prijava
GORAŽDE, February 21 (FENA) - The fight against corruption is one of the biggest challenges in the path of European integration of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but also one of the biggest obstacles for improving the standard of living of citizens.
The fight against corruption requires commitment from all segments of society and a comprehensive strategic approach. In order to assist BiH in this fight, and support the implementation of anti-corruption strategies at all levels, the European Union is funding an IPAK project "Institutional Support for Anti-Corruption" worth over EUR 650,000.
One of the areas the IPAK project is addressing is improving the system of reporting corruption at all levels of government and building capacity, improving the organization and coordination of the network of contact persons in institutions that cooperate with anti-corruption bodies.
A workshop was held on February 21 in Goražde with the participation of representatives of anti-corruption bodies at all levels in BiH and institutions dealing with corruption reporting.
Minister of Justice, Administration and Labor Relations of Bosnia-Podrinje Canton Nataša Danojlić highlighted the measures implemented by the BDC in the fight against corruption and stressed that the canton expects EU support in this direction.
Program manager at European Union Delegation to BiH Johannes Hintzen reminded of the Commission Opinion on BiH’s application for EU membership that one of the priorities is to ensure effective functioning and coordination of anti-corruption bodies.
He also recalled the conclusion from June 13th anti-corruption conference, which was attended by the BPK Prime Minister, that it was necessary to move towards the professionalization of anti-corruption bodies. “Who believes that fighting corruption in BiH is a part-time job? Strengthening anti-corruption bodies in fulfilling their preventive tasks pays off! Stronger corruption prevention equals better protection of the public budget from corruption as well as a reduction of corruption cases to be prosecuted”.
The Director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption, Hasim Šabotić, said that APIK sent instruction on professionalization to all anti-corruption. He expressed readiness for APIK representatives to present instructions to the authorities, together with the ACBs, and to clarify the benefits of professionalizing and investing in anti-corruption.
The leader of the IPAK project team Zoran Jachev presented the findings of the project team on the state of professionalization of anti-corruption bodies. With the exception of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and the Coordination of the Fight against Corruption, ACB at the level of the Sarajevo Canton, and partly ACB at Republika Srpska level, all others are ad hoc bodies whose members are representatives of the ministries.
This mode of choice raises the question of motivation, which is not only related to the fees that range from working pro bono to a couple of hundreds of KM.
The workshop presented the findings of the project team on the current state of the network of contact persons of anti-corruption bodies and the possibilities for reporting corruption to anti-corruption bodies and other institutions.
Zoran Jachev presented draft recommendations for improving the network of contact persons and the system of reporting corruption. Based on the suggestions of the workshop participants, final recommendations will be made, available to all anti-corruption bodies at all levels of government in BiH.
(FENA) S. R.
