World leaders were charged by the President of Peru, Martin Vizcarra, to adopt concrete commitments against corruption at the opening of the Summit of the Americas in Lima, Peru.
“We will take concrete actions to increase transparency in public works and in the financing of political parties, as well as to ask the private sector for a greater commitment in the fight against corruption,” President Vizcarra said.
The summit officially opened on Friday night at the Gran Teatro Nacional. Heads of State and Delegations were welcomed by President Vizcarra and the First Lady. Second Vice-President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carl Greenidge is representing Guyana at the summit.
The President noted that corruption must not be accepted “as if it were natural or inevitable” and stressed the need to “fight this scourge in a frontal way” since “the poorest are the ones who have the least weapons to defend themselves against this scourge.”
Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Organisation of American States (OAS), His Excellency Luis Almagro, told world leaders that politics must not be seen as a way to make money.
“We’ve got to fight, we’ve got to struggle on. It isn’t easy but it is necessary. Only that will be the road that will lead to a transformation of our democracies to end impunity and build belief in justice,” Almagro said.
A roadmap on international solidarity must be developed if the Lima Commitment has a chance to be implemented, the Secretary-General noted.
The summit process is facilitated by the OAS every three years. The theme for this year’s meeting is “Democratic Governance against Corruption”. World leaders are expected to adopt the Lima Commitment at the close of the summit on April 14.
According to the Department of Public Information (DPI) Guyana has been taking steps to address the issue of corruption in public offices. Its efforts have since seen it moving 17 spaces up on the Transparency International Corruption Perceptions Index of 2017.
