Pictured are (back row, left to right): Omar Lewis, National Integrity Action (NIA), Jamaica; Alesia Nahirny, Transparency International Canada; Lemarque Campbell, Citizens for a Better Bahamas, Bahamas; Sarawatie Bharrat, Transparency Institute of Guyana; Luciana Torchiaro, Transparency International; Claudie Jules Philippe, La Fondation Heritage, Haiti; Charles Wilkin, St. Kitts/Nevis; (front row, left to right): Lissane Hamilton, National Integrity Action (NIA), Jamaica; Alejandro Salas, Transparency International; Prof. Trevor Monroe, National Integrity Action (NIA), Jamaica; Dion Abdool, Trinidad &Tobago Transparency Institute (TTTI).
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Transparency International chapters in the Caribbean plan to work
together to share their expertise and experience across the region and
form the Transparency International Caribbean Network.
This network will bring together Transparency International chapters
in Jamaica, Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago, one partner organisation in
Guyana and one in Bahamas that recently joined plus experienced regional
anti-corruption activists in St. Kitts and the Cayman Islands.
“Our goal is to strengthen anti-corruption prevention and law
enforcement with a focus on developing effective legislation on
political financing, advancing whistleblowing protection, strengthening
procurement legislation and promoting integrity in public life and
freedom of information,” said Alejandro Salas, head of the Americas
region for Transparency International.
The first meeting of the TI Caribbean Network took place in Miami at
the end of May. All members agreed to exchange information on their
national challenges and to identify the main corruption trends that most
affect the region.
“We want to raise awareness in our local population that corruption
harms their quality of life and that there are ways to fight corruption.
We want to work with local investigative journalists to tell the
stories of corruption and how to hold the guilty to account. These are
exciting times for Transparency International in the region,” said
Professor Trevor Munroe, executive director of National Integrity
Action, Transparency International’s chapter in Jamaica.
Transparency International has identified the main corruption challenges facing Caribbean states as:
- Weak non-transparent and unaccountable institutions
- Lack of, or weak basic anti-corruption legislation (such as access
to information laws and whistleblowing protection) and weak enforcement
of existing legislation.
- Collusion among business and political elites affecting procurement processes.
- Mobilising people to fight corruption. Citizens need to understand their rights and stand up for them.
Already Transparency International has set up two Advocacy and Legal
Advice Centres in the region in Jamaica and Haiti. These are places
where citizens can report incidences ofcorruption in everyday life and
find advice on how to fight against it. A new Advocacy and Legal Advice
Centre will be opened in Trinidad and Tobago soon.
The first activities of the network will be to host a training course
for investigative journalists on covering and uncovering corruption
facilitated by National Integrity Action, Jamaica. The network will also
publish and promote the Transparency International Global Corruption
Barometer, which measures ordinary people’s views and experiences of
corruption, in at least two countries from the region. (The Global
Corruption Barometer gives reliable information on corruption levelsand
trends and generates comparable data among countries.)
For contact information of the individual partners in the Caribbean region please go to http://www.transparency.org/whoweare/contact/ and select a country.
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