“Establishment of public-private partnership for prevention of corruption“
Overview
The aim of the project is to create effective Public-Private Partnership on the national level for co-operation between NGO representatives, branch unions and the Ministry of the Interior in the field of corruption prevention. This aim will be obtained through conducting the activities aimed at creation of public- private partnership between the representatives of the civil community, implementation authorities and institutions with direct involvement in the problem of corruption; through rising the capacity and stimulating the participation of NGOs on the base of European countries experience for improving the countries social policy and providing the corresponding guarantees.
The experience and the observations of «DIA-SPORT» Association and its Project partner the Association « Union of the Officers and Sergeants in the reserve » show that without the joint efforts of the Non-Governmental Organisations, Institutions, Business and Media it is not possible to implement effective fight against corruption.
The project activities are pointed at the establishment of transparent public authorities.
Partners
Target groups
NGO representatives, local authority representatives, representatives of the Businesses in the face of branch unions and representatives from the Ministry of the Interior from the municipalities of Stara Zagora , Plovdiv , Haskovo, Yambol and Burgas.
Background
The present opinion polls direct and indirect sources of information (EU Reports from 2005 and reports of the International Advocacy organisations) outline the following vision regarding corruption prerequisites:
• Political prerequisites : - restricted nature of the political reforms and dependency of the Judiciary and Legislature on the Executive; undeveloped civil society and particularly lack of effective institutional co-operation between the NGOs and the businesses on the one hand and the state on the other.
• Institutional prerequisites – still clumsy and non transparent state administration, characterised with doubling of functions of its separate bodies and insufficient co-coordination between them .
• Prerequisites in the economic field – Corruption pressure in the transformation of the state-owned property into private .
• Great deal of the shadow economy ; - bureaucratic and legal obstacles before the local entrepreneurs and the foreign investors; - lack of free resources; - unsettled legal framework . The selected target regions can be characterised with high economic potential and vas development during the recent years. The cities that the work meetings and seminars are planned to be held are administrative centres and various local and state institutions are represented there .
There is a need of the public to co-operate and control the institutions' activities in corruption prevention and fight against corruption. The active role of the NGOs in counteracting corruption is traditionally underestimated in anti-corruption projects. It is also not very easy to attract the branch unions. Surveys in Bulgaria suggest that their role in this initiative is quite restricted. Many of the affected parties that support anti-corruption measures express more or less only passive support. The willingness for independent anonymous actions is dominant. On the background of all problems described, the relations between the Ministry of the Interior and the Civil Society can be characterised as terminative and with low stability. The forms of relations between the Executive and the Civil Society happen only sporadically, usually initiated by NGOs, are very rare and lack sustainability.
NGOs should provide example for transparency and restriction of the corruption practices within the civil society itself. In the absence of adequate legal framework the efforts should be pointed at recreation and confirmation of the moral standards and values of the non-profit organisations. In this respect the main prerequisite for the anti-corruption practices success is the creation of mechanism of co-operation in this field between NGOs and state institutions. It is necessary to elaborate mechanism for the harmonisation of the public's interests and the state policy in defining the priorities, instruments and the specific measures in the fight against corruption.
Activities
• 5 working meetings in Stara Zagora , Plovdiv , Haskovo, Yambol and Burgas
• 5 training seminars in Stara Zagora , Plovdiv , Haskovo, Yambol and Burgas
• 1 final conference in Sofia
Expected results
• Bochures with good anticorruptional practice
• Information materials on corruption prevention
Sustainability
• Financial aspect – the function of the Public Councils – implemented on the voluntary principle of the participants
• Institutional level - establishment of the project structures (Public Councils)
• Policy level – improvement of the legal framework
Duration
1 st December 2007 – 30 th November 2008