TIRANA TIMES
TIRANA, Dec. 20 – Corruption remains Albania’s Achille’s heel. It is always mentioned in international reports as a problem hampering the country’s democratic performance and foreign investors’ confidence.
That is why there are many meetings, round tables and conferences held and sponsored by the international community on the subject.
The last meeting was held last week, focusing on the media role in the fight against corruption.
Eugen Wollfarth of the OSCE office in Tirana said corruption had a direct impact on the economic and social stability and added that it was a main priority for his office in the country.
Institutions and the civic society are strongly supported in any step they undertake against corruption.
Public awareness remains a main tool in that fight.
Local authorities were urged to have minimizing corruption as a top priority as corruption would negatively affect every cell of the society.
It is true that due to corruption the economy may not work properly, the social stability may have repercussions and the public trust lacks. It reduces the amount of money coming out of taxes and heightens the public cost, deteriorates competition and mainly affects negatively the poor stratum of the society.
The government has undertaken a series of measures and parliament passed a number of laws aimed at that fight. The government claims big results mentioning a couple of hundred of public officials taken to trial. But the practice and daily life is much different from these claims.
The opposition started last summer a series of attacks against cabinet members and lawmakers of the Democratic Party, including Prime Minister Sali Berisha.
The Democrats on their side turned their target to opposition Socialist Party leader Edi Rama.
Despite some steps taking the cases to the prosecutor’s office there are still no results which the common people may see.
The people, on their side, find it hard often to have some simple services, not to speak of corruption in the judiciary.
They still feel the lack of the transparency in the public posts, the unclear legal basis especially for the property ownership. They still do not know well how the political parties find and manage the money they spend during the election campaigns. They really do not trust yet any effort made from the government to fight corruption.
But they also listen the news from another country in the region, Croatia, which arrested its former premier for tax evasion. Croatia is a step ahead in the membership to the European Union and corruption was one of the main obstacles for the country to become a full member. Albania has also asked to become a candidate status to the EU and, among many other topics (12 mentioned in total at the last progress report), corruption remains high on the agenda the country (not only the government, but political parties, civic society and the people themselves) need to focus their efforts.
Wollfarth also urged the local media to increase its role as a whistleblower or as a bell ringing alarm in the country.
Fighting corruption needs better fight from the government, the media, the society and everyone, applying the zero tolerance so often heard about in the news.
