to 85 in the latest Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and is listed as one of several countries which made significant improvements since 2012.

Guyana is now tied with Kuwait and Trinidad and Tobago, according to the report. ”With a score of 40, Guyana is a significant improver on the CPI since 2012. While there is still much work to do, the government is demonstrating political will to hold former politicians accountable for the misuse of state resources,” the report said.

According to the report, in the last eight years, only 22 countries significantly improved their CPI scores, including Guyana, Greece and Estonia. Last year Guyana was ranked at 93 out of the 180 countries which were looked at. The index ranks the 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public-sector corruption, according to experts and business people, using a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. The index is based on analysis of 13 surveys and expert assessments to measure public sector corruption.

It is public knowledge and as was noted by British High Commissioner Greg Quinn about two years ago at a government training seminar that corruption and money-laundering are like cancers plaguing our society. The envoy further noted, “Too many people still think that they can get away with corruption and with financial abuse. If Guyana is to continue to grow and to use future resources for the betterment of all, it will be necessary to address both these issues.”

Where previous efforts by countries and international institutions to help Guyana rid itself of these cancers did not produce measurable successes and the APNU+AFC Government is showing willingness to tackle this scourge; it must be supported. As known with cancer, it is a disease that can spread throughout the entire body, eating away and destroying organs, ultimately resulting in death.

Guyanese are conscious that there exist among us those who are fully aware their actions are corrupt. Edifying citizens to recognise corrupt practices — including the consequences — will not only see civic involvement in policing the law, but will also serve as a deterrent to engage in the malpractice. The Anti-Corruption Sensitisation Seminar that was embarked on by the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs, that sets out to educate the public on legislation and bills aimed at tackling corruption was timely. Whereas there is no excuse for not being aware of the laws, in societies such as ours where corruption has become rampant and entrenched, many have grown accustomed to thinking such is the manner in which the system is structured and what ought to be done.

Changing behaviour, especially what has become endemic, requires sustained efforts in recognising and appreciating what is right and supporting efforts to do what is right. There is a political side to corruption which too cannot be ignored. While the PPP/C Government has earned Guyana the disrepute of being the most corrupt English-speaking Caribbean country, now in the Opposition it has been accusing the APNU+AFC Government of corruption.

The political aspect aside, the socio-economic consequences wreaked on this country as the result of corruption under the previous administration cannot be accurately quantified. It is reasonable however to surmise that it has to be humongous, given the years it was cuddled in the corridors of power and allowed to run wild. Where this scourge, however small or large, continues to retard and debilitate the growth and development of a people and society, it requires surgical/ meticulous intervention to excise the cancer. It cannot be over-emphasised that Guyana’s obligation as a member of the United Nations is to uphold the Convention against Corruption, which was ratified by the Government on 16th April, 2008.

One of the distinctive features of the previous (PPP) administration was that of alleged corruption. The reality and perception of corruption during the Jagdeo/Ramotar era is unquestionable. With the change of government came a new sense of hope that the days of systemic dishonesty could finally be put behind us, but the task is huge. Government is aware of the magnitude of work to be done. President David Granger is committed to confronting the problem. The President said, “Corruption like a malignant cancer cannot be cured by being ignored.” He was at the time addressing the 2018 Police Officers conference. And, as is the case with all social issues, all citizens have a part to play.