Dylan Kerrigan
  • Home
  • About
  • Academic Writings
    • Consultancy Summaries
  • Books
  • Opeds/Blogs
  • Other Writings
  • Teaching
    • Graduate Supervision
  • Therapeutic Cultures
  • In the Press
  • Presentations
  • Videos
  • Research
    • Data Visualisations
    • Past
    • Current
    • Future
  • Blog

Time to face the facts

10/6/2013

0 Comments

 
Corruption as an economic crime and what are some counter measures
Picture
A few weekends ago the topic of Bajan news programme Time to Face the Facts was corruption in the Caribbean. Between them, Afra Raymond, President of the Joint Consultative Council for the Construction Industry (JCC), and host Jerry George provided many insights worth disseminating. In terms of a definition, corruption was described as the practice of abusing a position of trust, most often in secrecy. For example, people in positions of power who offer jobs and contracts they shouldn’t be awarding. 

From outright fraud and theft, corruption also includes, among other things, ill-conceived projects and inappropriate spending. Nepotism too. Interestingly, when the international community discusses nepotism as corruption they identify blood ties among people. Regionally, due to the particular histories of the Caribbean, many of us grow up in extended families with fictive kin (people we consider family but to whom we are not related by blood) and nepotism here extends well beyond blood ties. 

Another point raised was that, in a general sense, there is the tendency to see corruption as essentially something found in the public sector; but it is also important to recognise there is an abundance of corruption in the private sector too—CLICO a prime example. The media, too, has a role to play in the way corruption is understood. 

Due to under-reporting and focus on sensational violent crime, the fourth estate can at best be said to have a blind spot for corruption and at worst we might say there has been a corruption of the media. To better understand corruption, Mr Raymond offered three myths about it. The first myth was that corruption is not really a crime, that, for example, nepotism isn’t corruption. 

It is just doing things for your family. Or when the media, government, or public speaks about crime figures, they rarely include corruption in those figures. The second myth was that even if there is something identifiable as corruption, it isn’t widespread; corruption is just a small inconvenience. 

As Raymond points out elsewhere, the collapsed building in Bangladesh and some vehicular accidents here in T&T both could perhaps be linked to corruption—the first in constructing a structure three floors higher than building permits allowed, the second in the licensing office allowing drivers and cars on the road that are not road worthy. The third myth was there is nothing you can do about corruption. This myth stood out most. 

For starters, even those like Mr Raymond who are trying to bring corruption to light admit that measuring corruption is nearly impossible. Yes, there is an International Corruption Perception Index, and investigations when and if something goes wrong. But the actual empirical measurement of corruption is difficult since it is mostly hidden.

Interestingly, Mr Raymond pointed out that Barbados, where there are none of the fundamental integrity institutions of T&T—such as a supposedly independent DPP, the Freedom of Information Act and the Integrity Commission—ranks 15 in the Corruption Perception Index. T&T comes in at number 80. This, as Mr George pointed out, suggests that key to tackling corruption is how seriously governments and the public take corruption. 

Another important insight was how could people identify corruption? Mr Raymond offered three markers of corruption. 

1) An inexperienced person or institution is suddenly pushed into a position of great authority. 
2) The thing that has to be done—say the building of a highway—has to be constructed so quickly there isn’t time to discuss it, and 
3) Everything connected to the contract for the job is done so quickly, and with so much inexperience by those involved, that the financial figures cannot be exposed until contracts are signed. Hearing these, a number of past and current construction jobs in T&T spring to mind.

Over time, corruption can provide certain groups in society with continued social and economic advantages over other groups. In this sense, corruption is an economic crime. In academic circles economic justice refers to the implicit sense of morality that should be contained in the principles driving the decision-making of people and institutions. 

Specifically, economic justice is the idea that equitable participation, distribution and harmony are needed in order to counter the way corruption provides economic advantages for some over others. 

So what can we do about corruption? Suggestions included robust regulations, civil society involvement in oversight of the procurement process, access to information, an alternative to the racial and ethnic politics that have defined our last 50 years, and also the suggestion that we need an anti-corruption political party. It goes without saying that these are all facts we have to face up to.

http://www.guardian.co.tt/columnist/2013-06-10/time-face-facts
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Academia
    Amerindian
    Bias
    Capitalism
    Carnival
    Census
    Change
    Charlotteville
    Christmas
    Cipriani
    Citizenship
    Class
    Clico
    Colonialism
    Comedy
    Community
    Conspiracy
    Corruption
    Crime
    Critical Thinking
    Cultural Logic
    Cultural Logic
    Cultural Myth
    Culture
    Degradation
    Development
    Differences
    Disabilities
    Discourse
    Discrimination
    Diversity
    Division
    Drugs
    Economic
    Economics
    Economy
    Education
    Emancipation
    Emigration
    Employment
    Environment
    Equality
    Ethnicity
    Ethnocentrism
    Ethnology
    Family
    Gang
    Gender
    Governance
    Government
    Grenada
    Hcu
    History
    Homophobia
    Identity
    Imperialism
    Inequality
    Institutions
    Intellectualism
    Justice
    Language
    Legislation
    Marriage
    Mas
    Militarism
    Military
    Morality
    Multiculturalism
    National Security
    Nepotism
    Opportunity
    Patriarchy
    Policy
    Politics
    Poverty
    Power
    Precolonial
    Prejudice
    Prisons
    Privatisation
    Privilege
    Progress
    Propaganda
    Prostitution
    Race
    Reflexivity
    Relationships
    Religion
    Rights
    Science
    Security
    Segregation
    Sexism
    Sexuality
    Sex Work
    Slavery
    (small-goal) Football
    Social Media
    Soe
    Solidarity
    Speed
    State
    Status
    Success
    Taboo
    Teaching
    Technology
    Tobago
    Tourism
    Trade
    Transparency
    University
    Violence
    War
    White Collar
    White-collar

    Archives

    December 2022
    October 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    August 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    January 2020
    February 2019
    November 2017
    October 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012

    RSS Feed