In 2019, the perception of corruption in public institutions increased in all countries of the region except Costa Rica, where it remained the same as in 2018.
As has been the case in recent years, Nicaragua's public sector continues to be perceived as the most corrupt in the region (transparency level 22 on a scale of 0 to 100), followed by Guatemala (26), Honduras (26), Dominican Republic (28), El Salvador (34), Panama (36), and Costa Rica (56).
The Dominican Republic, Panama and Honduras are the nations in the region where the majority of the population believes that corruption in governmentinstitutions has increased in the last twelve months.
The report "Barómetro Global de la Corrupción: América Latina y El Caribe 2019 - Opiniones y Experiencias de los ciudadanos en materia de corrupción" (Global Corruption Barometer: Latin America and the Caribbean 2019 - Opinions and Experiences of Citizens on Corruption), compiled by Transparency International and published on September 23, 2019, evaluated the perception of corruption in the countries of the region and some aspects of insecurity.
The power of public employees' guilds in the country was evidenced by the agreement that authorities of the Social Security Fund agreed to sign in order that employees of the entity may continue to enjoy privileges to the detriment of others.
EDITORIAL
Arguing that "judicializing" the strike was the only and best way out that could be achieved in the short term, the highest authorities of the Costa Rican Social Security Fund (CCSS) complied with the pressures of trade guild members, who with the desire to maintain the differential treatment they have enjoyed for many years, suspended access to basic health services, even carrying out actions as despicable as closing a blood bank and paralyzing equipment for cancer treatment.
During last year, the Panamanian state spent $3.925 million in salaries to public officials, 8% more than what was reported in 2017, a rise that is explained by the year on year increases reported in the first months of 2018.
Figures from the General Comptroller of the Republic detail that between 2017 and 2018, spending on salaries for public employees increased $298 million, going from $3.627 million to $3.925 million.
In 2018, the perception of corruption in public institutions increased in all countries in the region, except Panama, where it remained the same as in 2017, and El Salvador, where it slightly decreased.
As in previous years, Nicaragua's public sector continues to be considered the most corrupt in the region (level of transparency 25 on a scale of 0 to 100), followed by Guatemala (27), Honduras (29), El Salvador (35), Panama (37), and Costa Rica (56).
The Panamanian government has spent $2.580 million in salaries for civil servants from January to August this year, 10% more than had been reported in the first eight months of 2017.
According to figures from the Office of the General Comptroller between January and August 2017 and the same period this year, the expenditure on salaries for civil servants increased by $241 million, from $2,339 million to $2,580 million.
Like lemmings running towards a cliff, Costa Rica repeats the kind of actions that underscore the definition of a society incapable of stopping on the road to a terminal crisis.
Between January and June, the Panamanian State disbursed $1.915 billion in salaries to public officials, 12% more than the $1.708 billion reported in the first semester of 2017.
The Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic reported that the cumulative gross salary of the Public Sector payroll in June 2018 amounted to $333.3 million, of which $312.2 million corresponds to permanent officials and $21.1 million to interim staff.
The Panamanian State spends $321 million a month on salaries paid to public officials, well above the $209 million spent on this expense four years ago.
Monthly expenditure on public salaries has increased, especially during the Varela administration, as according to figures of the Ministry of Economy and Finance from March 2018, every month $113 million more is paid than in 2014.
In 2017, the perception of corruption in public institutions increased in all of the countries in the region, with the exception of Guatemala and Nicaragua, where it remained the same as in 2016, and in Costa Rica, where it decreased slightly.
The public sector still perceives Nicaragua to be the most corrupt country (transparency level 26 on a scale from 0 to 100), followed by Guatemala (28), Honduras (29), El Salvador (33), Panama (37) and Costa Rica (59).
The total amount disbursed by the government in payment of salaries up until October 2017 was $321 million, 18% more than in the same month in 2016.
According to a report by the Comptroller General of the Republic, a total of 233,111 posts were registered in October of last year, which are divided into 209,173 permanent and 23,938 contingent workers.By sector, 150,414 corresponded to the Central Government and 82,697 to the Decentralized Sector.
A savings fund, housing loans, expenses for recreation and bonuses, scholarships for children, and restaurant services for employees of the state and the monopolist hydrocarbons distributor of Costa Rica, are financed through the prices paid by consumers, even by the poorest.
Equality of citizens under the law, a defining feature of a democracy, it is a formality in Costa Rica, generating in practice wealth and privileges for some, and poverty and hopelessness for others.
OPINION - Jorge Cobas González - Director of CentralAmericaData
Some Costa Rican citizens - not a few - have "acquired rights" because they belong to one of the corporations to which the laws assigns multiple privileges, and others - an overwhelming majority - work to pay for the privileges granted to the former group.
The value of salaries for public employees increased by almost $80 million between June 2014 and April this year.
"...The payroll of employees in state institutions has not stopped growing in terms of number of employees and in salaries since 2014.Figures compiled by the Office of the Comptroller General of the Republic indicate that in June 2014, salary expenses were around $215 million, while in April this year the figure was $291 million."
"When you see that trading is done, not by consent, but by compulsion–when you see that in order to produce, you need to obtain permission from men who produce nothing–when you see that money is flowing to those who deal, not in goods, but in favors–when you see that men get richer by graft and by pull than by work, and your laws don’t protect you against them, but protect them against you–when you see corruption being rewarded and honesty becoming a self-sacrifice–you may know that your society is doomed."
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