Financial (un)accountability of Brcko District institutions is the weakest link in the integrity system

Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) presented in Brcko its Integrity System Study of Brcko District, which was a result of months of research within the project “Strengthening the integrity of Brcko District institutions”.

The aim of the overall project, and the study itself, was to, based on research and best practices, identify the necessary corrections of the legal framework, improvements in organization, functioning and cooperation of institutions in the field of fight against corruption. Besides the analysis of institutional capacities of the District, the aim of the study was the identification of root causes and factors that affect the occurrence of corruption in Brcko.

In the Integrity System Study the analysis of the current state of individual segments, such as government institutions, law enforcement authorities, public procurement / contracting, NGOs and business sector, was carried out, together with specific recommendations for legal, organizational and other improvements in all segments of preventing and combating corruption in the District.

Findings of the study that were presented in Brcko, indicate that the situation in the District, considering the level of corruption and efforts to combat this phenomenon is generally concerning, although slightly better comparing to the entity and state levels. Legal framework and specific legislation regulating this area are more advanced and elaborated comparing to the entity and state level, but more as a result of intervention of Brcko Supervisor, and less as a result of local institutions’ efforts. However, application of these regulations is questionable, especially taking into account the distinctive financial unaccountability of District institutions, as evidenced by the fact that in the last two audit reports none of the institutions has received a positive evaluation. The privatization process, although designed in accordance with world best practices, had resulted in strikes of workers of all privatized enterprises, and funds from the budget of the District are used to settle obligations towards workers, although they should have been settled by the new owners of companies.

The study points out to the lack of effectiveness of law enforcement agencies (police and prosecution) in the fight against corruption, which, among other things, is a consequence of insufficient coordination and cooperation between institutions. Specificity of District, by its organization and structure, and the fact that it is a small environment that operates as a state in the state, under the governance of the international community, has led to a passivity of organizations, media, NGOs, and citizens in general, and reluctance to be activated in the field of fight against corruption, as well as in advocacy and influencing the creation of public policy.

Besides the author who participated in the development of the Study, the attendees at the presentation of the Integrity System Study were addressed by Celine Bardet, Head of Legal Department of the Office of the High Representative in Brcko, with whose support the entire project was implemented, and Dragan Pajic, the Mayor of Brcko District.

Celine Bardet expressed concern over the state of corruption in the District, particularly the lack of accountability of elected representatives, and stressed that the practical approach is necessary in order to achieve progress in this field, and added that the efforts of civil society, such as TI BiH project in Brcko, are necessary in order to improve the situation in this field.

Mayor of the District, Dragan Pajic, singled out public procurement as the most sensitive area for the emergence of corruption in Brcko, and called on TI BiH to involve in designing ways to reveal and eradicate cases of corruption in this area, and described the efforts of TI BiH as very useful in identifying problematic areas, which will help the government in devising further strategies.