Implementation of Threshold Country Program in 2008 contributes essentially to raising awareness of corruption. Info-Prim Neo interview with Valeriu Balaban, national coordinator of the Program

[- The successful implementation of the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s Threshold Country Program (TCP) for Moldova is a precondition for Moldova to turn from country eligible for basic assistance from the US Corporation into beneficiary country. What are the effects of the TCP measures implemented in 2008 in your opinion?] - The implementation of the TCP will be completed in March 2009 and 2008 was a year in which most of the measures included in the Program have been carried out or will be soon finalized. I would like to say that since the end of 2006, when the TCP was launched, the implementation process has contributed essentially to increased awareness of corruption on the part of officials of the central public administration and the civil society. Many of the public authorities established sustainable partnerships with The civil society organizations, creating efficient interaction in organizing different campaigns aimed at preventing corruption and at solving bribery cases. The civil society organizations strengthened their monitoring capacities. The people more frequently report corruption and bribery attempts, realizing that such phenomena have a negative influence on the social and economic development of the country, on its democratization. [ - The TCP includes measures to fight and prevent corruption in five areas important for asserting the democratic principles and insuring social equity. Can you name some of the measures that produced evident results in the given areas and had or continue to have an educative effect on the society?] - I would start with the measures taken in the legal field. First of all, there was implemented the system for fully informatizing the legal system. A number of 3,500 computers and other pieces of equipment worth about 35 million lei have been installed this year. This will enable to insure the automated aleatory distribution of legal cases and will facilitate the connection between different chains involved in the legal process. There were introduced amendments to the legislation to institute the Judiciary Inspection and approved the Deontological Codes of professions existing in the legal system (lawyers for example). The steps taken in healthcare, especially this year, aimed to insure transparency in public acquisitions and improve the quality of services. There were worked out the Code of Medical Ethics, the Guide of Public Acquisitions in Healthcare and the bill on restoration of damage caused to the patient. The bill is a novelty and we hope that after adopted, it will produce positive effects. But the most important measure is the formulation of clinical protocols for diseases, which include standard steps – from diagnosis to treatment. These protocols initiated essential reforms in the health system because all the doctors will follow them, regardless of the institution where they work or where it is located – in rural or urban areas. A sum of 20 million lei has been allocated for preventing corruption in healthcare. Relevant steps have been taken to fight and prevent corruption in the fiscal and customs administrations and in the police. A lot was done to simplify the customs procedures in the Customs Service. The time for legalizing documents for import-export operations has been reduced. One-stop offices started to work at the border crossing points and internal customs posts since end-December. The duties of the seven institutions that carried out border controls, expect the Border Guard Service, have been taken over by the customs authorities that levy also payments, which are then automatically distributed to the bank accounts of the given institutions. The measures implemented in the police institutions were aimed at improving the operational culture and the procedures for recruiting personnel and at strengthening the police’s capacity to investigate corruption cases. In the fiscal system, the mechanism for collecting taxes has been improved, insuring the transparency of the money flows. As a result, the shadow economy diminished. Presently, practically all the subdivisions of the State Fiscal Service have been incorporated into a common informational system. There were purchased 3,000 new computers and implemented the e-Declarations system that the tax payers can use to submit fiscal reports and other fiscal information from the office or from home. The human factor in the relation with the taxpayer was considerably reduced. A Phone Call Center was set up at the State Main Tax Inspectorate. It will start work in January 2009. The taxpayers that will use this service will receive expert advice as regards the implementation of the fiscal legislation. Measures have been taken in all the three areas to insure the integrity of the personnel and compliance with the professional ethics. [ - At the beginning of this interview, you mentioned the improvement of the relations between the public authorities and the civil society, of the interaction in combating and preventing corruption. Would you like to specify?] - When the TCP was launched, foreign experts said that the civil society organizations, including the press, do not yet adequately perform their tasks of monitoring the activities carried out by the authorities, especially as regards the use of public money, the holding of transparent contests for making acquisitions from public money and in other fields. While implementing the TCP, there have been organized different training seminars so that some of the duties of the public authorities could be delegated to NGOs. A Civil Council was created under the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crime. The center is a mechanism that could be implemented by other public institutions if it turns out to be efficient. There were trained 60 investigation journalists and launched a broad public campaign titled “You can Stop Corruption”, which made practically every citizen become aware of corruption and how it can be prevented and pronounce on this issue during radio and TV programs, in the press. I would like to say that we carried out all the activities with the logistic and financial support of U.S. colleagues, of the Good Governance Project and other projects. The U.S. partners allocated US$24.7 million for implementing the TCP. The Government of Moldova contributes approximately the same amount.