[Radix] Guardian letter: Corruption and Haiti's earthquake future

[James Lewis]

Under the heading of "Haitian empowerment must be the prime goal", 
see today's Guardian letters at:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/22/haitian-empowerment-prime-goal

With my personal thanks to Radix and its correspondents on this topic -

James


"There is a crucial element missing from your 
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/jan/20/haiti-waiting-for-washington>editorial 
(20 January). Transparency International's Perceived Corruption Index 
(2009) shows Haiti at 168 in a total of 180 countries. The higher the 
figure, the more is the extent of corruption as perceived by 
indigenous observers. Corrupt practice ensures that buildings will 
more readily collapse in earthquakes, contracts and permissions are 
skewed, inspections and supervision are bribed, and construction 
processes are depleted by the omission or substitution of crucial 
materials and requirements. The same applies in Haiti as is quoted 
from <http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/afghanistan>Afghanistan: 
"bribery is a crippling tax on people who are already among the 
world's poorest" 
(<http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/jan/19/corruption-afganistan-un-karzai>Report, 
20 January).

Declarations from donor governments and NGOs that fraud, bribery and 
backhanders will not be tolerated, and that all financial dealings 
will be transparent, would ensure endemic corrupt practice comes to 
the surface instead of remaining covert and unspoken. Starting this 
now, in the relief phase, as a mutual code for donors and recipients 
alike, would appropriately set the stage for even larger sums of 
money in reconstruction.

James Lewis
Marshfield, Gloucestershire"
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