SIDS must keep up corruption fight

President of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Dr Gene Leon has warned small island developing states (SIDS) in the region not to allow corruption to derail their climate fight efforts.

He made the call this morning while speaking at the CDB’s second annual Caribbean Conference on Corruption, Compliance, and Cybercrime, which is being held under the theme Ending Poverty and Driving Growth: Promoting Good Governance by Curbing Corruption, Money Laundering, and Cybercrime in the Caribbean.

Dr Leon said the recent COP26 conference highlighted the serious issues facing SIDS in the Caribbean and the challenges faced in securing financial assistance.

He said countries in the region could not afford for those monies garnered to help in the fight against climate change to be used inappropriately.

Dr Leon said the region’s current economic and social challenges should be more than enough incentive for countries to take the appropriate action.
He said instituting suitable systems for accountability and compliance was necessary for building investor confidence and attracting investment for the achievement of sustainable development.

“The conversation around corruption and climate finance is timely in the wake of the recently-concluded United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). As is the case in most SIDS, the need for climate finance and favourable access conditions is a matter of life and death for Caribbean countries. However, the sizeable financing required to address infrastructural and economic vulnerabilities and to recover from shocks, may also present opportunities for corruption. At all costs, access to affordable climate financing must be protected from mal-administration and corruption,” Dr Leon maintained.

“The U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre has warned that with vast sums being invested in mitigation and adaptation interventions, corruption is threatening the attainment of global climate change goals. Furthermore, the centre has advocated for the development of appropriate and effective anti-corruption tools and strategies to ensure climate finance is optimised for impact and success.

“This issue is of specific concern to the CDB, which is at the forefront of the drive to access affordable climate finance for our BMCs. Given the immense need throughout the region, our member countries cannot risk any form of sanction that could limit their access to these resources. We, therefore, urge our BMCs [borrowing member countries] to be vigilant and to put in place strong monitoring, compliance, and accountability frameworks to, not only secure climate financing, but to facilitate timely implementation of climate change interventions for the benefit of the peoples of our region.

“The importance of effective governance systems cannot be overstated, especially as the region will need to raise financing from private sources which already account for more than 50 per cent of available climate funding. A recent op-ed in the international online news magazine,The Diplomat, advised that to mobilise private investment in climaterelated initiatives, developing countries like those in our region, will need to have in place adequate procurement safeguards and effective anti-corruption enforcement mechanisms. As a corollary, without adequate and internationally recognised standards on procurement and other governance mechanisms, our ability to mobilise the much needed private investment will fall short,” Dr Leon further stated.

randybennett@barbadostoday.bb