PRESS RELEASES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

Projekat EU usmjeren na korupciju u BiH

Announcements ● 11 June 2014

Proposed Amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest of Republic of Srpska Allow Abuse in Delivery and Distribution of Humanitarian Aid in Flood-Hit Areas

Press releases ● 11 June 2014

Banja Luka, 11^th June 2014 – Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) considers unacceptable proposed Amendments to the Law on Prevention of Conflict of Interest in Governmental institutions of the Republic of Srpska, which along with the set of Laws on Establishing of Solidarity Fund have been forwarded in accordance with the emergency procedure to the National Assembly of the RS.

Proposed Amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest of Republic of Srpska Allow Abuse in Delivery and Distribution of Humanitarian Aid in Flood

The proposed Amendment to the Law refers to the introduction of the exception which bans public officials to be presidents or executive directors of associations or foundations that are financed from the budget in the amount exceeding 100.000 KM, wherein it has been proposed the exception that refers to the establishment of foundations and funds used for the repair of damage caused by natural disasters and other catastrophes. Although, the explanation states that the aim of this Amendment is to remove all obstacles during the establishment of the Solidarity Fund, it is necessary to emphasize that the Solidarity Fund whose activities are regulated by the Government is not the same as foundation that can be established by other legal entities or individuals and this Amendment to the Law will allow public officials to establish foundations that can be financed from the budget, which will open new opportunities for abuse.

TI BiH warns that in the aftermath of the disaster that struck BiH, it is necessary to eliminate opportunities for abuse that may occur during allocation of funds in the flood-stricken areas, and adoption of these Amendments to the Law would not only deepen the suspicion by the public, but would also enable public officials to use natural disaster for establishing of their own foundations and thus divert funds from the budget.

Therefore, TI BiH urges legislators to delimit by law the Solidarity Fund from other associations and foundations and provide protection against abuses that may occur during the distribution of funds for repair of damage.

Conference on “The Open Government Partnership in BiH”

Press releases ● 07 June 2014

The Open Government Partnership is global multilateral initiative that promotes transparency and openness of public authorities, and its participating countries are committed to undertake specific measures and actions in the areas of transparency, strengthening of citizens’ participation in governance, fight against corruption, introduction of new technologies in order to make public administration as efficient as possible. 63 countries are participating in the OGP initiative and every year that number grows. Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in the region that has not joined the Initiative.

The conference on the Open Government Partnership will gather representatives of government, public institutions, civil society, the media and international community in BiH, as well as international experts and participants in the Open Government Partnership initiative, in order to provide an insight into international standards of government openness and comparative practice of other countries participating the Initiative, and also to discuss about challenges and opportunities for BiH in relation to the principles promoted by the OGP.

The conference will be held on Monday, 9^th June, at the Hotel Europe in Sarajevo, with the beginning at 10.30 a.m. The agenda is attached below.

Conference on “The Open Government Partnership in BiH”

BiH Joining OGP Initiative Supported by the Council of Ministers

Press releases ● 04 June 2014

Banja Luka, 4^th June 2014 – Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) welcomes the support of the Council of Ministers of BiH for joining of BiH in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative, proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and included in the session of the Council of Ministers held on 2^nd June 2014.

The Open Government Partnership is a global initiative committed to strengthening of broad accessibility to information held by the government, and at the same time promoting the empowerment of citizens’ participation and highest standards of accountability and integrity of government. The Partnership requires from the government institutions of the participating countries to promote open, efficient and accountable government and to cooperate with the civil society during the whole process.

For over a year, TI BiH, in cooperation with the Foundation CPI (Centre for Public Interest Advocacy), with the support of the Open Society Fund of BiH, has been advocating joining of BiH in the Open Government Partnership initiative. Meanwhile, contacts with the numerous organizations in the country and the region have been established, as well as participation at global and regional Partnership summits, which contributed to the creation of a clearer picture of priorities and importance of BiH joining the Initiative. Also, the first few steps are taken towards cooperation with the institutions of BiH enabling conduction of upcoming joint activities within the Partnership.

