Panama ranks low on corruption scale again
According to a recently released report by the organization Transparency International, Panama's corruption ranking has increased slightly, rising from 3.2 to 3.4.. Although the local papers try to put a positive spin on it, a .2% change toward the better is hardly worth bragging about when you are at 3.4 out of 10. The bottom line is that corruption is rampant throughout Panama's judiciary. Archaic civil law codes combined with a plethora of corrupt lawyers and judges mean justice is available to the highest bidder. Foreign investment is hampered when they ignore the rule of law and justice is nothing more than an auction. This will change only when the leadership gets serious about investigating and prosecuting those involved.
Corruption view improves
Panama continues to struggle with the perception that corruption permeates many levels of society, according to a recently released report by the organization Transparency International.
The organization published its annual Corruption Perception Index yesterday which showed that Panama's score had increased slightly, rising from 3.2 to 3.4. The survey, which is based on a variety of criteria, uses a 10-point scale with 0 meaning that a society is very corrupt and 10 meaning a country has little or no corruption.
This year, Panama is ranked below its neighbors. Colombia registered a score of 3.8 while Costa Rica received a rating of 5.1.
Panama registered an improvement in 2004, but experienced a sharp downturn in 2006.
According to the survey, poorer countries often suffer the dire consequences of a “corrupt judiciary and ineffective legislative control” of an unethical government.
Businessman Felipe Rodríguez, a member of the group Libertad Ciudadana, argued that corruption is one of the most serious problems facing society.
“It is becoming a more normal type of behavior,” he said. “It seems that cheating is normal, and that is dangerous for the country and its economy.”
In his view, bureaucracy and a lack of education contributes to the culture of corruption.
“We must do a better job, because where there is more bureaucracy, there will be more corruption,” he said.
Alma Montenegro de Fletcher, executive secretary of the Secretaría de Transparencia contra la Corrupción, said she plans to issue an opinion about the survey in the coming days.
