Agency for Prevention of Corruption

Within the scope of its competences, the Agency for Prevention of Corruption publishes results of the public opinion surveys under the title “Public Attitudes to Corruption and Familiarity with APC’ s Work”. This is a regular yearly survey which was conducted for the needs of this body by the agency Damar plus. The same public opinion surveys were published last year and the year before that.

Results of this survey are encouraging for the Agency since they confirm trust and higher degree of information about the work done by the Agency. For example, out of the respondents who have heard about the Agency, 94% of them stated they knew what the Agency does. Over 60% of respondents have trust in the work done by the Agency, just like in the previous two years. Moreover, 66.4% of them believe that the Agency contributed to the overall fight against corruption in Montenegro.

This year, as in previous two years, the Agency ranked first among bodies which citizens would address should they decide to report corruption. We believe that favourable assessments of the Agency in this year’ s survey reflect specific and measurable results achieved so far by this institution through a consistent application of the laws falling within its competence and through the work which is entirely independent and free from political or any other kind of interference.

For example, as far as prevention of the conflict of interest is concerned, we highlight that over the past three years of the work done by this body, on the basis of Agency’s opinions and decisions 220 public officials from different categories either resigned or were dismissed from office. The Agency further improved control of the data contained in the statements of income and assets filed by public officials by connecting IT system of the Agency to the databases of several state bodies in real time and by introducing random selection module to the information system which guarantees non-selectiveness in choosing public officials whose statement of assets will be subject to control.

Moreover, by using all legal competences for exercising control and supervision, the Agency ensured the highest ever level of transparency of financing political entities and election campaigns and of the use of public resources in election campaign (budget expenditures, employment, social benefits etc.), by which it made considerable contribution to the prevention of any potential misuses and to the prevention of violation of the provisions of the Law on Financing Political Parties and Election Campaigns.

Due to violations of the laws falling within its competence, in the three years of its work the Agency filed 1,687 motions for the initiation of misdemeanor procedures against public officials, political entities and state bodies, based on which competent courts imposed fines in the amount of EUR 324,700.

It is worthwhile noting that the survey revealed that more than 70% of respondents believe that Agency’ s campaigns encourage citizens to oppose corruption. We believe that the campaigns mentioned above contributed to a considerable increase in the number of whistle-blowers that have addresed the Agency this year, compared to the previous two years. Let us remind you that the Agency received 56 reports in 2016, 69 reports in 2017 and by 01 December of this year it has received 103 reports which speaks volumes of the increase in citizens’ have trust in the work done by this body.

Particularly encouraging is data from a part of the survey related to public attitudes to corruption, according to which as high as 91.6% of respondents stated that it was never all right to give money to civil servants in order to exercise some of the rights citizens are entitled to by law.

Still, in addition to the good results of the survey which concern the Agency’ s work, certain data reveal that Agency’ s activities related to informing public about competences of this body should be intensified. In fact, data from the survey suggesting that 34.9% of respondents believe that the Agency conducts criminal prosecution of corruption cases is a clear indicator that the Agency must continue its information campaigns in order to raise public awareness about preventive competences of this body.

As it has done so far, the Agency will continue to exercise all its legal competences in a consistent and non-selective manner and to fulfil its obligations arising from Chapter 23, Operational Document for the Prevention of Corruption for the Areas Exposed to Special Risk, as well as the obligations arising from international anticorruption documents. These activities are expected to contribute to achieving even better results of this body in the following public opinion surveys.

The Agency remains a reliable partner to all the entities responsible for fighting corruption, it is open for cooperation with national and local authorities, international institutions, nongovernmental organisations, media and citizens, and all that with the aim of alleviating corruption in society, which is a joint task on the path of Montenegro in European integration.