Centre for Civic Education (CCE) has repeatedly pointed out that despite the significant support of international institutions and organizations, expressed in the form of professional, technical, technological and financial assistance there are no visible results in the fight against corruption and organized crime, particularly in the area of so-called high-level corruption.
This is supported by the fact that so far, according to data with which CCE disposes, more than 80 millions EUR was invested in the fight against corruption and organized crime, in the period from 2007 to 2012, from the Budget of Montenegro, IPA funds, EU Member States through bilateral programmes, as well as other countries that support the process of democratization of Montenegro, such as USA. The result is devastating: till 2014 there is not a single final verdict concerning fight against high-level corruption and organized crime.
CCE agrees with part of the statement of Prime Minister Milo Đukanovic, which was given during yesterday’s Prime ministers’ hour: “The key to success in the fight against corruption and crime is in capable, trained and motivated staff, and mere law adoption does not produce results”. But at the same time, the question arises: where were spent the resources allocated for this purpose in the past eight years, which, when incurred in 2013 and 2014, probably reach the figure of 100 million euro?! What was learned by those who have passed countless trainings so far? Who measures their impact? And who sanctions them when they do not produce results?
If you look at the structure of approved projects and programs through which those funds were spent it is not difficult to see that these were focused on improvement of these areas. But, till now, it has given no results, nor has been raised the question of anyone’s responsibility in the Government led by Prime Minister Đukanovic, nor the structures that are dominantly shaped by the party that he leads.
Genuine progress in the domain of fight against corruption and organized crime in Montenegro can be expected only when there is demonstrated clear political will and established system of responsibility for the lack of results. Namely, only in such a context, we can expect systematic approach to combating corruption and organized crime, by raising grounded charges and having final verdicts as opposed to the current practice in which the system to whom was pointed out on corruption reacted towards the one who pointed it out and not the corrupt one. When we put words into deeds, we will avoid the harsh assessment of the European Commission, such as those that “a large number of overturned verdicts in the fight against corruption arise suspicion about the existence of political will to solve this problem,” as can be read in this year’s Progress Report.
Ana Vujošević,
Program coordinator