This is clearly stated in the preamble to the interim report which was considered by Commonwealth Finance Ministers at their Cayman Islands meeting earlier this year. Good governance is not a luxury but a basic requirement for development. Corruption, which undermines development, is generally an outcome and a symptom of poor governance. It has reached global proportions and needs to be attacked directly and explicitly. This report, which was also accepted by Commonwealth Law Ministers when they met in Trinidad and Tobago in May and now goes before heads of government, is a major effort to underscore the importance of good and effective government in combating corruption.
Corruption is defined as the abuse of offices of trust for private gain.
It generally occurs when actors in the private sector interact with holders of offices of trust in the public sector. The latter includes politicians, public servants, judges, officers of the armed services and officials of privatised services. Ethics and Integrity in the Public and Private Sectors. Reforms are required to eliminate high-level political corruption, and measures proposed include the imposition of appropriate and adequate controls on the funding of political parties. Economic and Fiscal Policies.