By Jolly Green

There are many markers and
pointers in the Caribbean that point to corruption in and by
government ministers and others. Bribery and corruption is a major
problem because bribery and corruption lead to a society where
economic and political decisions become twisted.

Political corruption in the
Caribbean Basin retards state economic growth and development,
undermines government legitimacy, and threatens state security. In
spite of recent anti-corruption efforts of intergovernmental and
nongovernmental organizations (IGO/NGOs), Caribbean political
corruption problems appear to be worsening in the post-Cold War
period.

If you observe islands where
corruption is really out of control, you will find an Island that has
badly maintained infrastructure or no infrastructure where there
should be infrastructure.

Islands which are struck by storm
and tempest, floods, landslides, yet take many years to correct the
damage inflicted by nature. You can be sure corruption is at work
because there is always enough aid and assistance to make good all
damage in good time, it should never take years.

Corruption causes slow social
progress; it hampers economic development, which drives up prices for
products and services. A corrupt society is an unequal and unfair
society. People suffer at the expense of corrupt government ministers
and leaders and their appointed cronies.

But the most positive pointer to
corruption of all, is when a government minister tells the people
that the root of their economic development problems is caused by the
past legacies of imperialism and slavery. That is the greatest get
out trick and get out story that can ever be used. Because the poor
and sometimes ignorant people want to hear that, they want to believe
the reason they have no jobs, no money, and poor housing is because
of their ancestral past the treatment of their forefathers. Dirty
politicians know only too well how emotive this can be too many
people and play that card to its full extent. You can be sure it’s
not because of past imperialism and slavery, but because of today’s
rampant corruption, theft of the people's money.

Why have the independent states
and territories of the Caribbean not achieved higher levels of

economic development? It is
because of corrupt politicians.

Other signs of corruption are low
wages, lack of jobs, dreadful infrastructure, badly maintained roads,
poverty, health care, people going abroad to find jobs. All very
obvious signs that you are living in a corrupt society, led by
corrupt politicians.

Some politicians blame their
countries problems on the world capitalist system, and former
colonizers. They blame anything and everything to cloud the fact that
they are soaked in corruption. Then promoting a 21st
Century Socialist dependency theory, which emerges from structural
Marxism which some politicians want for their people but not for
themselves.

These politicians fail to pay
their workers in the Caribbean states and territories a fair wage for
their labor and a fair price for their exported natural resources and
agricultural and manufactured products. These states and their
politicians are aptly able to fool most international financial
institutions (International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, World
Trade Organization (WTO), etc.), and countries such as the US, UK,
EU, and also the developed world’s multinational corporations.

States ruled by corrupt
politicians are inefficient States operating inefficient State
Enterprises. They fail to institute free trade measures and lack good
governance measures. Generally scrounging from the developed
countries, sometimes with little record of where the money came from
or where it went. These small undeveloped states remain undeveloped
because of the corruption, funds that should be going to and for use
by the people, in fact, go to a few corrupt politicians. Only the
politicians, their cronies and some time dynastical leaders are
getting rich while the people generally suffer.

In the Caribbean, the developed
states can point to The Bahamas as a perfect example of where a
diversified, open economy, combined with low corruption levels
resulted in high economic growth.

With a gross domestic product
(GDP) per capita of $15,258, The Bahamas is the only independent
Caribbean state listed as a high income developed state by the United
Nations (UNDP 2001).

Caribbean citizens tend to
overlook political corruption, the misuse of public power for private
benefit, as a factor that retards the region’s slow economic
development. One reason for the downplaying of this political
corruption factor is the lack of empirical evidence as to its
effects.

United Nations and World Bank
efforts to measure state socio-economic development indicators and
governance factors, such as political corruption, now allow us to
provide empirical evidence concerning the effects of political
corruption on development.

There is also the question of law
and order; it appears that the more corrupt a countries leadership
that is where the greatest breakdown in law and order is. Which
further effects political corruption in a Caribbean development
downward spiral? These effects are the most pronounced on a corrupt
state’s economic output and the rule of law. Also there is a
tendency for corrupt leaders to hold sway over corrupt police forces
and corrupt judiciaries.

Transparency International, the
Berlin-based non-governmental organization that addresses corruption
issues, began to publish an annual “Corruption Perception but for
some reason rarely if ever expose what is going on in the Caribbean —
sometimes praising States that should not be praised.

People are inquisitive in the
latest Caribbean Development Bank matter in Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, whereby CDB canceled financing to a project. Questions
are rightly being asked; the people awareness has been aroused.
Denials are being made along with excuses, some of which sound
downright silly. But what is important are the awareness and the new
interest the Vincentian people are taking to all that is written on
the matter of corruption, even perceived corruption. It is the main
subject on the streets, in the rum shops and Church communities.

One of the biggest acts of alleged
corruption noted in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is during a four
week lead up to National Elections when thousands of people are given
free building materials, millions of dollars worth, which on the
surface appears an attempt to buy the peoples vote for a particular
party.

Jolly Green

Corruption is born out of darkness and democracy dies in darkness.

END

DISCLAMER: The opinion, belief and viewpoint expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinion, belief and viewpoint of iNews Cayman/ieyenews.com or official policies of iNews Cayman/ieyenews.com