OSCE-supported Centre strengthens fight against corruption in south Serbia
Corruption poses a major obstacle to Serbia's development. It affects all social levels and is present in many different guises such as bribery, extortion, fraud, trafficking and embezzlement.
According to a 2006 report by the Group of States Against Corruption, a body of the Council of Europe, Serbian authorities consider corruption one of the most serious problems facing the country.
Recent research conducted by the Centre for Democratic Activities (CDA), an anti-corruption partner of the OSCE Mission to Serbia, indicated that more than 65 per cent of people in the south Serbian municipality of Lebane have either given or accepted bribes for various types of services.
To help tackle the growing problem, the Mission supported a CDA proposal to create an Anti-Corruption Centre in Lebane which would assist in establishing and overseeing anti-corruption councils in the south Serbian municipalities of Lebane, Medvedja and Bojnik. The project was launched in March and the Anti-Corruption Centre was established in June. The formation of the local councils is expected to take place in September.
Creating a framework
The Anti-Corruption Centre will assist local government to establish local anti-corruption councils, co-ordinate their work, conduct independent research on municipal procurement and budget expenditures and make recommendations for enhancing anti-corruption measures.
The local anti-corruption councils will act as advisory bodies whose most important aim is to provide support to the municipal government in establishing and implementing anti-corruption policies. Each local council will focus on anti-corruption strategies for its specific municipality.
"The establishment of the Anti-Corruption Centre and the local anti-corruption councils in south Serbia is essential in providing a framework designed to facilitate the engagement of civil society in the fight against corruption," says Stefano Donati, Economic Transparency Advisor with the OSCE Mission.
In July, the OSCE supported a training session on existing anti-corruption laws and mechanisms for fighting corruption for the 10 staff members of the Anti-Corruption Centre and the members of the local councils. The training, one of a number of activities sponsored by the Mission, was led by representatives from the Serbian Anti-Corruption Council, an advisory body of the Serbian government and a partner of the OSCE.
"Among other things, the training was important for establishing co-operation and facilitating information- and experience-sharing among local, municipal and regional bodies tasked with fighting corruption," says Donati.
Perceptions of corruption in south Serbia
According to Transparency International, an organization that tracks global perceptions of corruption, on a scale of 0 (most corrupt) to 10 (least corrupt), Serbia as a whole earned a score of just 3.0. Other former Yugoslav republics fared better. Slovenia, for example, scored significantly higher at 6.4.
South Serbia does not have either municipal ombudsmen or any other structure designed to address citizens' concerns regarding corruption.
Biljana Nikolic, Project Co-ordinator for the CDA, says a 2006 CDA and OSCE survey outlines the scale of the problem: "Out of 450 people polled, not one person could name an existing anti-corruption law.
"It is our hope that through the establishment of local councils there will be a direct improvement in the collaboration between citizens and local self-government in fighting corruption and enhancing the existing anti-corruption mechanism. Public outreach and education programmes will also be an important task of the Centre and of the councils in the fight against corruption."
Restoring trust
The staff of both the Anti-Corruption Centre and the local councils includes lawyers, economists, architects, local self government officials and minority group representatives.
"By extending an invitation to minority representatives we are also attempting to bridge the social and ethnic divide in the region," says the OSCE's Donati.
The collaboration between the Centre, the councils and local self government is expected to reduce corruption and slowly restore trust in the efficacy of the municipal government.
"Unfortunately, the people in this region do not trust their own government. The battle against corruption would be fruitless without the support of organizations such as the OSCE which has established itself as a credible, trustworthy international body in the region," says Nikolic.
The OSCE plans to continue its support of the Anti-Corruption Centre by supporting the upcoming October staff training for the local councils, a new website, public opinion polls and with some public media outreach campaigns.