Panama, Nov 20 (Prensa Latina) The paralysis of investments and public works projects is emerging on Tuesday as the main consequence of the crisis in the construction sector in Latin America and the Caribbean, as a result of corruption.

In his opening speech at the session of the Forum to Strengthen Regional Dialogue on Transparency in Investment and Infrastructure Projects, the president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Luis Alberto Moreno, referred to the disastrous consequences of this phenomenon.

According to surveys, citizens' satisfaction with democracy has fallen to its lowest levels in the past two decades, 'and if you lose faith in it, you run the risk of losing it in all fields,' said the executive, who urged to find solutions to solve and prevent this problem, which has a negative impact on the economy of the countries of the region.

'We need to modernize our structures to grow, develop and increase productivity, which is why, transparency and integrity are a priority on the political agenda in Latin America and the Caribbean,' he said. Moreno recalled that in order to achieve this goal, 'we have to invest nearly 5 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in infrastructure; however, in the past two decades, we barely averaged half of that percentage, while Asian countries such as China have invested 8 percent for several years in public works.'

This situation, in the opinion of the executive, not only leaves behind the region, but the paralyzation of the works makes it poorer.

'In Colombia, for example, it is estimated that there are millions of projects that were not completed, while the Peruvian government estimates that there are pending works worth more than nine billion dollars, while thousands of jobs were lost and dozens of companies went bankrupt, 'he said.

Another similar scenario is Brazil, where projects paralyzed by irregularities totaled 27 billion dollars, which means more than the total GDP of a country like El Salvador, he said.

The IDB director said that stoppages occur because the legislation in almost all nations of the continent requires cancellation of contracts in public works in the face of corruption, so it is urgent to find complementary responses that punish the corrupt, but allow the continuity of the constructions.

'Corruption should not be profitable, but nullity has enormous effects that punish the just and sinful, because each unfinished work is a step backward for the State in its plan and development indexes,' he said.