The government of Trinidad and Tobago has dismissed the latest report by Transparency International's (TI) perception of corruption index that puts the country at an all time low. Energy Minister Conrad Enill, who is also the chairman of the governing People's National Movement (PNM) said the talk of corruption is just that and it's not real.
"And as with any perception index, the more you talk about corruption the more people are going to think that there is corruption, because it is in their face. But it is not truth. It is a perception," Enill said.
He added, "Because it is a perception, it is not truth."
TI ranked Trinidad and Tobago at 79 out of 180 countries, down from the previous year when it was listed at 72.
The rating shows that Trinidad and Tobago is perceived to be more corrupt than 21 of the 53 countries attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) this week.
Apart from the low ranking, TI gave Trinidad and Tobago a score of 3.6 out of a maximum of 10.
Read the story: T&T drops to 3.6 out of 10 on 2009 TI corruption index
According to the organization any country that is below five is perceived to be "highly corrupt" and a cause for great concern. The country has been sliding down the corruption index since the PNM government took office.
In 2002 it placed 33. The next year it was down 10 points to 43 and was 51 in 2005. In 2006, it went down a further eight points to 59, and dived 20 points in the two following years, to 79.
Read the related story: Transparency International highlights Monteil scandal in 2009 report on T&T
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