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Corruption in Serbia
Begovic, Boris and Mijatovic, Bosko |
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| ‘As a social phenomenon, corruption is as old as society and it is (only) talked and written about .. when there exists enough freedom (to do so)….’ Thus starts the report and analysis of corruption in Serbia. The 207 page document firstly defines what corruption is, what are its basic causes and what are the mechanisms used to perpetuate it. Giving and taking of bribes is a centuries old tradition in Serbian society and punitive action is taken against the giver rather the receiver, contrary to the public perception of how it should be! The findings of the report are based on a public opinion survey carried out in 2001 amongst 1,632 adults across a widespread section of society. Corruption was seen as the cause for political instability, crime, poverty and poor economic performance and for personal gain as the worst effects from a social point of view. What surprised the writers was the general lack of condemnation for those involved in such practices. The report also looked at the way corruption manifested itself in Serbian Society, in the judiciary, police force and customs, the Federal and Republican Government, etc., as well as the possible reasons why such corruption existed. At the end, the writers put forward a 23 point action plan which puts the emphasis clearly on the elected government to generate the resolve to combat it and to carry out essential reforms in many areas of public life. Above all to break with the past tradition that corruption is an inevitable way of life in Serbia. |
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