Thursday May 26^th, 2022 – Grenada is being featured as a success story in a publication put out by the Commonwealth Secretariat. The book titled “Combatting Corruption in the Commonwealth Caribbean”, is the product of a four year study (2017 to 2021) commissioned by the Public Sector Governance Unit of the Commonwealth Secretariat, geared towards capacity building in Anti-Corruption Agencies in Commonwealth developing countries.

The 164-page book, was launched on Monday at the start of the annual Conference of the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies (CCAICACB) held in St. Kitts.

The publication highlights the ways in which six Commonwealth Caribbean countries, namely the Bahamas, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, have made significant progress in fighting corruption. 

In the foreword, Grenada was described as having a “well above the average” score on the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International (TC) for the last five years.

In referencing earlier reputational damage, the writer found that, “This is particularly noteworthy as, during the late 1990s and early part of the 2000s, the country was seen as a haven for fraudulent off-shore banking transactions and suffered much reputational damage. 

“However, the Government then moved decisively to strengthen institutional arrangements to address corruption and promote good governance.”

During that period, the Grenada Integrity Commission (GIC), the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), the Office of the Ombudsman and the Grenada Authority for the Regulation of Financial Institutions (GARFIN) were set up.

Since then, Grenada, through the efforts of the GIC, has forged numerous alliances, signed on to international conventions and treaties and participated in regional and international conferences in an attempt to “address corruption and promote good governance”.

In the Chapter on Grenada, the work of various financial and regulatory institutions were commended. These included the Fiscal Responsibility Oversight Committee (FROC) for its contribution to “improved economic/ fiscal management, adherence to established targets and asking the correct questions aimed at problem solving”; the media and civil society for their roles in the “fight against corruption by way of advocacy and sensitization”; and the Integrity Commission’s focus on asset declaration, which it says “augurs well for open, accountable and transparent government,  forms part of the fundamental principles that sustain the trust of the population and gives authority to executive powers of the state.”

From interviews and focus groups with individuals, the Commonwealth Secretariat’s publication, stated that there was an “observable contradiction” in public perception on corruption in the country and has described the situation as “an ‘average perception’ as it relates to the level of corruption within the public sector but a low perception of corruption within the private sector”. In its poll, “40 per cent of interviewees/stakeholders rated corruption in the public sector at 6, whereas 50 per cent of interviewees/stakeholders’ rated corruption in the private sector at 4” – where 1 is low and 10 is high. 

The document stated that this “uncertain corruption environment” is less inviting for public officers to engage in corrupt practices adding that “Grenada’s CPI score can be partly explained by accepted societal norms, beliefs and values.”

One of the challenges identified in fighting corruption in Grenada, is the smallness of the country’s population and the unwillingness of people to be whistleblowers for fear of victimization.

“However, Grenada demonstrates that, with strong political will, a country with a high level of corruption can be transformed to a low corruption country,” the publication stated. It was summarized that with political and collaborative will, a country can punch above its weight.