12.03.2018 The Platform of civic organizations for fight against corruption (the Platform) requests the formation of a professional anti-corruption body that will initiate and implement the legal remit and policies for prevention of corruption in the Republic of Macedonia in an effective and independent manner and with high degree of integrity. The Platform calls on change of the current model of electing the members of the State Commission for Prevention of Corruption (SCPC), which will be based on competence and integrity, without party influence, via public hearing of candidates in the Assembly of the RM. We request active participation of civil society members in the hearing, who will be allowed to affect the decision on election of SCPC members. Furthermore, we request the initiation of procedure for reviewing the model of institution for fight against corruption to be set as a priority as well as the formation of an institution that will meet the international standards for independence, efficiency and non-selectiveness during operations.
We emphasize that SCPC members being subject to inter-party negotiations is unacceptable for the Platform, and that would continue the past practice of loyalty to the policy in power, instead of controlling it and complying with the laws.
In the past three years, the Platform has been pointing out continuously to the inefficient fight against corruption, backsliding of the country in regard to all indexes of corruption, rule of law and institutions’ efficiency for tackling corruption and crime. Great responsibility has fallen on the backs of the last compositions of members of SCPC regarding the stated inactivity, non-transparency and selectiveness while performing their function, due to their incompetence and lack of personal and professional integrity. Citizens have no trust the SCPC, which is why it is necessary to establish an efficient system of civic control over the work of this body.
In the past ten years, instead of tackling high level corruption, among holders of political functions, the SCPC has been directing its activities towards cases of “low” corruption of administration. By the end of 2016, instead of investigating the centers of power that captured the state, the SCPC, urged by the leader of the ruling political party, requested from the State Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Revenue Office (PRO) and the Financial Intelligence Office to conduct detail controls over the financial and material work of 21 associations and foundations. This activity, presented as a control over the alleged illegal operations, was actually a pressure on those who perform their role of corrective of the authorities.
The findings of ungrounded spending of budget funds in the SCPC, discovered during the audit conducted by the PRO, surfaced only a part of the negativities, which have been present in this body for a long time. Therefore, we consider that the submitted resignations must not be “enough” and we request investigation and determination of the existence of basis for responsibility for illegal operations, corruption, trading with influence and dereliction of duty.
The Platform sends this request to the Assembly, as the regulatory body in charge of the election of SCPC members, the Government and the political parties, so all stakeholders can reflect accordingly and propose a solution that will offer uncompromising tackling of corruption as widespread form of crime and factor of backsliding in the Euro-integration processes and country’s economic development in these key moments for determining the direction and determination for development of democracy in the country.
