PRIME Minister Allen Chastanet says he is all for fighting corruption, but some of the rules of engagement make it difficult for countries like Saint Lucia to compete.
On Saturday, PM Chastanet attended the 2018 Summit of the Americas in Peru, where leaders signed “The Lima Commitment” — a 56-point document that outlines anti-corruption efforts, like more cross-border cooperation and tightening of anti-graft laws.
But, as reported by the Miami Herald, “it wasn’t an uncontested stance.” as Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Allen Chastanet “said he fully supported anti-corruption efforts, but worried that extra rules and bureaucracy would make it hard for small countries like his to compete.”
“Transparency should not be so onerous that it takes precedence over development,” the Saint Lucia PM said, adding that “Impractical and subjective mechanisms are unsustainable.”
Bolivia’s President Evo Morales also joined Chastanet in criticizing the mechanisms to fight corruption, saying that “the war on corruption” — like the war on drugs and war on terror — would be used by the United States and others as an excuse to “topple legitimate governments.”
“The main threat against democracy, against peace, against freedom … against multilateralism is the United States,” he said.