To achieve success in the fight against corruption, a number of factors must exist, namely: an independent prosecution service, an independent anticorruption service, politically unbiased police and civil society that wants to make changes, considers Pawel Wojtunik, European expert in the fight against corruption, who consults the Government of Moldova.
“We must understand that the success of the fight against corruption is seen not only in the number of arrested persons. We speak first of all about prevention measures and about cooperation between the law enforcement agencies, nongovernmental organizations and the mass media. Without cooperation with the mass media, it is practically impossible to change the behavior of society towards corruption,” the adviser stated in an interview for Radio Free Europe, quoted by IPN.
Pawel Wojtunik, who headed the Polish Central Anti-Corruption Bureau, said the entry into the EU was an important factor in the case Poland because the people were able to travel, to communicate, to learn from the experience of the European states. “Besides, there is also the economic factor: Poland, luckily, hasn’t faced major economic crises after 2008, unlike other European states,” said the adviser.
According to him, it is very important to understand that corruption is not a strict political problem. They perceived it as such in Poland initially and this was a mistake. “My opinion is that the fight against corruption is a matter related first of all to criminology. It is a crime and is very important to create an apolitical institution that will fight it. Also, to have success, it is important to strengthen the people’s and society’s confidence in the institution that fights this phenomenon,” stated the official.
“Corruption is like alcoholism and anyone can be affected. That’s why we should start with ourselves.”
Pawel Wojtunik is one of the 25 EU advisers who came to Chisinau to offer assistance in the key sectors covered by the Association Agreement, starting with the banking sector and ending with good governance practices.
