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SARAJEVO, March 27 (FENA) - In order to fight corruption more effectively, there is a need for judicial institutions to start prosecuting corruption offenses, a greater transparency of the work of institutions, the adoption of new laws such as the law on lobbying and the law on origination of public officials’ assets and a better cooperation between non-governmental organizations, public institutions and private companies.
These are some of the conclusions of the participants of the annual conference "Fighting Corruption through Improving Legislative Framework and Strengthening Capacities of Anti-corruption Institutions" organized today by the OSCE Mission to BiH in cooperation with the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption (APIK).
APIK Director Hasim Šabotić told reporters that although some progress has been made in the fight against corruption, the 91st position in which BiH was last year, according to the Transparency International (TI) perception index, is not at all encouraging.
“If we take into consideration the fact that APIK has entirely fulfilled its responsibilities and the rate of corruption is growing from year to year, it is logical to ask how this is possible,” Mr. Šabotić said.
He believes that corruption can be fought in two ways, repression and prevention, and added that in this sense, the APIK takes all available preventive measures to reduce or at least try to reduce the rate of corruption in BiH.
He pointed out that all institutions had adopted integrity plans, anti-corruption plans, 13 bodies for the prevention of corruption were formed at almost all levels of government in BiH and all other formal legal mechanisms for the prevention of corruption are available.
“Unfortunately, in the past period, it did not produce results that the public expected, which is also indicated by the TI research,” the Director of APIK noted.
According to him, it is necessary that judicial institutions finally begin to prosecute corruption offenses, more support is needed from decision makers to APIK and other anti-corruption agencies, which, to date, have been merely declarative.
In addition, he added, it is necessary to create truly independent institutions, adopt amendments to the laws on APIK, amendments to the law on the protection of persons reporting corruption in BiH institutions and to adopt new laws such as the law on lobbying and the law on the origins of assets of public officials.
Deputy Chairperson of the OSCE Mission to BiH Alexander Chuplygin noted that corruption was a big and serious problem for BiH because it shakes citizens' confidence in the political system, disables investment and leads to the unintentional spending of public resources.
Therefore, he stressed that the fight against corruption was of key importance for achieving economic growth and overall stability of the state.
“Today's conference represents an extraordinary opportunity for various stakeholders working in this area to exchange views and discuss anti-corruption plans, as well as discuss possible joint activities,” Mr. Chuplygin said.
He suggested that the OSCE Mission to BiH would continue to provide support to relevant institutions, including APIK, in overcoming this great challenge.
Journalists were also addressed by the representative of the Center for Civil Society Development Mersiha Jogunčić, who said that the adoption of the whistleblower protection act was one of the most important steps in the fight against corruption.
She also believes that NGO resources are still not being used enough and that NGOs should be allowed greater access to information.
Among other things, she pointed out that public institutions were insufficiently informed about their fight against corruption and about their work.
She underlined that cooperation between non-governmental organizations, public institutions and private companies should truly come to life in order to bring the right results.
(FENA)
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