“Corruption is a verity inertial phenomenon and we can make statements and design corruption fighting programs, but we must realize that this process of fighting and preventing corruption will be long-lasting. I would like the politicians, besides leveling criticism at each other, to also reach a compromise so as to together fight and prevent corruption,” Igor Boțan, the standing expert of IPN’s project, stated in a public debate entitled “Corruption fighting in the Republic Moldova: between objectives, processes and effects”.
“We have a ruling party, PAS, which is a priori presumed to be the only non-corrupt political party. This presumption of non-corruption justifies the PAS’s right to abandon contests for filling vacancies and to name, on its own responsibility, managers at almost all the institutions, including those whose duty is to prevent and fight corruption. Why? The answer is very simple. Because we a priori assume that we are non-corrupt, while the others, who were in power, are considered to be somehow related to acts of corruption. That’s why PAS assumes responsibility for fighting corruption. Several questions appear here. If PAS assumes this responsibility, we, the citizens, must be sure that the assumption of responsibility will be successful as, if PAS fails to fight corruption owing to the lack of staff or other reasons, its method is detrimental to the citizens. Besides not managing to prevent and fight corruption, you set a model for abandoning contests that will be taken over by your successors,” stated Igor Boțan. “So, PAS has a very difficult task. For now, no one questions your good intentions, but I do not understand what the strategy is.”
The expert said Moldova faces a shortage of staff as ambitious persons, young people leave the country. Specialists from other parties can be coopted, but we do not see the PAS saying that the fight against corruption is a common task and opening the doors to persons from other political platforms, to former government officials and civil servants who didn’t discredit themselves under the state capture.
According to the expert, the PAS’ approaches to the fight against corruption are correct, but when it goes to vetting, pre-vetting, certainty is needed that the people from the prosecution service, the justice system tie their professional future to the policies they pursue. The ruling party, by the available methods, should find nucleuses of correct, honest people and should develop these to the dimension that would enable it to bank on them, while the government should create a complex framework so that there is certainty that those who are involved in the reformation process lend a hand and build a professional future for them and for the institution of which they form part.
Igor Boțan noted the ruling party does not openly tell the citizens that the fight against corruption is long-lasting and that they accept person from other parties and representatives of civil society into this process. “I’ve got the feeling that the ruling party can fail to achieve its objectives and these precedents can be used by the successors who can be ill-intentioned. Society is for fighting corruption. What I, as a citizen, want is for the PAS to express its readiness to cooperate with the parliamentary opposition and the extraparliamentary opposition in areas of major interest for society.”
The public debate titled “Corruption fighting in the Republic Moldova: between objectives, processes and effects” is the 224th installment of the project “Developing Political Culture through Public Debates” that is implemented with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
