The Oil of Corruption

June 30th, 2018

Oil is nasty stuff. Not coconut oil or olive oil, of course. I am talking about petroleum – crude oil, light sweet oil (sounds tasty, but not), Brent crude, and so on. I just read on a travel page that guests at an Azerbaijani hotel bathe in the stuff, believing it to have therapeutic qualities. […]

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We Don’t Need a Knight in Shining Armour, We Need a Team

January 31st, 2018

I have been following the ongoing debate over the outgoing Commissioner of Police George Quallo and his alleged failings; and about what kind of person should be selected to replace him. Should it be someone from outside the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF)? A foreigner, perhaps? A Jamaica Defence Force officer? Should it be an experienced […]

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National Integrity Action Works With Communities: Part 1 – Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre

July 19th, 2017

“Corruption is basically about opportunity. And risk.” So said Professor Anthony Harriott of the University of the West Indies during a radio interview. Those who are considering getting involved in a corrupt act weigh things up: opportunities and risks. If the former outweighs the latter, then a wrong turn can be taken, so easily. It […]

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Since Everyone is Talking About Crime…

June 18th, 2017

It seems everyone and his grandmother is talking about crime, these days. Everyone, from the loquacious cab driver, to the politician putting his foot in his mouth, to the all-knowing esteemed columnist has something to say. They talk about the causes of our high crime rate: Bad parenting – absent fathers, struggling mothers Slavery – […]

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Opening the Corruption Can of Worms

May 31st, 2017

The “C-word” is back in the news again this week, after the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) and National Integrity Action (NIA) held a Monday evening forum, highlighting the results of CaPRI’s latest research and hammering on about the same old issues that never seem to go away. Where are the solutions? There we are. […]

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Corruption Kills

March 17th, 2015

Just as the sun set over the UTech campus this evening, the Chair of Transparency International (TI) José Carlos Ugaz made this dramatic assertion. The steadily growing audience (and it was a very decent-sized crowd, including many young people) sat up and took notice. The occasion was the University of Technology (UTech)/National Integrity Action (NIA) […]

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