WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao's latest integrity assessment suggests that the government's greatest challenge may not be the absence of rules but the difficulty of creating a culture where those rules are actively practiced.
The Integrity Baseline Scan repeatedly highlights the difference between "hard controls" and "soft controls." Hard controls include regulations, procedures, reporting systems and codes of conduct. Soft controls refer to leadership, trust, communication, accountability and workplace culture.
Researchers found that ministries generally perform better on formal controls than on cultural factors. Employees often recognize policies and procedures, but are less likely to experience open dialogue, strong feedback mechanisms or active discussions about integrity.
The findings suggest that future reforms must move beyond compliance and focus on creating workplaces where integrity becomes part of daily behavior rather than merely a set of written rules.
According to the report, success will ultimately depend on whether ministries can transform integrity from a policy document into a living organizational culture.