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SARAJEVO, January 28 (FENA) – The Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International for 2020, ranks Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) among the countries in which corruption is rapidly worsening. The Index indicates that BiH has fallen by 11 places, and ranks it 111 out of 180 countries, with a score of 35 (0-100 scale) which is also the worst score since 2012, when BiH was ranked 72 with a score of 42.
This was pointed out today at the press conference of Transparency International in BiH (TIBiH), at which the leaders of this association presented the findings and indicators of the global report on the Corruption Perceptions Index for 2020.
As the Executive Director of TIBiH, Ivana Korajlić, said, BiH, unfortunately, has been declining on the CPI scale for several years and this year it is the worst positioned in the region of the Western Balkans and shares the place with North Macedonia.
She added that the phenomenon of corruption is accompanied by human rights violations, which is confirmed by seven sources / relevant research that measures the perception of corruption in the public sector by experts and the business community, focusing on trends in the context of countries' ability to fight with corruption.
In the region the best ranked is Slovenia with a score of 60, followed by Croatia 47, Montenegro 45, Serbia 38 and Kosovo 36. Based on the Corruption Perception Index the best ranked countries are Denmark, New Zealand, Finland and other western countries with high level of democracy. Countries affected by war, lack of rule of law and dictatorship are placed at the end of the list, and this year these positions are held by Syria, Somalia and South Sudan.
When it comes to the general recommendations from the Report to the CPI, Korajlić notes that they are mostly related to strengthening institutional oversight, transparency of public procurement, which is especially problematic this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and among the recommendations are the defense of democratic mechanisms and the publication of all data in the field of public spending and the allocation of public resources.
Chairman of the TIBiH Board of Directors Srdjan Blagovčanin warned that BiH has been going in the wrong direction, and that the BiH authorities have not made a step forward in any of the 14 priorities on the European path, especially those related to the rule of law and the fight against corruption.
At the same time, he said that if the country continues the trend of rapid decline, it risks escalating the crisis to complete institutional paralysis, which is further multiplied in combination with the economic crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and the darkest face of corruption.
Blagovčanin recalls that there was no institutional response to the scandals present in public, with the judiciary, which is supposed to tackle corruption, in fact becoming a 'burning issue'.
"The situation in the judiciary testifies to the fact that it is completely incapable of prosecuting political corruption and trapped by the interests of governing structures," said Blagovčanin, emphasizing the need for thorough judicial reform, including vetting / lustration, i.e.detailed verification of all judicial officials, as a step in restoring citizens' trust in judicial institutions.
According to him, BiH does not have an adequate policy or strategy for anti-corruption fight, and the legal framework has been waiting for years for a complete and comprehensive reconstruction, which was clearly emphasized by the European Commission as one of 14 priorities for obtaining candidate status.
The lack of progress and direct obstruction of improving the legal framework for prevention of conflict of interest, financing of political parties, protection of whistleblowers, and protection of public procurement, only confirms a complete captivity of the state and institutional framework. The level of the state’s captivity raises the issue of legitimacy of the BiH authorities, additionally derogated by systemic frauds and the lack of integrity of the election process.
Only during last election campaign, TI BiH recorded more than 2.500 cases of open misuse of public resources during the campaign.
Undoubtedly, TI BiH considers that the political parties are the key protagonists of state captivity, under the leadership of absolute leaders who hold the real power, and who have completely taken control over the public sector, using it to gain benefits for themselves, at the expense of public interest.
The Corruption Perception Index, published annually by Transparency International, is the most globally recognized indicator of the prevalence of corruption in the public sector. This year it covered 180 countries. The focus of the CPI for 2020 is the emergence of corruption during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has shown that it is not only a health and economic crisis, but also a corruption crisis.
(FENA) A. B.
