1. Emancipation Park Speech: Taking Responsibility, It is Something We All
Have to Do.
As we gather today in this park dedicated to emancipation let us
be very aware that the freedom for which our ancestors struggled
and for which we continue to seek after, is not unbridled freedom
to do nothing about our current conditions. It is not a license for
inaction and silence. I say to you today that with freedom there is
responsibility. And it is with this in mind that I bring to you today
an encouragement, a charge, to take responsibility. Allow me
today in the next twenty minutes to focus on one topic which is
close to home for all of us, and which illustrates the theme of
taking responsibility. That is corruption. We are putting the
finishing touches on a detailed report on corruption which will be
available on the TRP website in a few weeks time. My speech is
just an overview of the larger report. For greater detail please see
our website.
1

2. Almost all of us agree that corruption is destroying our land.
Greed and selfishness are impoverishing our country. Money that
is meant to be spent building the country’s roads, schools and
hospitals is instead finding its way into private bank accounts.
Public officials, including police officers, turn a blind eye to crime
and abuses in return for a little bly. We decry it, but feel we can do
nothing about the wickedness of politicians.
But what do we really know about corruption? Looking at the
facts, can we conclude that corruption is as serious a problem as
we suppose? The answer is no, and yes; but not for the reasons we
have traditionally supposed.
Let us begin with the first question: what do we know about
corruption? Actually, quite a lot. Jamaica is hardly the only
country in the world to suffer from corruption. It is found in every
corner of the globe. How do we measure up to our Caribbean
neighbours and the rest of the world? (GRAPH 1 right here).
2

3. The lower the score is the more corrupt a country is considered.
Transparency International formulated a Global Corruption
Barometer that assesses the sectors most likely to be characterized
by corruption.
GRAPH 2 RIGHT HERE
Global Sectors Most Affected by Corruption
Tax Revenue
Business/Private Sector
Legal system/judiciary
Sectors
Series1
Police
Legislature/Parliaments
Political Parties
3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4
Range
As we see from this table, political parties are the most corrupt
sector globally.
3

4. Jamaica appears to conform to this pattern of the major sectors
affected or characterized by corruption, with the exception that the
police force is perceived as being the most corrupt of public
bodies, followed by political parties and the legislature, the
business sector, legal system and finally tax revenue rounding off
the top 5 most corrupt sectors in Jamaica. As a part of our research,
this project conducted an extensive survey of citizens’ attitudes
towards state and society. One thing we found is that 95 % of the
respondents are of the view that the police do not treat citizens
equally GRAPH 3 HERE.
Globally, the difference appears to have lain not in the scale
of corruption, but in its character. When corruption is used to
support consumption – and worse, consumption of imported luxury
goods – it causes money to leave the economy. You just have to
stroll through some capitals of many developing countries and see
the number of Mercedes Benzes on the streets to know that some
4

5. of the most under-developed economies have an over consumption
of luxury goods while characterized by persistent poverty.
Seen this way, how does Jamaica measure up? The truth is,
we don’t know for sure. But on the face of it, there is little
evidence of the sort of large-scale capital outflows, or fantastic
opulence that is found in truly corrupt countries like the
Philippines under Ferdinand Marcos and Haiti under the
Duvaliers.. The other thing worth noting is the sheer number of
transactions which take place in Jamaica without corruption. We
have all experienced requests for payments to “speed up the
process.” But this is not a systematic practice as it is in some
countries, where simply no business occurs without some payment
being made under the table. In short, corruption may be morally
offensive. It is probably also unjust, in that it favours those who
have means to pay over those who don’t. But there seems to be a
weak case at best that corruption is directly damaging to our
growth prospects.
5

6. Does that mean that corruption is not a problem? No. Our
research suggests it is one of the most serious problems facing this
land. But not for the reasons we usually suppose. And when we
delve more deeply into the matter, what becomes clear is that the
corruption in Jamaica that is a problem is not the province of a few
greedy cops or bad-minded politicians. It affects almost all of us;
and, we all must take our share of responsibility for solving the
problem. GRAPH HERE entitled do you believe corruption is a
serious problem. 81 % of those surveyed believed that corruption
is a very serious problem, 17 % felt it was somewhat serious and
only 2 % responded that it was not a serious problem.
Our study of popular perceptions of the state, and of fellow
Jamaicans, our research has uncovered alarming levels of cynicism
and distrust. We have concluded that the perception of heightened
corruption regardless of the reality has the effect of eroding the
incentives for citizens to obey laws, pay taxes and to therefore lend
6

