Jamaica’s corruption ranking worries PNP
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) said it is alarmed by the significant deterioration in Jamaica’s standing in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) results for 2016, reversing most of the improvement, which was achieved by Jamaica in 2015 in combating corruption.
The PNP said in a release today that the latest CPI ranking which has seen Jamaica falling by 14 places in the world ranking is “in stark contrast to the advancement of 16 places achieved in the prior year”.
“Jamaica was one of only eleven countries in the 2015 index that improved their rankings by 16 or more places, and in 2015 Jamaica also moved closer to being among the least corrupt in the Americas, improving from a rank of 14th in 2014 to 7th in 2015 and making into the top 25 per cent in the Americas for the first time in nine years. Indeed, no other country in the Americas made as great an improvement as Jamaica in the 2015 scores,” the party reasoned.
It said that Jamaica’s improved ranking in 2015 resulted from a deliberate and diligently executed strategy of pursuing the enactment of legislation to promote good governance and strengthen transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
Mark Golding, Opposition spokesperson on justice and governance, noted that: “There has been a real loss of momentum in Jamaica’s efforts to combat corruption, since the change of Administration in February 2016.
“All in all, 2016 was set back for Jamaica as it relates to combatting corruption. Anti-corruption efforts are an important aspect of good governance and the rule of law, which are essential for economic growth and sustainable development. Our national growth and development targets are therefore threatened by the damage to our international image and reputation that this unwelcome trend is bringing with it.”