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Guyana’s corruption rate among the highest in the Caribbean – New World Justice Project report
Kaieteur News – The World Justice Project (WJP) on Thursday released their new Corruption in the Caribbean report, which paints Guyana in a grim light. The report examines perceptions of and experiences with corruption across 14 Caribbean countries including Guyana.
According to the findings of the report, a lot of Caribbean people believe public officials are corrupt. Drawing on nationally representative surveys, the report represents the voices of people in the 14 Caribbean countries and their experiences and perceptions of corruption in both the public and private sectors.
On average, 80 percent of respondents in Caribbean countries believe that public officials frequently award government contracts to friends or relatives, and 66 percent believe public officials regularly request bribes.
Additionally, 74 percent of people, on average, believe politicians frequently use public resources to benefit their own family.
“When perceptions of corruption are pervasive, public trust in government institutions is undermined, and the rule of law is weakened,” said Elizabeth Andersen, executive director of the World Justice Project.
“Corruption compromises the flow of resources to support public safety, health, and education and denies people fair access to opportunities,” she said adding, “Combatting corruption is an important objective for governments, the private sector, and civil society organisations around the world.”
Notably, the findings in the Corruption in the Caribbean report expand upon data contained in the 2022 World Justice Project Rule of Law Index, which measures absence of corruption as a key rule of law factor for 140 countries around the world. The new Caribbean report reveals additional insights drawn from the household polls in Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.
BRIBERY
The Corruption in the Caribbean report specifically probes the prevalence of bribery in the region. While the perception of corruption in the public sector was high in the countries surveyed, an average of only 7% of people who had recent contact with public officials reported they were asked to give a bribe, favour, or additional sum of money. The most frequent cases of bribery came during interactions with car registration/driver’s licence officers (9%, on average, among the countries studied) and police officers 8%. The least frequent involved local politicians 2%, doctors and nurses in public hospitals 2%, and public school teachers 3%.
People in Antigua and Barbuda along with Grenada reported the lowest of experiences with public sector bribery, at less than 1%, while 19% of respondents in the Dominican Republic and Haiti reported having to provide a bribe, gift, or favour within the last 12 months. Jamaica 17% and Guyana 16% also had similar rates of public sector bribery.
Findings from the new report show that bribery victimization within the private sector is uncommon in the Caribbean. The exception to this is Guyana. The data show that of the 39% of Guyanese respondents who had contact with the private sector in the last 12 months, 18% paid a bribe. The only other countries reporting private sector victimization rates above 5% were Haiti 8% and the Dominican Republic 7%. The average rate of private sector bribery victimization across the Caribbean is 3%.
GUYANA
Table One: “Social Norms and Acceptability of Corruption”
Table Two: “Perceptions of Corruption among Actors in the Public Sector”
Table Three: Bribe solicitations in the public service within the last 12 months.
ABOUT THE WORLD JUSTICE PROJECT
The World Justice Project is an independent, multidisciplinary organization working to create knowledge, build awareness, and stimulate action to advance the rule of law worldwide. Effective rule of law reduces corruption, combats poverty and disease, and protects people from injustices large and small. It underpins development, accountable government, and respect for fundamental rights, and it is the foundation for communities of justice, opportunity, and peace.
Explore the full Corruption in the Caribbean Report at: https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/Corruption-in-the-Caribbean-report-v4.pdf.
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