At a time when corruption is rife and former governors, notably the United States' Rod Blagojevich, who just began his prison sentence, and Nigeria's James Ibori, who is still awaiting sentence, are being disgraced by their acts of corruption, Derrick McKoy, former contractor general of Jamaica and deputy leader of the University of the West Indies' Faculty of Law, has published a book, the first for the new faculty, aptly titled CORRUPTION.
These fairytale-iconical role models are not alone. They are joined by Brazilian Confederation of Soccer head Ricardo Teixeira; Yang Yimin, a former deputy chief of the Chinese Football Association; and even members of anti-corruption committees, among others. What is evident, then, is that corruption is rampant and transcends time and space, is untethered by geography, and presents challenges for those who seek to thwart it.
Speaking at the recent launch of McKoy's book at the newly constructed Faculty of Law on the University of the West Indies' Mona campus, Professor Trevor Monroe, master of ceremonies at the event, noted that there was "no other issue that has so preoccupied Jamaicans, Caribbean Commonwealth citizens, and indeed the global community over a sustained period of time than the matter of corruption".