BiH still remains the only country in the region which has not officially started the joining process to this global initiative, and TI BiH welcomes the initial support of the Council of Ministers of BiH to join the Partnership. However, TI BiH hopes that this initiative, as many initiatives so far, does not represent a form of declarative support of the government, and expects from the Council of Ministers and other institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina to fulfill all the requirements for sending a letter of intent to OGP and, of course, to apply principles of the Partnership in the future.

BiH Joining OGP Initiative Supported by the Council of Ministers

The Court of BiH Accepted TI BiH Lawsuit against the Central Election Commission

Press releases ● 29 May 2014

TI BiH filed a report to CEC against Mr. Nermin Nikšić due to the facts that the Federal Government appointed his brother as Acting Executive Director of a public company Autoceste FBiH, and in 2012, it asked the CEC BiH to provide the information about actions taken in this case. CEC BiH refused to provide the information, so TI BiH has filed a lawsuit for violating the Law on Free Access to Information.

The Cort of BiH in its reasoning of the Judgement stated that the CEC BiH did not specify a single pragraph of the Law under which it is possible to make an exception regarding disclosure of the requested information, and therefore violated the procedure and offered no explanation for failing to provide the information. Accordingly, the Court of BiH has accepted the lawsut of the TI BiH and returned the request to CEC, and ordered the CEC BiH to pay procedural expences to the TI BiH.

In the meantime, the new Law on Conflic of Interest in BiH had been adopted, which deprives CEC BiH of its jurdistiction, prescribes establisment of a new commission and office and rehiring former CEC’s employees, and also blocks the implementation of the Law on Conflict of Interest of FBiH and Brčko District. Having in mind opstructions in the formation of the new commission, the question is when and how the decisions are to be made regading previous cases on conflict of interese which have been put on hold for months.

When it comes to the implementation of the Law on Free Access to Information, this is not the only verdict which support the fact that the public institutions in BiH have been violating the Law on Free Accesss to Information. During 2014, five lawsuits filed by TI BiH against different institutions at different levels were accepted. However, despite the growing number of verdicts, the institutions continue to violate the Law and prescribed procedures, causing damage not only to the public interest but also to the budget through the constat payments of the procedural expences.

Press rls The Court of BiH Accepted TI BiH Lawsuit against the Central Election Commission

Presentation of the final results of the evaluation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy 2009-2014

Press releases ● 15 May 2014

The results of evaluation conclude has the Anti-Corruption Strategy 2009-2014 has not achieved set objectives, and that the effects of the Strategy and their visibility are very weak.

Key challenges in the implementation of the Strategy are the lack of political will, which was directly reflected in delays in the implementation of the planned measures, mainly delays in appointment of the management of the Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption and ensuring financial resources for its functioning. Moreover, the lack of coordination and participation of all relevant stakeholders in the implementation of the Strategy, as well as the lack of ‘’local ownership’’ of the preparation of the strategic documents are also found to have affected the Anti-Corruption Strategy.

The event was opened by welcoming remarks by Natalia Dianiskova, Head of Operations Section for Social Development, Civil Society, Cross Border Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Srdjan Blagovčanin, Executive Director of the Transparency International BiH.

‘’ Fight against corruption means having a proper legislative framework, including the bold strategy adopted and implemented at all levels of the governments. New Anti-Corruption Strategy needs to be in accordance with the requirements of EU, aligned with adopted and ratified conventions and applicable in local context, covering all necessary aspects of fight against corruption. This strategy needs to be inclusive, to meet expatiations of all relevant stakeholders including the civil society organizations. ”, said Natalia Dianiskova.

‘’The new Anti-Corruption Strategy must be grounded in lessons learnt from previous Strategies. BiH has lost lot of time and can no longer afford itself a luxury that the new anticorruption strategy remains again a dead letter that does not oblige anyone to anything.’’, stated Srđan Blagovčanin in his welcoming remarks.

Besides the presentation of the final results of the evaluation of the Anti-Corruption strategy and impacts of its implementation, detailed methodological approach for preparation of the Strategy and Action plan for the period 2015-2019 was also presented. Furthermore, participants discussed about the challenges in elaboration and adoption the new anti-corruption Strategy.

