Implementation of anticorruption policies is shadowed by interests, poll

The contests to fill posts at public institutions and the promotion and awarding of employees are based on relations of friendship and nepotism, shows a study by Transparency International–Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. Last December the organization conducted an opinion poll with a view to analyzing the way the public authorities implement a number of anticorruption policies, including in dealing with conflicts of interest, promoting ethical conduct and of staff based on merits, and in ensuring the functioning of the petition system and hotlines. The poll revealed a number of positive aspects as well as irregularities in implementing the anticorruption policies. There were identified problems related to the submission of declarations of interests and their monitoring. A considerable part of the respondents admitted that they didn’t submit these statements and do not know who is the person responsible for collecting them. 28% of those polled said they will not denounce cases of corruption. Among the problems identified during the questioning is the fact that the procedure for assessing employees is not transparent and objective, while the persons are often employed based on relations of friendship and nepotism. For the implementation of anticorruption policies by the central public authorities to be more efficient, the representatives of Transparency International–Moldova presented a set of recommendations that refer to the teaching of employees how to fill out and submit the declarations of interests. The poll was carried out at the Ministry of Transport and Road Infrastructure, the State Main Tax Inspectorate, the National Anticorruption Center, the Customs Service, and the Chisinau Customs Office. It covered a sample of 208 persons or about 18% of the employees of the central public authorities. The poll was supported financially by National Endowment for Democracy.