I recall, as a child, watching a popular comedian on television. He told how, one night, he and a friend were walking down a dark alley when a man jumped in front of them, pointed a gun, and said, “give me all your money.” The comedian took out his wallet, turned to his friend, and said, “here’s that $50 I owe you”.
The joke is funny, but sad—even during a dark moment, as his friend learns, some people that you should be able to trust will instead try to take advantage of you. People chosen to serve the public, either through election or appointment, are entrusted to be fair, honest, and transparent in their work. And when they choose to misuse this trust, even during difficult times of high unemployment or natural disaster, the pain and betrayal is especially deep.
December 9th is International Anti-Corruption Day. The problem of corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina is well documented and broadly recognized. There is no need to repeat the statistics or raise awareness—people are already angry. However, people that I meet often express skepticism that anything can be done. This is a dangerous sentiment. Most of this skepticism comes from a real or perceived lack of interest among politicians to reform a system from which they benefit. Others blame what they perceive to be an ineffective civil society and media.
Contrary to these sentiments, there are, in fact, things that can be done in 2016 to combat corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Progress on these issues, or lack thereof, can expose who is serious about tackling corruption and who is satisfied with only attending conferences. These are issues where civil society and government have been working, and where real progress is possible:
- Public Procurement: When government spends taxpayer money to buy goods and services, the procurement should be public so that all businesses have a chance to win the contract. However, in BiH, as much as 75% of government procurements are done without public knowledge. According to NGO watchdogs, this means that, last year, 2 billion KM were spent without public knowledge.
One public institution, a center for preschool education, paid 361% of the regular price for goods purchased, which included 666 bottles of alcoholic beverages, while the parents of kids at the school had to collect money to pay for rugs and the toilet paper used at the school. This is only one, small example.
Civil society groups have proposed amendments to the Public Procurement Law to close loopholes, require public tenders, and impose penalties on those who violate the law. These amendments deserve to be put to the parliament for discussion and action now.
- Asset Disclosure: How is it that public officials, working on government salaries, are sometimes able to purchase expensive new homes and lavish cars? Asset disclosures are a common tool for fighting corruption. The idea is simple: high-level officials need to regularly report their property and other wealth. These are critical to detecting corruption and prosecuting offenders. Unfortunately, asset disclosure requirements have been weakened in recent years in BiH, in a step backwards for anti-corruption advocates. Some people will argue that asset disclosures are an invasion of officials’ privacy, but most countries have found ways to address such privacy concerns. Asset disclosures should be made public once again.
- Business Registration: many businesses, especially start-ups, complain that they are often unaware of fees for various permits and approvals. This provides officials an opportunity to take advantage of entrepreneurs and elicit extra payment. Why not have all municipalities and cities publish, on their websites, full schedules of fees and taxes?
USAID has been proud to partner with officials, civil society, and the private sector to rebuild Bosnia and Herzegovina, re-establish services, develop government institutions, and help integrate BiH into the global community. A lot of progress has been made, and we do not want to see this progress squandered because of corruption. These measures won’t solve the entire problem of corruption, but are real, tangible steps that will make an impact and will show our collective resolve to tackle this problem.
My predecessor co-authored a very blunt post on this blog titled simply, “Outrage,” that resonated with the citizens of BiH. The gist of the piece was simple—the people of this country aren’t getting the goods and services they’ve paid their government to provide. It’s been over a year since that blog post and, unfortunately, the outrage was short-lived. We cannot afford another year to pass. We’re in the dark alley and the gun is raised—it’s time.
Written by Peter Duffy, a USAID Mission Director