The European Union is funding project “Strengthening integrity and good governance for better implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy from local to national level” in the amount of 178.700 EUR from IPA 2010.

The project’s goal is to contribute fight against corruption in BiH by strengthening integrity, improving standards of governance and levels of transparency in the work of public institutions. Specific objective is to promote evidence-based and effective anti-corruption policy at both local and national level.

The project has duration of 24 months and it is implemented by the Transparency International BiH.

Presentation of the final results of the evaluation of the ACS 2009-2014

The Council of Ministers Acted Unconstitutionally

Press releases ● 14 May 2014

Sarajevo 14^th May 2014 – Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI BiH) strongly condemns the request of the Council of Ministers of BiH for sanctioning those who hold the highest appointments in the country- the President of the Court, the Chief Prosecutor of BiH Prosecutor’s Office- because of their engagement in structural dialogue between the EU and BiH, that took place on 29^th April in Brussels.

In this way, the Council of Ministers acts outside the scope of their jurisdiction, violating the separation of powers principle and further undermining the Rule of Law. Unfortunately, the Council of Ministers put itself openly in the service of blocking Bosnia and Herzegovina’s progress to the European Union membership. The request for postponement of a structural dialogue and the latest attempt to discipline and put judicial institutions under the direct control, as well as the announcement of the Amendments to the section of Law referring to the election of prosecutors, the Council of Ministers shows that it tries directly to undermine judicial institutions.

“The actions of the Council of Ministers are just an arbitrary act that is not only in the direct contradiction with the international commitments of BiH but also in contradiction with the Constitution and the separation of powers principle,” warned in a written statement, Mr. Srđan Blagovčanin, Executive Director of TI BiH.

“We expect from the EU to take a very clear position in relation to the recent events and behavior of the Council of Ministers. BiH not only fails to implement the international commitments in the integration process, buy it rapidly devastate the institutions and legal framework“, concluded Blagovčanin.

Press rls The Council of Ministers Acted Unconstitutionally

Okrugli sto „Finansiranje političkih partija pred Opšte izbore 2014.“

Announcements ● 25 April 2014

A Lawsuit has been Filed against the Author and the Publisher of the Book ‘The Destruction of the Republic of Srpska’

Press releases ● 22 April 2014

Banja Luka 22nd April 2014 – Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI B&H), the Center for Informative Decontaminationa of Youth (Buka) Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Banja Luka (HCA), and Ms. Svetlana Cenić and Ms. Tanja Topić, have filed a lawsuit to the Basic Court in Banja Luka against Mr. Sefan Karaganović, Mr. Nenad Novaković and the publishing house ’Besjeda’ for slander.

Namely, in the book The Destruction of the Republic of Srpska: Theory and technology of upheaval,  these organizations and individuals have been placed on ‘’the black list’’ and were accused of overthrowing of constitutional order and inciting to riot. It is particularly worrying that these serious allegations have been published as a part of edition of the SNSD, and can be found on the official website of this ruling party in the RS, which further heats the lynch atmosphere, threatens the freedom of speech and places the Republic of Srpska on par with dictatorships.

Therefore, the TI B&H, ‘’Buka’’, Ms. Cenić and Topić, invoking the Law on Protection against Defamation filed a lawsuit against the author of the controversial book Mr. Sefan Karaganović, the publishing house ‘Besjeda’ and its editor-in-chief Mr. Nenad Novaković. The lawsuits clearly state evidence against the claim that those are ’fake organizations’ and points to the lack of any arguments. Publishing these very serious allegations without any evidences and arguments and without citing of any sources, indicates that the sole objective of these articles is to discredit and call for the lynching of these organizations and individuals, which sends a very dangerous message to the whole civil society in the Republic of Srpska.

Having in mind that these allegations are damaging the reputation of given organizations and individuals and endanger their performance and safety, the main goal of the lawsuit is to condemn such behaviour and to stop the practice of creating any black lists and calling for the lynching of those who point out to irregularities in the society. TI B&H hopes that the Court will stand for the protection of the civil society organizations and individuals, and thereby make its contribution to preventing the practice of regime writers to fight against the media and civil society organizations with attacks, allegations and attempts to criminalize organizations and individuals.

