Professor Trevor Munroe (second left), executive director of the National Integrity Action (NIA), in discussion with (from left) Andrew Colburn of USAID, Fitz Jackson and Minister of Justice Delroy Chuck at NIA’s St Andrew office yesterday. The occasion was to present the findings of the 2017 Corruption Perception Index.

Jamaica has risen 15 places in the latest Corruption Perception Index (CPI) released yesterday by Transparency International, but the gains could easily be eroded if delays in the full appointment of a chief justice are prolonged.

That was the warning of the executive director of National Integrity Action (NIA) Professor Trevor Munro in presenting the latest CPI index score at his offices in St Andrew.

In a thinly veiled jab at Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s decision, Munro warned that the unprecedented move to appoint Bryan Sykes as an acting chief justice could open the door for any future prime minister with an agenda to seek to influence the course of justice.

“In the current context, we need to make it clear, to whom it is not clear, that further delay in the full appointment of the chief justice can seriously erode the gains made in the Corruption Perception Index of 2017,” Munro said.

In the 2017 report, Jamaica was placed 68th out of 180 countries. This is coming from its 83rd position out of 176 countries in 2016. Jamaica had fallen 14 places in the 2016 index, 14 places worse than its 69th place in 2015.

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