“Barometer” held an interview with Karen Zadoyan, Project Manager of the European Union supported “Multi-Faceted Anti-Corruption” project. Below is the interview.
Naturally “BAROMETER” could stand a gap in its “space” and not to touch the problem of corruption. In this respect we couldn’t find a more informed party for the interview than Mr. Karen Zadoyan, the Project Manager of the European Union supported “Multi-Faceted Anti-Corruption” project.
According to the annual rankings on anticorruption perception of the population for 2014 of the Transparency International Global Anti-Corruption Organization published this year, Armenia with 38 points is the 94th among 175 countries and stands before 10 post soviet countries. At the same time we are far behind our neighbor Georgia. How do you evaluate the situation? Are the results are satisfying or not?
– I always compare this with the school grading system with ten points. There are ten points there and 0ne hundred points here. Excellent rating is 9 to 10, good – 7 and 8, an average 5 and 6, insufficient 3 and 4, and extremely insufficient 2 and 1. If we compare the same with those rates, we shall see that the absolute leaders in fight against corruption in the last 3 years are Denmark, New Zealand and Finland which have the grades from 89 to 92. Among the leaders we can see the countries, which made a big leap in terms of curbing corruption. These are Singapore and Hong Kong. Their successful fight against corruption is often brought as an example in Armenia. These countries’ corruption perception index is 84 and 74. I would also mention the third group, which includes the three Post Soviet Baltic States: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, which have registered considerable success in the context of curbing corruption as well. They have registered 69, 58 and 57 points accordingly. Taking a look to the neighboring countries we may see that in 2014 Georgia with 52 points is the fiftieth, Turkey with 45 points is the sixty-fourth, Armenia with 37 points is the ninety-fourth, Azerbaijan with 29 points is the one hundred and twenty-sixth, Iran with 27 points is one-hundred and thirty-sixth. If we shall compare the results with those in 2013 we may see that Turkey has yield its position by 5 points – form 50 points to 45 and from the 53rd place to 64th.. Georgia has added its score from 49 points reached to 52 and restored its performance of 2012 and came to the 50th place. Armenia stayed on the 94th place but has one point more as compared with 2013. If we shall compare these with the school marks, what do you think what will be the reaction of the parent if his child gets 3.6 and 3.7 in a 10 point system? Of course it will be very bad. No parent will tolerate his/her child’s “laziness”. In this regard, Armenia is in a very vulnerable situation. Our neighbors Iran and Azerbaijan are even in a worse condition than Armenia. At the same time the Northern Korea and Somali, which are the last in the corruption perception rating during the last three years and are the 174th with 8 points are the real failures.
Generally, different countries have different methods to fight corruption: According to you what are the mechanisms to fight against corruption in our country, so that the wide masses of the population will not have an impression of imitation or one-time actions?
– If we look at this on the example of successful countries, effective anti-corruption mechanisms are establishment and functioning of independent anti-corruption professional (in some countries even multi-functional) bodies. When these bodies in addition to authority to elaborate and implement anti-corruption strategy also have the authority to conduct monitoring activities of their implementation. The next important issue is the educational activities aimed at raising the level of anticorruption perception and awareness. The educational-awareness activities shall be implemented starting from the pre-school education till the education in the higher educational establishments. Since when the human identity and world-view are developed, of course since childhood, so someone should be able to start these educational activities form the pre-school institutions. If their anti-corruption perception is not shaped in this age, later in the mature age they will tend to corruption. I think, first of all, the government should undertake the responsibility to carry out this important function effectively on a continuous basis. Unfortunately, in Armenia the government still does not solve this problem. The non-governmental and civil society organizations are the other actors who try to conduct targeted activities in this direction. If the corruption perception index in 2012 was lower than in 2014, we have a better performance; this also shows that the public sector organizations have worked more effectively in anti-corruption sphere. Despite this, the majority of our people are also prone to corruption because it is a way to solve their problems quickly and easily. And what is corruption? – A closed chain which has a hidden nature. And it is obvious that the specialized civil society organizations are raising the issue of the phenomenon of corruption occurrences highlighting its baneful impact on the society.
You’ve been working for a long time in anti-corruption sphere and implement targeted anti-corruption activities among the population in the framework of different projects. How would you comment, does our society perceive this occurrence as an evil? If “yes”, to what extend is the population ready to have its contribution in the fight against corruption?
– The more conscious part of the society perceives it as an evil, put this perception among the vast layers of the population is still on a rather low level. Perception of corruption occurrence, its danger, struggle against the corruption, and intolerance is very important. Over the past six years, our organization has implemented various anti-corruption programs. We have conducted numerous meetings aimed at raising the anti-corruption perception and awareness among the population in almost all communities of Armenia. Initially citizens even did not know what corruption was and they did not even understand that term. Corruption was often identified only as bribery. Corruption is not only bribery. Corruption is abuse of ex officio powers in the private or personal purposes, expressed in different ways (action or inaction). So we have much work to do in order to form among the public the perception of corruption as threat, as well as to form the environment of intolerance, hatred and contempt against the corruption among the public.
Of course, one cannot justify the doctor who anticipates to receive money from the relatives of the patient; the lecturer, who tries to take bribe from a student who does not study; the official of condominium who takes 1000 drams from the resident to provide a reference; and finally the voter who vote for a particular candidate for 5000- 10000 AMD and so on. But is this the only problem?
– Naturally, the social conditions are of great importance and poverty can create fertile ground for flourishing of corruption. The fight against corruption is not a problem which may be solved with a stroke of the pen, it is a complex task. I have already mentioned several mechanisms; I would also like to highlight the imperative of creating appropriate conditions for public servants, including decent and competitive salary, social security, etc. It is extremely important that the demand for good governance is formed among the public, public officials, and public servants. It is time that our citizens to understand that the diploma which they buy, cannot have any value in the current society. Or when the future doctor passes his exams at the higher education establishment through corrupt ways. The lecturer takes the money and puts the mark; it is possible that the same professor may appear on the operating table of the doctor, the doctor whose diploma he awarded by corrupt means.In any case, every member of society, regardless of their position and post must be aware that intolerance towards corruption should start with himself, his family, and his surroundings.
Details in the website of the source.