Increasing the transparency of public administration reform

Press releases ● 14 March 2014

The reform of the public administration is a fundamental requirement for EU accession and for increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of many different state, entity and Brcko institutions. The reform is guided by the public administration reform strategy and includes actions to improve strategic planning, public finance, human resource management, administrative systems, communication and e-government. The reform process is coordinated by the Public Administration Reform Coordinator’s Office (PARCO) and to date 10 projects have been financed by Sweden and other donors such as Norway, Denmark, Germany, EU, and in previous phases the Netherlands and UK.

The reform aims at changing the current public administration characterized by low skills, non-merit based and un-transparent recruitment, poor public communication, under-developed financial control systems and lack of proper planning systems. The reforms have been very slow and the results are limited. The most recent EU progress report noted that “the public administration reform process lacks the necessary political support”. Implementation has been problematic, with limited progress in strengthening administrative capacity for legal harmonization and implementation of the acquis. The main reasons are said to be lack of skills, lack of financial support from the entities, overlapping responsibilities between the entities and cantons, the absence of a cooperative management culture and improper political interference.

The objective of the PARM project is to monitor and evaluate the reform process and its effects on citizens and the private sector. Investigative stories and public events are expected to raise awareness and increase transparency. TI BiH and CIN will focus on three issues: Human resources management in public administration, Management of public finances, and Transparency, accountability and integrity of public administration. Engaging civil society in should empower citizens to understand and engage in the process of public administration reform, leading to better results.

“The Government of Sweden will continue to support the Public Administration Reform, but that we expect more tangible results. Through the support to the civil society organisations Transparency International BiH and the Centre for Investigative Reporting, CIN, the intent is to put more light on what is working and what is not working. The ultimate aim is to creating conditions for more transparent, efficient and effective public administration in BiH that will be of service to all citizens”, according to the Swedish Ambassador, H.E. Fredrik Schiller.

Leila Bičakčić, Executive Director of CIN, welcomes the project as “the aim of it is to enhance the communication with citizens through a series of investigative stories, and thus contribute to the democratic dialogue between the citizens and institutions in BiH”.

The Executive Director of TI BiH, Srđan Blagovčanin states that “Public Administration Reform is a priority task for BiH, on which success depend the quality of life of BiH citizens, and for this reason civil society organisations should give their contribution to PAR implementation”.

Presentation of the Project Public Administration Reform Monitoring – PARM

Press releases ● 13 March 2014

This project will be conducted by TI BiH and CIN, with the financial support of the Embassy of Sweden, in the period from 2014 to 2018, and its primary purpose is to assess the impacts and results and current compliance with the objectives of the Public Administration Reform.

The presentation will be hled by the Ambassador of Sweden, His Excellency Fredrik Schiller, the representatives of Transparency International BiH and the Center for Investigative Reporting, and Ms. Semiha Borovac, State Coordinator for Public Administration Reform.

The presentation for the media will be held on Friday, 14^th March 2014, in Hotel Europe in Sarajevo, at 10:00 am.

TI BiH requests a public debate on the draft Law on Conflict of Interest of RS

Press releases ● 25 February 2014

TI BiH considers this draft Law to be an improvement over the current legal solution, in terms of several key aspects, such as:

• Expanding the circle of persons to whom the Law applies
• Tightening sanctions by increasing fines,
• Increasing the duration of the ban on performing incompatible functions after the termination of the previous function from three to six months,
• Reduction of the limit for the amounts by which associations and foundations are financed from the budget, in which elected officials, holders of executive functions and advisors cannot perform the president, director, authorized person or member, etc.

However, some provisions in the Draft are not sufficiently defined and there are inconsistencies between different provisions (eg prescribing the obligation to report all gifts and return them to the competent authorities, while the Commission is left to decide whether to order the return of gifts or benefits).

