Photo: Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International
by Kory Leslie (Freelance Writer)
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 20, 2023
The most recent Corruption Perception Index (CPI) report by Transparency International has excluded Belize for the fifteenth consecutive year. While local unions, activists and even the government have vehemently spoken out against the daily corruption facing Belizeans, Transparency International has indicated that there is not enough data to assess the level of corruption in the country in comparison to what takes place in other nations. The agency also has noted that they source their data from third-party research institutions across the region, none of which are presently in Belize.
The index ranks 180 countries and territories based on levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (“highly corrupt”) to 100 (“very clean”). The global average for corruption remains at 43 for the 11th year in a row—an indication that more than two-thirds of countries have a “serious problem” with corruption, and have scored below 50.
Where Latin America is concerned, Transparency International states that leaders have failed to take decisive action against corruption and strengthen public institutions. This in turn has allowed criminal networks to strengthen their hold, and retain power over politicians in many countries, resulting in elevated levels of violence in the region, which has the highest per capita homicide rate. Chair of Transparency International, Delia Ferreira Rubio has released a statement via the company’s website to emphasize that governments in the region need to take action against corruption if they hope to adequately protect their people:
“Pervasive corruption across the Americas fuels the many other crises facing the region. Weak governments fail to stop criminal networks, social conflict, and violence, and some exacerbate threats to human rights by concentrating power in the name of tackling insecurity. The only way forward is for leaders to prioritize decisive action against corruption to uproot its hold and enable governments to fulfil their first mandate: protecting the people,” she said.
The nations in the region with the least corruption are reportedly Canada, with a score of 74, followed by Uruguay, which also scored a 74, and the United States, which scored a 69. Those with the lowest scores include Nicaragua, with a score of 19; Haiti with 17, and Venezuela with 14 points. These countries follow closely behind Guatemala and Honduras, with scores of 24 and 23 respectively.
Where the Caribbean is concerned, the report ranks Barbados, which scored 65 points on the 100-point scale with an overall ranking as the 29th out of the 180 countries listed, as the least corrupt Caribbean country, The Bahamas follows closely behind, with the high score of 64 points. Well-known CARICOM territories such as St. Lucia, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, trailed behind with scores of 55, 44 and 42 points respectively.
According to Transparency International, a country must feature in at least three of its 13 consulted data sources to be ranked. The absence of a country from their list does not indicate that it is corruption-free, but rather that there is not enough data available to accurately measure corruption levels. Notably, it is not mandatory for governments to submit information to be included on the CPI.