By B.Bix Aliu
in Tirana
The United States places a high priority on combating corruption. We view it as a threat to development and prosperity. Corruption jeopardizes political stability, weakens democracy, and stymies growth and foreign investment. Corruption robs a nation of its future and people of their dreams by misappropriating investment away from areas that need it most, such as the public sector, infrastructure and social development.
Promoting good governance and fighting corruption are important foreign policy priorities for the United States. The US has helped Albania in its efforts to combat corruption and increase transparency, improve good governance, combat money laundering, and prosecute crime by providing technical assistance and training. We’ve also assisted with strengthening criminal justice systems and capacities of law enforcement agencies.
The Department of Justice’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training, OPDAT, has given very concrete assistance to the Prosecutor’s Office and the courts. It has assisted with the fight against corruption, organized crime, narcotics, and human trafficking cases. It helped establish the Joint Investigative Unit, JIU. This unit is now achieving important results in the struggle against corruption and financial crime – achievements that have been recognized by such bodies as Transparency International and Freedom House as real successes in the fight against corruption. We expect the same success will be replicated nationwide with the establishment of JIUs in six additional districts.
We all know the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating some of the most complicated and controversial cases ever in Albania. Although the United States has no interest in who may eventually be found guilty or innocent – that is a job strictly for the prosecutors and judges – justice can never be served unless investigators and prosecutors are allowed to follow the evidence wherever it may lead. There is no arguing that in order to succeed, the Prosecutor’s Office needs full powers to investigate and prosecute offenders free from outside interference. Lifting immunity for all senior officials would make success possible.
The police are another key element in rule-of-law mechanisms. The Department of Justice’s International Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program, ICITAP, has been providing continuous assistance to the police by reforming their training and leadership programs, and updating their skills in crime investigation and prevention, as well as community policing.
Several of the United States Agency for International Development, USAID, integrated rule-of-law and anticorruption programs also are designed to help reduce opportunities and incentives for corruption, and by promoting independent media, civil society, and public education.
Albania has qualified for a second Millennium Challenge Threshold program. This is expected to assist anti-corruption efforts by establishing an administrative court that will improve management of disputes of an administrative character, such as tax and procurement appeals; tax administration reform to increase the efficiency of tax administration in revenue collection; streamlining the licensing system through a one-stop-shop model; the establishment of a National Planning Registry to make construction permits more transparent and efficient; and, last but not least, establishing Joint Investigative Units in six additional districts.
In May, an Institute for Development Research and Alternatives, IDRA, corruption perception survey found that 92 per cent of Albanians believe corruption is widespread among public officials, a decline of eight percentage points from a year ago. The report showed no progress in bribery indicators. Nearly 70 per cent of people surveyed report having paid a bribe for medical treatment. Nearly 60 per cent have little or no trust in the judicial system. There is much more work to do.
There should be significant development of enforceable procedural systems promoting accountability and transparency: standardized and public administrative processes and licenses; public legislative processes that follow standardized rules; public judicial proceedings that follow standardized procedures; public budgeting processes and internal financial controls; a merit-based civil service.
Most importantly, there should be political will to enforce all these rules and laws and complementary efforts from the various law enforcement institutions. There is no doubt that the US will continue to assist Albania, but the real driving force for the overall success of anti-corruption efforts should come from within this country: institutions, civil society, and individuals. No one should be above the law.
B.Bix Aliu is a Public Affairs Officer at the United States Embassy in Tirana. Balkan Insight, BIRN’s online publication, commissioned this comment.
