O.A.S. Hosts a Seminar on Corruption

A seminar on corruption was held today at the Radisson in Belize City. Organized by the O.A.S., the session is an offshoot of the April 2018 Summit of the Americas which was held in Lima, Peru. The seminar, which was mandated by the Heads of States and Government, brought together civil society organizations, social actors and members of the business community and government representatives to commit themselves to the fight against corruption. But how is that cultural shift acquired? O.A.S. Representative in Belize, Starret Greene says that one of the biggest challenges is the lack of protection for whistleblowers.

Starret Greene

Starret Greene, O.A.S. Representative, Belize

“The first part focuses on the Summit of the Americas and the outcomes of that event and then at the second session, we will be talking about what civil society organizations and other actors in Belize can do and how they can do it to fulfil the mandate of preventing, minimising or eradicating corruption.”

Duane Moody

“What are the challenges that are coming forward in terms of the issue of corruption that we are seeing in the country?”

Starret Greene

“One of the challenges and that was just mentioned by the trade unions here is the lack of whistleblower protection in current legislation. And because that does not exist, it prevents good people, who see things that are going wrong from speaking because it creates fear that should they speak, they may be victimised. And so that came out very forcefully. People need to be educated about corruption and education starts in our schools and that of course would call for some adjustment in the curriculum. That is an important issue because as has been stated, corruption is with the individual and if we could strengthen our moral fortitude, then people will not be engaged in wrongdoing if there is that high sense of moral integrity.”