{"id":18108,"date":"2021-08-26T21:42:14","date_gmt":"2021-08-27T02:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev?p=18108"},"modified":"2021-08-26T19:04:34","modified_gmt":"2021-08-27T00:04:34","slug":"us-says-efforts-to-tackle-corruption-are-not-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/us-says-efforts-to-tackle-corruption-are-not-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"US Says Efforts To Tackle Corruption Are Not Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bahamas\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

THE United States continues to highlight the inadequacy of local legislation and enforcement efforts to combat corruption and conflicts of interest in public office.<\/p>\n

In its latest Investment report, the US said the political system of The Bahamas remains \u201cplagued by reports of corruption, including allegations of widespread patronage, the routine directing of contracts to political supporters, and favourable treatment for wealthy or politically connected individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US report on The Bahamas, which has changed little over the years, said efforts to enforce conflicts of interest rules related to government contracts remain limited.<\/p>\n

The Minnis administration passed new procurement rules in Parliament last year. The law will come into effect September 1, according to Financial Secretary Marlon Johnson.<\/p>\n

Campaign promises to enact campaign finance legislation and fully enact the Freedom of Information Act remain unfulfilled.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn May 2017, the current government won the election on a platform to end corruption,\u201d the report said. \u201cEarly in the administration, the government charged a number of former officials with various crimes including extortion and bribery, theft by reason of employment, and defrauding the government. These cases were either dismissed, ended in acquittals, or are ongoing. The government reported no new cases of corruption in the executive, legislative, and judicial branches during 2020. Nevertheless, three Cabinet Ministers resigned in the first three years of the current administration under allegations of corruption, including the Deputy Prime Minister, the Minister of Financial Services, and the Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Public Disclosure Act requires senior public officials, including senators and members of Parliament, to declare their assets, income, and liabilities annually. For the 2020 deadlines, the government gave extensions to all who were late to comply. The government did not publish a summary of the individual declarations, and there was no independent verification of the information submitted.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe campaign finance system remains largely unregulated, with few safeguards against quid pro quo donations, creating a vulnerability to corruption and foreign influence. The procurement process also remains susceptible to corruption, as it contains no requirement to engage in open public tenders, although the government routinely did so. In February 2021, the government passed the Public Procurement Bill (2020), which reportedly overhauls current governance arrangements for government contracts to improve transparency and accountability.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe absence of transparent investment procedures and legislation is also problematic. US and Bahamian companies alike report the resolution of business disputes often takes years and debt collection can be difficult even after court judgments. Companies also describe the approval process for FDI and work permits as cumbersome and time-consuming. The Bahamian government does not have modern procurement legislation and companies have complained the tender process for public contracts is not consistent, and that it is difficult to obtain information on the status of bids. In response, the current government passed a Public Procurement Bill and launched an e-procurement and suppliers registry system to increase levels of accountability and transparency. The Public Procurement Bill was passed in March 2021, but has not yet been fully enacted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The US noted that The Bahamas scored 63 out of 100 in Transparency International\u2019s most recent corruption index.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the country\u2019s scores have dropped eight points since 2012, perhaps indicating an erosion of transparency,\u201d the US said. \u201cThe Bahamas still lacks an Office of the Ombudsman to strengthen access to information, nor has it fully enacted its Freedom of Information Act (2017) or appointed an independent Information Commissioner. Although the current government is pursuing legislative reforms to strengthen investment policies, progress on these efforts has been mixed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

more\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

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image: pexels-cottonbro<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bahamas\u00a0 THE United States continues to highlight the inadequacy of local legislation and enforcement efforts to combat corruption and conflicts of interest in public office. In its latest Investment report,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1091,"featured_media":18109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[112],"tags":[157,166,121],"class_list":["post-18108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-newsdevelopments","tag-anti-corruption","tag-bahamas","tag-caribbean"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/pexels-cottonbro-5909798-scaled.jpg?fit=2048%2C2560&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6u9Qa-4I4","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":20919,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/top-us-trade-body-singles-out-bribes-of-convenience\/","url_meta":{"origin":18108,"position":0},"title":"Top US Trade Body Singles Out \u2018Bribes Of Convenience\u2019","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"February 24, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas \u00a0 The Bahamian political system is \u201cbeleaguered by reports of corruption\u201d, a newly-released US government report has asserted, singling out what it labelled as \u201csmall scale \u2018bribes of convenience\u2019\u201d. The US Trade Representative\u2019s Office, in its latest report on The Bahamas and other Caribbean nations that benefit from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7841451-scaled-e1645731888257.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7841451-scaled-e1645731888257.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7841451-scaled-e1645731888257.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-rodnae-productions-7841451-scaled-e1645731888257.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":36962,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wilson-dismisses-us-report-claiming-that-country-failing-to-follow-procurement-laws\/","url_meta":{"origin":18108,"position":1},"title":"Wilson dismisses US report claiming that country failing to follow procurement laws","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"November 3, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Bahamas FINANCIAL Secretary Simon Wilson rebuffed a claim in the United States\u2019 latest human rights report that The Bahamas is failing to effectively implement laws related to contracts and procurement. The report said the country has limited enforcement of conflict-of-interest and anti-corruption clauses in government contracts. Mr Wilson said\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Law-scrabble-tiles-CQF-Avocat-Pexels-e1649276824460.jpeg?fit=1024%2C684&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":18114,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/govt-must-talk-less-show-more-over-procurement-transparency\/","url_meta":{"origin":18108,"position":2},"title":"Govt Must Talk Less, Show More Over Procurement Transparency","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"August 26, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas It was really not my intention to write another article before September, but so much has been happening on the public procurement front lately that I believe I am duty bound to respond to these issues. On July 21, 2021, the US State Department released its annual Investment Climate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News\/Developments"","block_context":{"text":"News\/Developments","link":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/category\/newsdevelopments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668873-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668873-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668873-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/pexels-sora-shimazaki-5668873-scaled.jpg?fit=800%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":21542,"url":"https:\/\/projectcalls.com\/dev\/bahamas-struggling-with-the-execution-in-corruption-fight-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":18108,"position":3},"title":"Bahamas \u2018Struggling With The Execution\u2019 In Corruption Fight","author":"Mayra Bonilla Lopez","date":"April 7, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Bahamas \u00a0 The Bahamas is \u201cstruggling with the execution\u201d of anti-corruption safeguards, governance reformers are warning, with accountability and transparency \u201caspirational\u201d rather than real concepts. 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