TI BIH: A DRASTIC INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF REPORTS OF CORRUPTION IN STATE ADMINISTRATION

In the first six months of this year, 194 corruption-related cases were initiated, of which 87 relate to irregularities in state administration, according to the semi-annual report of the Center for Providing Free Legal Aid in the Fight Against Corruption, Transparency International in BiH for the year 2024.

The number of cases related to state administration has increased by 26% compared to the same period last year (69), confirming the findings of another research conducted by TI BiH, stating that citizens encounter corruption most often in public administration.

Citizens report to the Center pointing out irregularities in public administration at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina, most often reporting irregularities in employment and appointment in public bodies, favoritism and illegalities in the distribution of public funds, the performance of works on the construction and maintenance of local infrastructure, access to health services, and discrimination and violation of rights from labor relations, etc.

Overall, in the first part of this year, citizens made 1,227 calls at the Center’s free line for corruption 0800 55555, twice as much as in the first half of 2023.

In addition to administration, education (18), private sector (17) and judiciary (17) are the areas in which the largest number of cases were recorded, while in health there was a deterioration after 14 cases were initiated this year compared to 8 last year.

The largest number of cases, as many as 100, were initiated based on the reports of persons witnessing corruption, and that number is higher than last year, when 71 cases were reports of witnesses. Similarly, the number of cases reported by victims of corruption increased from 70 cases this year compared to 56 in the same period last year.

What is certainly worrying is the drop in the number of cases reported by so-called “whistleblowers”, i.e. persons who report corruption in their work environment, as only 7 such cases were initiated this year compared to 29 in the first half of 2023. One of the reasons for this decline can certainly be insufficient protection resulting from the absence of relevant laws, such as the case in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, or the creation of an atmosphere of public condemnation, intimidation and even open threats by the highest political officials addressed to persons who report corruption.

In the same period, 9 administrative disputes were initiated against public authorities due to failure to provide information of public importance, and competent courts issued 9 verdicts, 8 of which were in favor of Transparency International BiH.

Apart from the area of ​​freedom of access to information, the TI BiH Center also acted in the field of human rights protection, and the Institution of the Ombudsman for Human Rights of BiH made 2 recommendations based on the petitions of TI BiH, among which was the confirmation that the railways in both entities discriminated against people without having passed professional exam during employment.

TI BiH continued to act in the direction of suppressing conflicts of interest, and after TI BiH reporting, the Commission for deciding on conflicts of interest of BiH determined that the director of the Regulatory Agency for Communications of BiH, Draško Milinović, was at the same time the head of the Tennis Association of the RS, which received significant funds from the budget for the construction of tennis courts in Banja Luka, for which he was punished by suspending 10% of his salary for the next 6 months.

In a similar way, TI BiH protected public interest in the field of natural resources protection, and the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of the Federation of BiH overturned the decision of the Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office of the Central Bosnia Canton and ordered an investigation against the persons responsible for non-payment of concession fees worth over 1.7 million BAM.

TI BiH Center for Providing Legal Assistance in the Fight Against Corruption provides advisory legal assistance to citizens, who can contact the Center via the toll-free number 0800 55555 or via the platform prijaviikorupciju.org.