CORRUPTION POLL BY VANDERBUILT UNIVERSITY SHOW BELIZE IS BADLY CORRUPT AND IT IS THE FAULT OF THE UDP. PERCEPTION HAS IT THAT THE PUP WOULD BE MUCH WORSE THOUGH?

 CORRUPTION IN LATIN AMERICA STARTS AT THE TOP WITH PRESIDENTS AND PRIME MINISTERS, NEW POLL BY VANDERBUILT UNIVERSITY SHOWS.

COUNTRIES LIKE HAITI, BOLIVIA AND VENEZUELA REPORT CORRUPTION SURVEY OVER 40%.   MEXICO, PERU AND HONDURAS RUN ABOUT 20%.   COLOMBIA 16 %,

BIG SURPRISE - BRAZIL HAS ONE OF THE LOWEST CORRUPTION. AT 11%.   LAST YEAR MORE THAN A DOZEN CABINET MINISTERS  LOST THEIR CABINET POSITIONS; WITH A VERY POWERFUL RULING PARTY POLITICIAN, JOSE DIRCEU, WAS SENTENCED TO A 10 YEAR PRISON SENTENCE.

THE BEST COUNTRY OF ALL, FOR CORRUPTION CONTROL TURNS OUT TO BE CHILE, WITH ONLY 6%.

THIS CORRUPTION POLL IS DONE EVERY TWO YEARS AND THE MOST CORRUPT COUNTRIES ARE ECUADOR, BOLIVIA, HAITI AND HONDURAS,

  INTERESTINGLY ECUADOR INCREASED IN THE LAST TWO YEARS AND DOUBLED TO 41%.  WHILE BRAZIL DECREASED IN CORRUPTION TO ONLY 11%.

THE STUDY SHOWED THAT COUNTRIES WITH LOW TOLERANCE TO CORRUPTION, PARTICULARLY AMONG THE POLITICIANS, AND AND ALSO GAVE PRISON SENTENCES TO THOSE GUILTY.  WHEN PEOPLE SEE THAT THE LEADERSHIP MEAN ANTI-CORRUPTION, THEN CIVIL SERVANTS ARE MORE HONEST AND SO ARE THE POPULATION IN GENERAL.  IN BRAZIL, WHEN HARSH PENALTIES ( LOSS OF CABINET POSITIONS AND JAIL SENTENCES ) ACCOMPANIED CRACK DOWNS ON CORRUPTION FOR POLITICIANS, THE BRAZIL CORRUPTION POLL ACTUALLY DROPPED BY MORE THAN HALF.   IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT CHILE TURNS OUT TO BE THE LOWEST NUMBER OF BRIBERY CASES.

THE MORE REGULATIONS YOU HAVE, THE MORE GOVERNMENT INSPECTORS YOU HAVE, THE HIGHER THE CORRUPTION POLL RATING.  BRAZIL SHOWS THAT CORRUPTION STARTS WITH THE PERMISSIVE ATTITUDE BY THE POLITICAL PARTY IN POWER, AT THE TOP OF THE GOVERNMENT PYRAMID. 
      TO FIGHT CORRUPTION IN BELIZE, BOTH PRIME MINISTER, DEAN BARROW AND DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER, GASPA VEGA, HAVE TO BE PENALIZED.  
    IF THE VOTERS ACCEPT THAT SOME CORRUPTION IS INEVITABLE BY POLITICIANS AND POLITICAL PARTIES, THEN THE WHOLE COUNTRY TENDS TO GET WORSE FOR CORRUPTION. 

  In Belize, only low level clerks get penalized and even those cases tend to be a slap on the wrist.  While mid level government administrators simply get some bad publicity and then a lateral transfer within the political party controlled hiring process.  This is due to the possible fall out, by senior administrators ability to turn WHISTLE BLOWERS and implicate political leaders above them in the administrative food chain.