TI BiH considers it unacceptable that the actions of the Commission for Determining Conflicts of Interest in most provisions related to sanctions are left to the discretion of the Commission, given that the wording according to which the Commission “can” impose certain sanctions is used, which is not binding. In practice, this will lead to the possibility of putting pressure on the Commission, problems in its decision-making and will not allow the creation of a uniform practice. The law must explicitly prescribe the manner of action of both the Commission for Determining Conflicts of Interest and persons found to have violated the law, depending on the gravity of the violation. In addition, the draft Law still does not include some of the key international standards related to conflicts of interest, such as the annulment of legal transactions as a result of conflicts of interest.

Also, according to the provisions related to prohibited activities, the unacceptable influence of an official is limited only to the body in which he performs his duties, which is insufficient, having in mind the possibility of his influence on other public bodies as well.

Supporting the initiative to improve the Law on Prevention of Conflicts of Interest in RS Authorities and the above provisions of the Draft, which certainly represent an improvement over the existing Law, which TI BiH hopes will be adopted, TI BiH hopes that the new Law will be adopted as soon as possible.

TI BiH also warns that in adopting such an important anti-corruption regulation, it is crucial to organize a public debate, with the participation of civil society, in order to use the opportunity to adopt the best possible solution.

Comments on the draft RS Law on Conflict of Interest

TI B&H Proposed the Introduction of Anti-Corruption Mechanisms in the Law on Public Procurement

Press releases ● 20 February 2014

TI B&H considers that the new draft Law on Public Procurement in B&H does not provide mechanisms for successful prevention of corruption and sanctioning of irresponsible participants in public procurements, as well as transparency, efficiency and rational use of public resources.

The solutions offered by the TI BiH refer to the introduction of additional provisions with emphasis on prevention of corruption and conflict of interest of the persons responsible for conducting of public procurement. TI BiH proposed the creation of anti-corruption plans in public procurement, obligation for authorities to report any irregularities, protection of whistleblowers in the public procurement and impermissible conflict of interest situations have been clearly defined, as well as the actions of competent authority bodies in such cases.

TI BiH has also pointed out to the obligation of publishing public procurement plans for all parties, with the aim of preventing ‘ad hoc’ approach in conducting public procurement and improving transparency of such procedures, and to the necessity of publishing far more information on the Public Procurement Portal.

TI BiH also proposed the  the termination of the Procurement Review Body offices in Banja Luka and Mostar, that had been introduced by the recent amendments to the Law, having in mind that they are still not functioning , which disabled the bidders coming from the jurisdiction of Banja Luka and Mostar offices to complain and to seek legal protection.

The retention of the PRB at the present location and increase in the number of employees would result in more successful and uniform actions of competent authorities, more efficient resolution of complaints and annual savings of more than a million KM.

It has also been proposed the reduction of administrative fees for the complaints, because enormous increase in fees prescribed by the latest Amendments to the Law discourages any attempt to obtain legal protection and to fight against corruption in public procurement in B&H.

The proposed amendments specifically highlighted the need to increase the penalties for violating the Law, not only for contracting authorities, because it is ultimately paid by taxpayers, but also for the responsible persons in the contracting authority, as well as the bidders and their responsible persons. The current proposal of the Law on Public Procurement in BiH provides fines for responsible persons in the contracted authority that are lower than the fines provided by the existing Law on Public Procurement, that certainly will not raise the level of accountability. EU Public Procurement Directives also insist on the necessity of application of ‘more proportional, efficient, severe punishments’ for all violators of the Law. Penalties for the responsible persons in the existing Law have been reduced from 4,000.00 KM to the amount of 300.00 to 3,000.00 KM, which represents a step backwards in terms of accountability improvement. According to the Law in neighbouring countries proposed sanctions range up to 25,000 KM for the responsible persons in contracting authority, for bidders up to 20,000 KM and for contracted authority up to 15,000 KM. Significant sanction increase would raise the accountability of all participants in public procurement and strengthen the protection of public interest when it comes to rational spending of budget funds.

It is indicated to the necessity of reducing the percentage of direct agreements, as the current practice has shown that up to 35% of procurement funds were spent because of the application of this non-transparent procedure. Therefore, one of the proposed Amendments limits the total value of procurement through the direct agreement to 10%.

