Government, Private Sector, and Youth Organizations Unite Against Corruption

Representatives from the government, private sector, and youth organizations gathered today in Cayo to rally against corruption. The Ministry of the Public Service, Political and Constitutional Reform held an anti-corruption conference to sensitize the public on GOB’s efforts to reduce and eliminate corruption. The event included various presentations, round table discussions, and debates. Minister of Public Service, Political and Constitutional Reform Henry Charles Usher spoke about the arduous task and the importance of putting in place anti-corruption measures.

Henry Charles Usher, Minister of Public Service: “Perhaps corruption is so hard to tackle because it is ingrained in our psyche from a young age. It is so much a part of who we are that many of us don’t see what’s wrong with it. Paying a little something to get our documents processed faster seems just doing business. The customs persons are familiar with this one, the one third principle. One third for me, one third for you and one third for government, we seem to think that that’s okay. The Kriol expressions “mek a feel di love.” or “throw a lee bone in the dog house.” those are every day vocabulary. We hear it every single day. But corruption is a problem and we must do something about it. We must be able to identify corrupt acts, litigate and hopefully eliminate those acts. As I said at the start of this year’s activities it is estimated that every year one trillion dollars is paid in bribes while an estimated 2.6 trillion are stolen through corruption. A sum equivalent to more than 5% of the global GDP. In developing countries according to the UNDP funds lost to corruption are estimated at ten times the amount of official development assistance. Corruption is a serious crime that can undermine the social and economic development in our society. If we are to mitigate the impact of corruption and improve governance in Belize it must be done not only in what we say but also in what we do. It cannot be done overnight but by a long term strategy that builds upon cooperation between our government and citizens working together to build our institutions. We must respect and believe firmly in the rule of law, transparency, accountability and we must be able to not only recognize and believe in these principles.”

The event was held at the San Ignacio Hotel.