Besides petty corruption, in the Republic of Moldova there is also extraordinary large-scale corruption, traffic of influence and abuse of positions in state or administrative bodies and these phenomena should be rooted out. Political will is needed to combat corruption, Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova Peter Michalko stated in an interview for the portal “Moldova Curata” (“Clean Moldova”), IPN reports.
According to Peter Michalko, the citizens should be sure that the society in which they live is just and they have where to find justice and truth. “Any influence on the state bodies that makes the people unequal before the law and the state institutions form part of corruption practices. The institutions should work first of all honestly and credibly before the people and should also have an own credible internal control system and there should be control on the part of other institutions so that the people are able, if there is any suspicion about incorrect attitude on the part of the state institutions, to go to a place where they could seek justice,” stated the diplomat.
Speaking about public procurement contests at state institutions, which are often won by relatives or people close to those who organize these, the EU Ambassador in Chisinau said each case should be investigated separately. It is important for all the control systems at each institution to work as these systems were created to protect the institutions. There should be several levels of control for the central and local authorities on the part of the Court of Auditors, for example.
According to Peter Michalko, the control should be functional and there should be will to serve the people, who assess the performance at the end of each electoral period.
The ambassador noted that the “thanks” and “attention” given by some people to others for services cannot be tolerated. “The people should understand that they are those who pay for all these services of the state because they pay taxes and are those who have state sovereignty in their hands” he stated. “When the people fell they have control over the state bodies, they will be sure that such phenomena do not exist.”
Peter Michalko added that the examination of the bank fraud is a test in the investigation, rooting out and punishment of corruption in the Republic of Moldova.
