Pres Ali just protested the score of 39 given to Guyana on a scale from zero (“highly corrupt”) to 100 (“very clean”) by “Transparency International” (TI). It’s said that “beauty is in the eyes of the beholder”, but is “corruption” also so defined?? We know of “the ugly baby only a mother could love”, but, on the other hand, are there also paragons of probity who’re seen as corrupt by others?
Well, over two decades ago – 1993, to be exact – a group of ex-World Bank/UN workers from Germany, who must’ve been exposed to corrupt governments across the world, decided to form TI, to rate the corruption perception of countries. TI now have a global network of more than 100 National Chapters and Individual Members; a Board of Directors; an International Council; Chair and Vice-Chair; and the Chief Executive Officer, who’s leading the operations in Berlin. Wow…how they’ve grown!! But how?? Well, they’re not alone in their mission to oust “corrupt” governments. Another group that has been doing its bit is USAID – that’s been in the news lately!! On its site, it explained the dangers of corruption: “From impeding service delivery, to exacerbating humanitarian emergencies, to stoking conflict — corruption undermines human dignity and collective progress. That is why USAID has prioritised investments in anti-corruption — building on decades of efforts alongside local partners that promote transparency, accountability, and integrity.”
Isn’t that noble?? We shouldn’t be surprised that USAID – which worked with the World Bank – also hooked up with TI. As it boasted in one of its publications: “USAID’s partnerships with international NGOs have likewise yielded impressive results. For instance, the support that USAID’s Bureau for Global Programs, Field Support, and Research has provided to Transparency International (TI) has helped to heighten international recognition of corruption as a development problem and promote the broader participation of citizens in the fight against corruption. Specifically, USAID and other donor contributions have enabled TI to develop and disseminate the TI Source Book, which documents best practices, and the widely-known Corruption Perception Index, which has caused a number of countries to take their own corruption problems more seriously. These contributions have also helped TI to sponsor regional and international anti-corruption workshops, and foster local TI chapters in more than 70 countries worldwide”. The neo-liberal billionaire George Soros has also funded TI!! Imagine that!!
But now that the Trump administration has declared USAID as “corrupt”, and has frozen its funding, what’s to be done about the cancer of corruption while it excises the mote (plank?) of corruption in USAID, and by extension TI’s eyes!?!
Shouldn’t we now examine the mote in our local TI affiliate, that was pointed out by Pres Ali in its treatment of the APNU/AFC regime??
Follow the money??
…of Trump
Who says Trump’s a narcissist?? Remember Narcissus, the fella from Greek mythology who was so impossibly handsome that he fell in love with his own image, reflected in a pool of water?? Even the lovely nymph Echo couldn’t tempt him from his self-absorption. Well, Trump has shown some signs, hasn’t he?? Back in 2020, the book “Unfit: The Psychology of Donald Trump” – based on the testimony of several mental health professionals – labelled the US president a “malignant narcissist.”
Trump memorably hit back by declaring himself a “very stable genius”!! But in his meetings with Indian PM Modi during Trump I and just now in II, a case MIGHT be made that Trump isn’t actually a “MALIGNANT narcissist”!! Imagine, the President repeatedly expressed admiration for Modi, saying, “He’s doing a great job in India; everybody talks about it.” Of course, Modi also laid it on a bit thick: “I thank you for your warm words and I firmly believe that every person in India (that’s 1.4 billion persons!) respects your sentiments”!!
…of Burnham
It’s accepted that a baby’s born when it enters the world. But according to the PNC, the same ain’t true for their party. They celebrated the 70th anniversary of the PNC – from 1955, when it wasn’t even PPP-Burnham!!
