With today (December 9) being commemorated globally as International Anti-Corruption Day, the Professor Trevor Munroe-led National Integrity Action (NIA) this morning hosted a session focused on highlighting good governance challenges facing Jamaica.

The press conference was held at the University of the West Indies (Mona) Faculty of Law.

The 2022 International Anti-Corruption Day seeks to highlight the crucial link between anti-corruption, peace, security and development. This year’s theme is uniting the world against corruption.

Munroe, the principal director of the NIA, in his address, said unity was an absolute necessity at the global and national level more so now than ever.

Corruption is a global issue that continues to plague more than 100 countries and efforts to combat it have been at a standstill, even despite the financial cost it incurs on nations.

“The actual vast cost of corruption to the global economy is at this point US$2.6 trillion and just a very small fraction of that annually could eliminate world hunger, including hunger in Jamaica,” Monroe said.

He noted that there is a great number of countries that struggle to reduce corruption within their societies.

“And so it is that the cost of corruption is equally vast in the 131 countries, including Jamaica, which have not made significant progress in reducing or combating corruption effectively over the last few years.”

Today Jamaica faces many issues which threaten prosperity and stability for its citizens. The issue of corruption is intertwined in most of them and continues to be a burden on the country’s finances.

In Jamaica, the cost of corruption is estimated to be about five per cent of the annual GDP which is approximately J$100 billion.

“Only on the basis of developing this unity can our people hope to recover significant funds from that $100 billion lost to organised crime and to the corrupt each year,” Munroe said.

He continued: “If we redirect our efforts, then can we regain what is stolen. Just imagine what a fraction of that could do. It could be used to expand our school feeding programme, to reduce the burden of student loans on our students’ backs, it could help in improving compensation packages for health care workers and police officers.”

He said Jamaicans should examine the cost of corruption from this angle, and only then they would see the important need to unite against corruption.

“If we look at it like that, we will say that we need to unite and reignite our efforts to deal more effectively with corruption.”

Munroe urged Jamaicans to adapt the global theme of the International Anti-Corruption Day to the country’s own circumstances.

“Therefore, let each of us fulfill our responsibilities required to help in reuniting Jamaica.”

He said the NIA has reaffirmed its goal of not just building integrity and good governance but uniting Jamaicans against corruption.