TI B&H appeals on legislators to finally seize the opportunity and improve the Law on Public Procurement and implementation of anti-corruption mechanisms, which have long been included in the public procurement laws in the region, recognizing the necessity for harmonization of laws with EU Directives and the damage that corruption in public procurement can cause to the state budget.

Presentation of Anti-Corruption Amateur Video Competition and New Tools for Corruption Reporting

Press releases ● 03 February 2014

On this occasion, TI B&H will present the results of the annual report of the Advocacy and Legal Advice Centres, where the public will be informed about citizens’ reports of corruption in various areas and the results of TI B&H actions towards the competent institutions.

The press conference will be held on 5^th February 2014 starting at 11.00 am, at Hotel Bosna in Banja Luka.

No Seriousness of Authorities in the Fight against Corruption from the Start

Press releases ● 14 January 2014

Banja Luka 14^th January 2014- Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina (TI B&H), with the support of the Open Society Fund B&H has published the fifth Report on the Monitoring of the Anti-Corruption Strategy (2009-2014) and Action Plan.

The monitoring results have shown that almost four years since the adoption of the Anti-Corruption Strategy and just before the expiry of its application, out of the total number of measures (81), only 8 measures (9,8 %) have been completely realized, 57 measures (70,4%) have been partly realized, while 16 measures (19,8 %) have not been realized. Having in mind that formal period for implementation of the Strategy ends in the near future these results are far from the satisfactory.

Only in the last Reporting Period, The Agency for the Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption has begun to hire staff, provide technical requirements for the functioning and undertake activities to meet statutory authority.

The Problems that the Agency encountered from the very beginning had a negative impact on the level of implementation of the Strategy. On top of that, recently adopted Amendments to the Law on Conflict of Interest have enabled the work of the Commission for the Resolution of Conflict of Interest within the Agency. Thus, the Agency, as a part of obligations referring to conflict of interest, has been committed to take over eight employees of the Department of the Conflict of Interest of the Central Election Commission.

The lack of willingness of other institutions encompassed by the Strategy is reflected in their delay of the implementation of obligations prescribed by the Strategy, inconsistency of its application at different levels of government and a delay of almost two years in securing resources for the Agency. This shows that since adoption of the Strategy there has not been genuine political will among the members of the current government to conduct its implementation.

The period for implementation of the Anti-Corruption Strategy ends this year, and thereafter the development of the new one is planned. According to the monitoring results and the reports that have been published by TI B&H during the four-year period intended for the implementation of the Strategy, the main conclusion is that the opportunity presented by this strategic document is missed, and that the Anti-Corruption Strategy 2009-2014 represents one of the many documents that have not produced any results due to complete lack of willingness of the authorities and the law enforcement agencies.

B&H Continues to Stagnate in the Fight against Corruption

Press releases ● 03 December 2013

Banja Luka, 3^rd December 2013 – Transparency International (TI) has published the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) for 2012, according to which B&H is placed on 72^nd place on a list of 176 countries, and with a score of 42 (on scale from 0 to 100). B&H shares this place with Sao Tome and Principe, Brazil, Serbia and South Africa.

This result is still below the average of 50, and B&H is found among the countries with dangerous levels of corruption that impacts all segments of the life of its citizens. CPI continues to show that B&H has made no breakthrough in the fight against corruption.

In comparison with countries in the region, B&H is on the scale below Slovenia at 44nd place, Croatia at 58^th place, Montenegro and Macedonia that share 67^th place with a score of 44, shares its position with Serbia, while only Kosovo is under B&H at 111^th place.

As in earlier years, the CPI shows again that B&H stagnates in the fight against corruption, and that there are no serious efforts by authorities that could affect the CPI. This is proven by the collapse of anti- corruption laws, lack of final convictions for offenses of corruption and lack of implementation of strategic documents for the fight against corruption.

Although the CPI and all other relevant research for years indicate a decline or stagnation of B&H, responsible institutions and governments in B&H have even ignored the warnings of the EU that the fight against corruption would be a key factor in B&H’s accession to European Union, due to which, even 20 years lather B&H is just beginning to establish a system of responsibility towards its citizens.