Anti‐corruption efforts in the Caribbean: are we doing enough?

Purpose - The Caribbean countries referenced in the paper are parties to the Inter‐American Convention against Corruption and to its Follow‐up Mechanism (MESISIC). The convention has been in force for more than a decade, and the follow up mechanism has just completed its first round of review. The purpose of this paper is to provide timely and useful information as to the progress made in reducing corruption. Design/methodology/approach - The paper discusses some of the legislative and other measures to combat corruption taking into account corruption perception indices. The MESISIC reports were the primary source of information for the purposes of this paper. Reference was also made to the corruption perception indices produced by Transparency International and the World Bank as well as reports in the local media in each country. Findings - It is found that the countries reviewed have taken substantial steps to combat corruption. It is also noted, however, that there were many areas of weakness, in particular lack of enforcement. In the circumstances, it is concluded that the countries reviewed were not doing enough to combat corruption and that much more needed to be done. Originality/value - The authors are not aware of any similar research or paper. This paper reviews and presents the position in all seven countries, and should be valuable to anyone who wishes to ascertain the steps which have been taken by these countries in relation to the fight against corruption.