“Twenty years ago, Gjuner Ismail and I formed “Transparency Macedonia(Транспарентност Македонија)”, and I can emphasize that, unlike 20 years ago, there is now significant progress in the fight against corruption. We are witnessing that in the last few years the topic of fighting corruption is in great progress, because officials, starting with Prime Minister Zaev, are racing to criticize corruption, said Sasho Ordanoski at the conference on human rights, justice and anti-corruption “Next Station: Europe” , fight against corruption.
He stressed that this was not the case before. As an example of fighting corruption, he pointed out the opposition leader Mickoski, who gets the same minutes in the media space as Zaev and other members of the government.
“Independent bodies and non-governmental organizations are in good condition. If you look at the president of the SCPC, Biljana Ivanovska, how much she talks about corruption, we can see that there is no pressure and many of the initiatives get some sort of solution.”
Ordanoski says that in 2020 the public awareness is present and there is public talk about corruption. Our administration is far from delivering quality services, and thus the possibility of corruption is greater. The administration needs to be completely reformed.
“In the past two or three months, while taking out documents, I witnessed how documents are taken out through various channels, sometimes it is faster to get some work done at the counter for a box of cigarettes,” he said.
The fight against corruption will not succeed if there is no efficiency of the judiciary, the prosecutor’s office for organized crime, which is only now beginning to function. But, in order for the institutions that fight against corruption to start functioning, there must be political will, which in the last 2, 3 years we have seen that this government recognizes that there is corruption and aims to eradicate it. The government, through the ministry headed by Ljupco Nikolovski, wants to show that it is fighting corruption.
“In the past, you could not have asked Gruevski if he had funds in Belize, unlike now, you can ask Zaev what you want and get an answer,” Ordanoski said.
The fight against corruption has the opposite side and it always speaks of populist initiatives, no matter what the perception in society. If you ask if there is corruption in the judiciary, 95% will say – yes, and if you ask them if you have experience with the judiciary, they will answer one percent that they had experience. That is the perception that everyone is corrupt.
For me and my family, false information and fabrications about some means are circulating on social networks, and I have no way to deny or sue them, it takes means and time and those lies are constantly recycled.
Such lies and perceptions that everyone is corrupt influence many smart people to stay away from public life so as not to spit on them and discredit them.
D. M.
