Integrity Commission says Jamaica's corruption score not worth celebrating
Published:Thursday | February 4, 2021 | 10:55 PM
Integrity Commission boss Greg Christie says Jamaica’s one-point improvement in the latest corruption perception score is nothing to celebrate.
The index, released last week, shows Jamaica inching up from a score of 43 in 2019 to 44 in 2020 where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.
"It is nothing to boast about and the Integrity Commission is not satisfied about it," said Christie.
The single-point improvement has helped to move Jamaica from 74th out of 180 countries in 2019 to 69th last year.
However, it remains the fifth most corrupt country in the Caribbean.
The Integrity Commission said Transparency International's assessment of Jamaica suggests that corruption is endemic, systemic, pervasive and deep-rooted in the country.
According to Christie, in order to improve Jamaica's standing on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), a holistic approach, driven by transformational leadership is needed at every level.
Since 2002 when Transparency International began ranking Jamaica, the country has averaged a CPI of only 37.5 out of 100.
A CPI score below 50 means that a country has a serious corruption problem, is experiencing prevalent bribery, a lack of punishment for corruption, and public institutions that do not respond to citizens’ needs.
“The unmistakable reality is that Jamaica has been firmly planted in this category for at least two decades,” the commission noted.
How Caribbean countries appear in the ranking:
Barbados
Rank: 28th
Score: 64
The Bahamas
Rank: 30th
Score: 63
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Rank: 40th
Score: 59
St Lucia
Rank: 45th
Score: 56
Dominica
Rank: 48th
Score: 55
Grenada
Rank: 52nd
Score: 53
Cuba
Rank: 63rd
Score: 47
Jamaica
Rank: 69th
Score: 44
Guyana
Rank: 83rd
Score: 40
Trinidad and Tobago
Rank: 86th
Score: 40
Dominican Republic
Rank: 137th
Score: 28
Haiti
Rank: 170th
Score: 18
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