A new entity, Transparency Institute Guyana Inc. has been incorporated under the Companies Act with the aim of promoting transparency and eradicating corruption.
A release today said that the founding directors – Bernard Crawford, David James, Fr. Compton Meerabux, Keith Park, Gino Persaud, Nadia Sagar and Enrico Woolford – have begun the process for formal recognition of the local entity as a National Chapter of Transparency International (TI), based in Germany.
The release said that the Secretary of the Guyana entity is broadcaster Enrico Woolford and the legal consultant is Christopher Ram. Membership is open to resident and non-resident Guyanese individuals and organisations that subscribe to its By-Laws and Code of Conduct which require of its members high standards of transparency, accountability and ethical conduct. TIGI has commissioned a website on which it will make available all its incorporation documents, Code of Conduct and links to international and regional publications on corruption’s impacts, the release said.
Issued in the name of Bernard Crawford, a former bauxite executive, the release said Transparency International Guyana hopes for a Guyana “where citizens are able to access and meet their basic needs in healthcare, education, housing and employment without fear or favour; where information that affects the citizens are freely available; where public and private officials in positions of trust are held accountable; and where transparency in public and private institutions allows citizens to participate meaningfully in the decisions affecting them.”
TIGI will soon launch meetings with members of the Government, the private sector, non-governmental organisations, civil society groups and individuals to discuss collaborative efforts in meeting the goals of the organisation.
The Directors and members of TIGI, the release said, hope to raise awareness of the many faces of corruption, “its causes and consequences resulting in a society diminished of resources, unable to provide its citizens with functioning institutions and a decent standard of living. Very specifically TIGI hopes to engage actively in the formulation of a Freedom of Information Act, the draft of which the Government has announced will be available shortly, and codes of conduct for various sectors in the Guyana society.”
TIGI expressed appreciation to Transparency International and the Trinidad and Tobago National Chapter for the guidance and support.
Persons interested in becoming a member or simply seeking more information on Transparency International Guyana are invited to call Woolford at 227-8289, Crawford at 226-3895 or Ram at 227-6141.
TI which leads a global coalition against corruption originated in Europe in 1993. It is an independent, non-political non-profit organisation that publishes annually the Corruption Perception Index, Bribe Payers Index and national surveys and indices. It has a global network of over 90 chapters and adopts a non-confrontational approach to promoting transparency and eradicating corruption in the public and private sectors.
Despite a slim improvement, Guyana remained among the most corrupt countries, according to the 2010 Transparency International Corruption Perception Index.
The 2010 report, which was released last month, ranked Guyana at 116 out of the 178 countries that were surveyed. The other countries that share the ranking are Ethiopia, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Vietnam. Last year, Guyana was ranked 121 out of 180 countries. Denmark, New Zealand and Singapore are tied at the top of the list while Somalia, which slightly trails Myanmar and Afghanistan, rounds out the bottom.
Based on four surveys, Guyana scored 2.7 out of 10 on the index; slightly up from the 2.6 it scored last year. The scale ranges from 0—perceived to be highly corrupt—to 10—perceived to have low levels of corruption. However, based on criteria that include the need for a year-on-year change of at least 0.3 points in a country’s score, TI did not list Guyana among countries that showed improvement.
Among CARICOM states, Barbados scored highest at 7.8 and was ranked at 17; it was followed by Dominica with a 5.2 score and ranking of 44; Trinidad and Tobago with a 3.6 score and a ranking of 73; Jamaica with a 3.3 score and ranking of 87; and Haiti with a 2.2 score and a ranking of 146. TI noted improvement in both Jamaica and Haiti. Meanwhile, no scores were available for CARICOM sister states St. Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname, after TI’s sources made adjustments in their coverage, resulting in the availability of only two surveys for those countries. For a country or territory to be included in the index, a minimum of three of the sources that TI uses must assess the country.
