A survey by an international anti-corruption watchdog shows the Caribbean needs to do more to address corruption. The 2005 Corruption Perceptions Index was published by Germany-based Transparency International. Of the eight Caribbean nations listed in the index, only one gets a score higher than five out of a possible ten – Barbados ranked at 24th. Haiti is the lowest ranked Caribbean nation, at 155 out of 159. In this year's survey, the anti-corruption watchdog makes a strong link between poverty and corruption. They pointed out that corruption is a major cause of poverty as well as a barrier to overcoming it. This is certainly the case with Haiti, the poorest nation in the hemisphere. Haiti’s position is slightly better than last year when it was the most corrupt nation on the planet. This year, the French-speaking Caribbean nation received a perception rating of 1.8 out of ten, as opposed to 1.5 in 2004. Marilyn Llian, of the Transparency International's Haiti office said some effort has been made by the interim government to deal with corruption. Severe levels "An anti-corruption unit was created last September 2004, and they've been very active and I believe there is a limit nevertheless to what a transitional government can do," she said. She said problem areas for Haiti were public administration, the justice system, and the police force but stressed that until there was a parliament in place, there would be no progress in the fight against corruption. Even though Barbados was highly-ranked at 24th with a rating of 6.9, this was down from 7.4 last year. Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, Jamaica, Suriname, the Dominican Republic, Guyana all got ratings of below four which indicates serious to severe levels of corruption. Guyana's ranking of 117 and rating of only 2.5 was a shock to some sections of the country’s private sector. Gerry Gouveia, Georgetown Chamber of Commerce president told BBC Caribbean Radio he was "disappointed" at the country’s low ranking. Mr Gouveia said he could not blame the government entirely for the perceived increase in corruption in Guyana. He believes if there are people in the private sector who are engaging in illegal practices, they are as much the cause of the problem. "I don’t know the detail of where the corruption was found, but if businessmen are bribing and corrupting public officials, they are just as to much to blame as the government," he said. "The private sector will have a role to play in any anti-corruption strategy." Transparency International has urged nations to promote strong coordination among governments, the private sector and civil society to increase efficiency and sustainability in anti-corruption and good governance. The Corruption Perceptions Index is a poll of polls, reflecting the views of business people, academics and public officials about how countries they live in or do business with are perceived. Reprinted from bbccaribbean.com