Letter of the Day | Raise a voice against corruption

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing to express my deep concern about Jamaica’s persistent corruption problem, as highlighted by the recently released Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) for 2024.

For the seventh consecutive year, Jamaica has scored 44 out of 100 on the CPI, where zero means ‘highly corrupt’ and 100 means ‘very clean’. This score, which falls below 50, indicates that our country continues to grapple with a serious corruption problem. More alarmingly, Jamaica has slipped four places in the global rankings, now standing at 73rd out of 180 countries, down from 69th in 2023.

What is particularly disheartening is the lack of urgency and vigour from both the Government and the Opposition in addressing this critical issue. While Barbados, the Bahamas, and St Vincent and the Grenadines have made strides in improving their corruption perceptions, Jamaica remains stagnant, consistently ranking at the bottom among English-speaking Caribbean nations. In fact, if our current leaders have their way, the Integrity Commission, Jamaica’s rather weak bulwark against corruption, will be neutered and weakened even more, earning Jamaica an even more dismal ranking.

The consequences of this inaction on this matter are severe. A poor CPI score signals prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption, and public institutions that do not respond to citizens’ needs. Further, our classification as a “flawed democracy” undermines our nation’s potential for growth and development. To what extent has corruption contributed to the atrocious condition of our roadways? To the ‘chaka-chaka’ state of the healthcare system and the failures of the education system? Is corruption partly responsible for poor people’s children being trapped in 27 shift schools in 2025? Or the decades-long decline in voter participation in local and general elections?

Jamaicans deserve to have faith and trust in the integrity of their elected and unelected officials in government. Restoring that faith and trust will necessitate a strong and independent ethics watchdog. With the upcoming general election due by September or October, both major political parties should prioritise anti-corruption measures prominently in their manifestos. Previous manifestos of both parties had no plan to address this persistent debilitating problem. Why am I not surprised? We will have to lead on this issue. We must demand action from Prime Minister Andrew Holness and Opposition Leader Mark Golding. We need concrete, actionable plans to strengthen our institutions, enhance transparency, and foster a culture of accountability to effectively wage war against the cancer of corruption which decimates the aspirations and dreams of too many people.

It’s time for our political leaders to move beyond rhetoric and demonstrate a real commitment to combating corruption. Jamaicans across the political divide should unite and demand a cleaner democracy and more ethical governance from both political parties.

XANDER BROWN