Tegucigalpa.
natural phenomena and corrupt institutions have given “serious blows” to Honduras, a country that has fallen from 26 to 24 points out of 100 in its 2020 corruption perception index, the lowest in eight years, according to a report in Tegucigalpa on Thursday.
“It is clear that natural forces and corrupt institutions have hit Honduras hard. The consequences for transparency have been reflected in the score of 24 in the 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, a record level in 2012,” he said. Association for a fairer society (ASJ), the local chapter of International transparency (TI).
He points out that the arrival of the covid-19 pandemic was the first external force to “marginalize the public and economic health” of Hondurans.
“The intersecting economic and health crises have also exacerbated poverty, disrupting employment, health care and education,” he said.
In addition to the pandemic, Honduras suffered in 2020 the “worst” natural disasters of the century tropical storms Eta and Iota, which hit the country in November, leaving 94 dead, 4 million people affected and the destruction of all kinds of infrastructure and crops, he adds.
“Instead of strengthening Honduras’ ability to recover from these disasters, political and economic elites have rejected the rule of law, further threatening Hondurians to prosper, “the survey said.
Corruption will undermine the recovery
He says that “the weakness of the institutions has contributed to the lack of preparedness to deal with disasters to which is added the alarming lack of planning in the purchase of supplies related to covid-19, excessive prices in health care and opaque agreements in procurement between the seven mobile hospitals. , of which only one is in operation. “
Over the past decade, Honduras has suffered “millions in losses and major setbacks” in the fight against corruption and impunity, and it is “essential” that the fight against corruption “does not lag behind” in the face of recovery.
It emphasizes the importance of “strengthening the internal audit processes of public institutions, with independence and capacity, as well as ensuring compliance with the State Public Procurement Law, certification of public purchasers and investigation of acts of corruption”.
Honduras does not yet have a strategy against covid-19 and this lack of clarity “endangers citizens and the recovery of about $ 1 billion in economic losses from pandemic“, He added.
“Corruption will inevitably undermine the recovery by diverting much-needed resources from those who need them into the pockets of the corrupt,” the IT document said, adding that it is essential that leaders with a transparency mindset ensure that these funds reach the most needy communities. “
Executive Director of ASJ, Honduran IT Chapter, Carlos Hernandez, said it was “urgent” for Honduran officials to comply with the law State contracts law, “Be able to conduct transparent, efficient procurement processes and contracts that help reduce corruption”.
“No impunity is another element, the corrupt must be punished and it is important that the Public Ministry conducts its investigations diligently and punishes them within the provisions of the law,” he stressed.
He stressed that “no less important is the mobilization of citizens. Silence makes us complicit, we must report any act of corruption, we must organize, we must mobilize. We cannot continue to tolerate corruption, because corruption kills.”
Shady anti-corruption efforts
“The state of anti-corruption efforts is just as bleak” in the Central American country, which has experienced “major failures” in the fight against impunity with the end Honduras’ mission to support corruption and impunity (MACCIH), which depended on the Organization of American States (OAS), adds the report.
Since his “premature” disappearance, Honduran courts have “further undermined the authority of the Attorney General’s Office to investigate corruption and dismissed allegations in several cases of MACCIH“.
Honduran lawmakers, some investigated for corruption, have also adopted a new penal code that has reduced the penalties for this scourge and drug trafficking in Honduras, where “allegations of drug trafficking against public leaders, including the current president, persist.” Juan Orlando Hernández), this codification of impunity is very worrying, “the report says.