Written by: Hasan Preteni
Today is the International Day against Corruption, a fitting moment for political leaders, governments, legal bodies and lobby groups around the world when they can each take dignified steps for their society in the fight against corruption.
On this day of anti-corruption, different mechanisms mark this day by organizing events to promote the general public to effectively be part of the fight against corruption and fraud in certain societies.
Although this date does not belong to international public holidays, however, to respect anti-corruption actions all democratic societies mark this day by encouraging appeals and messages towards the fight against corruption.
I remember that in 2007, when the UNDP office in Kosovo and Anti-Corruption Agency projected the awarding of the best journalistic reporting on anti corruption, pessimists talked and said that this event could not become traditional.
But in fact this event has already become traditional and its organizing stakeholders UNDP , ACA and APJK for the fifth time are supporting the journalists as the most influential community in the society to continue to do their best to disclose the faces of the corrupted.
On 9 December 2007 I had said that corruption is made by evil people. Now I repeat it a little bit different, that corruption or the corrupted should not be viewed as hermetically protected force. Based on the practices of the institution which I run, this phenomenon is a result of personal actions or even of a particular group, motivated by greed.
So, this means that to fight corruption and corrupted people you are in battle with an evil phenomenon and evil people who are never able to bring consequences, because they are really Evil.
As it is well known the reference to the notion of corruption is associated with the destruction of one's honesty or loyalty through undermining moral integrity, refers to those who use a position of power or trust for dishonest gain.
Fortunately Kosovo has established institutional mechanisms that fight this phenomenon.
It has built the legal framework and national strategy for the fight against corruption, namely the legal and administrative aspect of Kosovo is good. All laws and other anti-corruption policy documents are completed in accordance with international laws and United Nations conventions.
But, well-functioning of institutional chain to combat corruption remains a matter left to be desired. Consequently, Kosovo for several years remains the state with the highest level of corruption in the region.
And to avoid this, it is very important that the functioning of the institutional chain be tied strong, without breaks and this implies that the corrupted should be tried and sentenced appropriately.
Otherwise, corruption and the corrupted will undermine democracy, violate human rights, suffocate transparency, threaten institutional stability and impede economic development.
Therefore, all of us have a responsibility to take action against the cancer of corruption, in order to ensure no misuse of funds for economic development of the country, to promote educational system for our children, to promote health care and other essential services.
On this International Day against corruption, I call on all for a joint commitment that each of us do something to take energetic measures to make ashamed the corrupted, to build a society that has high values and moral and ethical standards, in order to open a road with fair and pure values where at the end through it will pass the future of our children.
