CDB offers technical assistance to fight corruption

Jun 01, 2014 News

– Guyana is yet to access this support – CDB President

While President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Dr. William Warren Smith, identified the high cost of energy as a primary constraint to the region’s competitiveness, he admitted that corruption is also a contributing factor.

Ramesh Persaud, Chairman of the Private Sector Commission.

He said, too, that the CDB offers technical assistance to Governments that desire to improve their systems in this regard but Guyana has not accessed this type of support from the Bank. The CDB President confirmed that the Bank would be more than willing to do so.
Dr. Smith was at the time, responding to questions posed to him by journalists at the recently concluded 44th Annual Board of Governors meeting.
At the event, the CDB President had said that if one is to truly examine unlocking opportunities for competitiveness and growth one must include in such a crucial mix, the role energy plays.
Dr. Smith said that the Caribbean has a competitiveness problem. This is responsible for its relatively low rates of economic growth. He said that the high price of electricity and a heavy reliance on imported fuels make the Caribbean region vulnerable. These are the primary reasons for the region’s uncompetitiveness.
However, he explained that member states can increase energy independence substantially by reducing the cost of energy and by creating a whole new industry based on this new model.
Dr. Smith said that the Caribbean region however, cannot transform its competitiveness landscape without a frontal attack on energy costs.
Be that as it may, the Bank has not turned a blind eye to the effects corruption can have on a country’s competitiveness. The CDB President said, “We certainly recognize and insist that good governance is part and parcel of the development of a country.
“We want to see and ensure that the persons we elect exercise good judgment and also good governance. I think that there is

Former President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Clinton Urling.

sufficient evidence out there that when these principles are not observed it hampers the growth and development of a country.
“That is one of the reasons why we insist on transparent procurement. That is part and parcel of one of our principles.”
Dr. Smith added, “There is no country in this world, and I dare say, that has not had issues with corruption. It is important that countries continuously adopt measures that will reduce the incidents of corruption in their domain.”
He then went on to state that the CDB also provides technical assistance to countries that want to improve their governance. However Guyana has not utilized assistance of this nature from the Bank.
“But certainly if they request that kind of assistance, the CDB would be more than happy to help,” Dr. Smith added.
Considering the CDB President’s statements on corruption being a constraint and the assistance it offers in this regard, the Private Sector and the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) are of the view that Guyana should most certainly tap into the assistance available.
An attitudinal report earlier this year by the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce reflected that members of the business community are dissatisfied with the way in which public corruption is being addressed by the government.
The business community believes that instances of corruption have increased and as such it has said that the situation warrants immediate intervention by Government.
Former President of the Chamber, Clinton Urling, had said that the report is geared towards assessing the views of its members on a wide range of issues in relation to the profits and losses their businesses and their expectations of the economy.
Urling said that this year’s responses indicate shrinking business performance in 2013 and muted optimism for this year’s economy.
Further, the report had also highlighted that the perceptions of public corruption

(Left) CDB President Dr. William Warren Smith and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh

have grown to an “overwhelming percent”.
The survey reported that 70 percent of the businessmen believed that corruption was high whilst 89 percent believe that Government is not doing enough to curb the situation.
While the high cost of electricity was cited as a factor which hinders business performance and the ability to be competitive, political instability also ranked as a worrying obstacle.
It was against this background that the President of the Private Sector Commission, Ramesh Persaud, and Urling have jointly said that if the Caribbean Development Bank is providing such assistance then they would strongly advocate that the service be used.