7. support and resources to both public and private institutions
necessary for economic growth and development.
More worrying still are levels of interpersonal trust. We
Jamaicans do not merely mistrust the state. We mistrust each other.
True, there has been a trend in many of the world’s democracies
towards lessening interpersonal trust. But Jamaica appears to be
moving off the charts.
Now if this doesn’t surprise you, it should. When citizens do
not trust their public officials and therefore their government and
worse, when they do not trust each other, one thing is certain: the
economy suffers. GRAPH HERE. On Jamaican government
Over 80 % believe that the Jamaican government is somewhat or
has a great deal of corruption it means that our support for elected
officials does not move significantly beyond electing them. On
this, the comparative research is clear, and the theoretical case is
well developed. Trust is the glue which holds an economy
together. I repeat trust is the glue which holds the economy
together. Jamaicans also do not trust the business sector either,43
7

8. % believes there is some corruption , while 41 % feels there is a
great deal of corruption. GRAPH HERE on Business Sector.
Interestingly enough, the private sector was perceived as being
more corrupt than the public sector, with over 87 % perceiving
businesses as corrupt while around 84 % percent believed the
public sector is corrupt. In the jargon of economics, there is an
inverse correlation between trust and transaction costs: when trust
is low, transaction costs go up. When transaction costs go up, the
volume of transactions declines. And when the volume of
transactions remains flat, the economy grows slowly if at all. This
appears to be the state in which Jamaica finds itself.
When citizens feel there is a misuse of public funds many justify
their unwillingness to pay taxes out of the belief that it is simply
being used to line the pockets of elected officials and their
associates. The slow development of the island’s infrastructure and
areas such as the poor road network were taken by many to be
visible evidence that public funds were being siphoned off. For
Jamaica to become better for all, the partnering between our
8

9. government and elected officials and we the people, must go
beyond contacting us and soliciting our votes. Trust is not just a
word that describes when we go to the shop to ask Miss Vie “truss
mi sommen til Ben Johnson or pay day nuh”
It’s really not that difficult to see. How many businesses trust
their clients enough to give them credit? Not many. But where
credit is easy to get, sales go up. Just look at the US or Canada. In
contrast, how many counters or corner stores throughout this land
insist on taking payment through a grill before they will deliver
you the product? How many shops treat each person that comes
through their doors as a potential thief rather than a potential
customer? It’s hardly an invitation to shoppers.
And the problem goes deeper still. Jamaicans do not trust
their courts, and they do not look to them as a useful means of
resolving conflicts. GRAPH HERE on administration of justice.
Well over 60 % of the respondents believe that the administration
of justice system favours the rich. The declining confidence and
trust in public institutions does not mean that some citizens do not
9

10. seek out justice. There is strongly emerging the reality of alternate
justice mechanisms, either through vigilantism or parallel systems
that exist in many places. But if people don’t trust courts to enforce
contracts, they avoid entering into legal contracts. Instead, they fall
back on the small network of people they trust to do jobs for them.
But this means that the best people for the job might not get it. It is
always bad for an economy to allocate resources inefficiently, but
as this example show, this is what happens in a society without
trust.
Worse yet, when people do enter into contracts with
strangers, but don’t look to the courts to enforce them, all manner
of extra-legal settlement results. Based on our crime research, we
are pretty confident in saying that Jamaica’s high rate of violent
crime is connected at least in part to this fact. Many citizens are
turning to force, guns and gunmen to enforce contracts when they
are not honoured. And this is not just happening in the drug trade.
It appears to be happening throughout the society. And do I need to
tell you how bad violence is for an economy?. On that, the research
10

