“Transparency International has been instrumental in combating corruption throughout the world and in Bosnia and Herzegovina by promoting good governance, accountability and transparency in the work of public institutions”, Principal Deputy High Representative Raffi Gregorian told the Chair of the Board of Directors of Transparency International, Hugette Labelle, during a meeting today in Sarajevo.
The fact that Bosnia and Herzegovina remains the lowest-ranked country in the Western Balkans on Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perception Index is a clear sign that the country has a long way to go to root out corruption. The PDHR praised the courage and dedication of TI BiH and its members in exposing the most flagrant examples of abuse of power and corruption throughout the country, including in Brcko District, where he asked Transparency International to work with the government and the public to deal with the issue. “Despite continuous attacks on its members and their valuable work, TI BiH has persisted in investigating and exposing corruption cases, thereby contributing to establishing the rule of law at all levels and across the whole country”, the PDHR said.
Gregorian regretted that the response from authorities to TI BiH’s findings has often been very disappointing. Instead of tackling the exposed problems, the responsible authorities have repeatedly engaged in personal attacks on the members of TI BiH. “Rather than blame the messenger, all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina should work on improving governance, increasing accountability, and enhancing transparency and civil society participation in public life”, the PDHR concluded.
During the meeting today, Ms Labelle was accompanied by Emir Djikic, President of Board of Directors of TI BiH, Srdjan Blagovcanin, Executive Director of TI BiH, and Aleksandra Martinovic, Member of Board of Directors of TI BiH.