Orville Taylor | Integrity and corruption

As the last of the African teams got eliminated from the World Cup and we get ready for the semi-finals, there are so many stories which are competing for my head space.
Indeed, some bizarre endings of games and a few questionable (in) decisions have set tongues wagging, with doubts being raised over the integrity of the entire process and FIFA itself. It certainly did not help that the American president deigned to comment on a red card, suspension and reinstatement of an American player, which did more to damage the image of the competition and organisation itself.
As a general rule, national sports associations affiliated to FIFA, World Athletics and the International Olympic Committee are, based on their constitutions, to be free from political interference, including from heads of state.
FIFA has had myriad issues with corruption. These include vote-buying, illicit financial dealings, bribery and many other travesties. Football and track and field are global sports. Therefore, we want to be relatively sure that the match-ups and results are of an impeccable standard and, as Jamaican love to say, “No bandoolo or chickeeny.”
On the local front, doubtless, the news that at least six members of the Houses of Parliament have been flagged by the Integrity Commission (IC), must be disturbing. After all, though idealistic, we would prefer if our politicians and public officials were as clean as France’s goalkeeper’s score sheet in the knockout round.
Although the suspicion is that the majority of the alleged offenders are government members, it is known that the IC has actually come down on opposition members as well. Truthfully, given that the majority of house members belong to the government side, and that ministerial and other kinds of fiduciary responsibility lie in the hands of government; it stands to reason that the majority would simply have more opportunity to run afoul.
Still, one is free to draw the conclusion by those statistics that there is more impropriety on the part of the government members than  of the Opposition. But, even one case of a breach of the laws relating to integrity is simply too, much and we would like to see zero.
Alas, that only exists in a perfect world. For me, despite all the attacks against it and attempts to denigrate both the commissioners and its public servants, the silver lining is that we live in a society in which such an entity as the IC exists.
That the prime minister himself and other members of government have felt the need to challenge the IC, and even that a small set of sycophants and extremists have tried to drag these hard-working people into a quagmire and labelled them as political hacks, is in fact a plus.
Truth is, in a stable democracy, one should be far more concerned that there is no discomfort expressed by our public officials over the scrutiny of the IC. Therefore, the commission is doing its job, and a good one at that.
Notwithstanding all of this criticism, and even the strange suggestion about giving some degree of oversight to another government entity over the commission, we have to accept that Jamaica is absolutely not one of the most corrupt countries on Earth.
We keep building narratives regarding the corruption perception index (CPI), a working tool of Transparency International and our local affiliate National Integrity Action.
Though clearly useful, because it measures what people think, it is not accurate in measuring corruption. As stated ad nauseam, it is an opinion poll; and yes, opinions matter, especially when they shape people’s perception of reality, because human beings act based on what is perceived, as opposed to what is real.
The conversation has long been had over the evidence regarding who has experienced corruption victimisation. Try as you may, the majority of Jamaicans has never personally experienced such corruption that it prevents them from having a normal life. For the record, this is not my opinion. It is actually the results of at least three international surveys, including that of Transparency International itself.
A country that is truly corrupt has: unfair elections, attempts to wrest control of the results of elections, undue influence over the appointment of judges, interference in judicial processes, severe sanctions taken against the press, and weak or absent mechanisms for reporting the misconduct of law enforcement.
Be not mistaken, however, we certainly do have corruption and I believe that there are politicians and public servants and other individuals who benefit improperly and cannot explain their riches. In a corrupt society, however, the consequences of even discussing the misconduct of public officials are too great to bear.
Having faceoffs between the IC and public officials, especially government ministers and others, is a sign of a healthy democracy.
Having Jamaicans for Justice eviscerate the errant members of the constabulary, or INDECOM and the police drawing swords against each other without fear, is not a bad sign.
Finally, when the IC recommends charges, including criminal ones, against sitting ministers, it might look bad on the surface. But the judicial process must be the same for the powerful as well as the powerless. The presumption of innocence, though a stretch of the imagination at times, is an inviolable principle of our democracy.
Still, if we want to move to close to zero corruption, including those relating to refusal to submit information to the IC or providing false information, we need better sanctions.
In the financial sector, if found guilty of any improper act, one cannot get re-employed anywhere in that industry. If lawyers breach serious legal ethics, they get disbarred.
Our highest appointees should have the highest thresholds.

Orville Taylor is senior lecturer at Department of Sociology at The University of the West Indies, a radio talk-show host, and author of ‘Broken Promises, Hearts and Pockets’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and tayloronblackline@hotmail.com