11. is once again clear. It is slowing our potential growth rate, keeping
us from becoming the country we have the potential to be.
Let me be clear. If our land is to ever become a country that
did not turn away people hoping for a better life, but made it
possible for them to build that life right here, it will have to get
back on a rapid growth path. And to do that, we will need to
restore both our faith in the system, and our trust in one another.
This is where I challenge each and every one of us to be part
of the solution. Because if you don’t do your bit, you will be part
of the problem; and the problem will persist, and maybe even grow
worse. How corruption became such a problem in Jamaica is not
clear. It appears to be a function of past leadership failings, but the
point is irrelevant to this evening’s discussion. For the problem has
spread far beyond the level of political and private sector
leadership. And the fact is that corruption persists today because
most of us want it to. How many of us decry politicians for being
corrupt while defrauding each other in daily transaction. We cry
for justice, but do we treat each other fairly. How many of us have
11

12. been tempted or yielded to “tipping a public official to gimme a
bly”, and in the same breath after “beating the ticket or the line”
we call the police and the civil servant corrupt, what about us?
What about our behaviour
Yes, we must demand more of our leaders. Our research
suggests that the quality of Jamaica’s post-independence
leadership has been average at best, and that this has shown up in
the mediocre quality of our economic performance. But we have
gotten the leadership we deserve. We have gotten what we asked
for, and what we want. And if we are to demand better leadership,
we must be prepared to support and reward good leadership and be
willing to provide it for ourselves. Change begins at home. When
you wake up tomorrow, ask yourself what you can do to make
Jamaica a better place. And if the finger must be pointed in
accusation, point it in the mirror. Begin there to make Jamaica a
better place.
I’d like to invite all of you to join our dialogue about the
ways in which we believe Jamaica can be transformed. In the New
12

13. Year, we will be launching a series of public forums like this one.
We will look at some of the problems facing Jamaica, and at
possible solutions. We will be launching a newsletter, and invite
you to join our mailing-list and keep apprised of our activities.
Rather than assigning blame or venting steam, the purpose will be
to use our ongoing research to in form public debate. Above all, we
want to come up with practical and workable solutions to each of
our problems. Because at the end of the day, if ordinary Jamaicans
do not become involved in the process of national transformation,
it will never happen.
The problems facing Jamaica are real. In the course of our
research, we have uncovered large obstacles to Jamaica’s future
development. Crime is one. We have concluded from our studies
that if Jamaica continues to try to just muddle through, the risks of
criminal gangs actually penetrating the political system to the point
that they could control parts of it is imminent. Debt is another
problem. The scale of debt in this country is so great that the
Jamaican state risks collapsing under its weight, rendering itself
13

14. even more remote from its citizens’ lives. I do not want to sound
alarmist. We are actively looking for solutions to these problems,
looking at the experiences of other countries and seeing how
similar challenges have been met elsewhere. But what is clear is
that the solutions will require collective effort, not just the actions
of a few leaders.
And if there is one particularly bright ray of hope, it is this:
our research has revealed that despite all their cynicism and
mistrust, Jamaicans still believe in their state. They want it to
work; they want to make it work. They are not yet willing to give
up on a land they still love. GRAPH HERE. Over 60% of those
surveyed are very proud of being Jamaican, of their national flag,
anthem as well as their cultural and athletic performance. Despite
feelings of betrayal by our state 70 % still have some confidence in
the legal system and a similar number will report a crime to their
police rather than resorting to alternative justice mechanisms. We
found that national pride was greater than the things that divide us.
In other words Jamaicans have not given up on their state. The
14

15. point is that we believe that Jamaicans feel good about being
Jamaicans but they want their government and public officials to
do better, the fact is that we must all do better!!
It is an asset we should not underestimate, because many are the
young countries on this planet whose citizens have given up on
their national projects altogether. The future is ours: if only, if
only, we all take responsibility for it.
. Our concern is what we as Jamaicans need to do differently in
order for our economy to grow, to establish accountable
leadership, the development of our people and to do whatever we
can to stem the tide of crime and violence and to restore or even to
build the people’s confidence in our political system. The
overall goal of the project is to contribute to the raising of not only
public awareness but also public discourse and informed action: to
effect change by influencing our policymakers, politicians,
corporate Jamaica, the church, the academic community and
finally all Jamaicans. Please join us in building a better Jamaica.
15

16. And in the spirit of young people effecting change, the word
says, and a child shall lead them. I want to introduce a young girl
who has put ink to paper and penned a song that captures the
message of the effects of corruption. I present to you ten year old
__Alicia McGregor_____________________________
with her chart thumping song CORRUPTION, please make her
welcome.
16