(Podgorica, 16 January 2012) – MANS today released its first report on the implementation of the government’s Innovated Action Plan (IAP) for the Implementation of its Combating Corruption and Organized Crime Strategy, which was adopted last July. The report covers the period between July and September 2011 and does not include the activities of state authorities after this time.
Although the European integration process requires that Montenegro implement rigorous reforms in the field of fighting corruption and organized crime, the report demonstrates that state institutions have not done enough to carry out their responsibilities as stipulated in the Action Plan.
During the first quarter of the IAP’s implementation, only 12% of measures envisioned by the document were fully implemented, 20% were partially implemented and 61% had not even begun. For 7% of the IAP measures the relevant institutions failed to submit implementation data.
During the reporting period, ten out of seventeen proposed bills within the IAP were adopted. The largest number of measures that were implemented related to the organization of seminars and training, as well as resolving personnel issues and institutional procedures. State institutions organized seminars and training sessions devoted to: the prevention of conflicts of interest; access to information; combating corrupting in the police, the judiciary, public financing and urban planning; the protection of whistleblowers; the protection of persons who are witness in cases of organized crime; as well as seminars and training sessions on criminal prosecution procedures and the confiscation of illegally acquired assets.
The Ministry of Finance failed to release a decree defining precisely the notion of “abuse of state resources.” A report concerning complaints, investigations, indictments and verdicts in the period covering 2008-2010 – which would contribute to the transparency of the financial reporting carried out by political parties and election campaigns – has not been prepared.
The Ministry of Interior failed to prepare its analysis of reported assets by high-ranking officials in the Police Department, the National Security Agency, the Customs Administration, the Tax Administration and authorities in charge of carrying out inspection activities. A report on the use, management and disposal of property and other assets belonging to Montenegro has yet to be completed – meaning that the scope of the property possessed by Montenegro and how it is being used remains unknown to the public. The Supreme Public Prosecutor’s Office has failed to issue any final decisions against enterprises for acts of corruption.
During the reporting period not a single privatization agreement was signed, while a database of privatized enterprises has not been created. The Privatization Council has established a system for reporting corruption, but there is no information on the number of campaigns or the number of educational materials distributed with the aim of encouraging the reporting of corruption by citizens. The Privatization Council has established guidelines for the selection of members sitting on tender commissions. The Strategy for Public Procurement for the period 2011-2014 has not been prepared.
An analysis of the regulations concerning the disciplinary responsibilities of judges and prosecutors was not completed, stalling eventual amendments to the existing regulations flowing from such an analysis. Anticipated changes to the Constitution, which would strengthen the independence and autonomy of the judiciary and the Prosecutor General have yet to be completed. A comprehensive database for use by the Prosecutor General, with information on ownership of real estate, share capital, legal entities, personal property and other relevant data has not yet been established.
The Agency for Preventing Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing has not prepared its six-month report that would contain information on the number of audits carried out and the results of inspections of banks and other businesses that report suspicious transactions.
The entire report is available on the MANS website, at: http://www.mans.co.me/wp-content/uploads/tiki/XVIizvjestajAP.pdf.
Vuk Maraš
Monitoring Program Director
