ZAGREB, Sept 19 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan on Friday met a delegation of Transparency International Croatia (TIH), who acquainted him with the results of a survey conducted in May, which shows that citizens expect
stricter penalties for violators of the law and greater competence of the authorities in preventing corruption, the government's public relations office said in a statement.
ZAGREB, Sept 19 (Hina) - Croatian Prime Minister Ivica Racan on
Friday met a delegation of Transparency International Croatia
(TIH), who acquainted him with the results of a survey conducted in
May, which shows that citizens expect stricter penalties for
violators of the law and greater competence of the authorities in
preventing corruption, the government's public relations office
said in a statement. #L#
The survey, conducted by the national branch of the international
network of associations for the prevention of corruption, included
questions about conflict of interest and the availability of
information.
A member of the delegation, Josip Kregar, said that Croatian
international ratings (Corruption barometer), monitored by the
International Chamber of Commerce and the world association of
research experts, had improved in comparison to 2000.
Kregar singled out several issues relating to corruption to which
respondents demonstrated extreme sensitivity.
Citizens urge stricter penalties for those involved in corruption
and expect the authorities to be more competent in preventing
corruption, Kregar said.
According to the survey, information of general importance should
be more available to everybody, access to documents more
transparent, and the public work of politicians more open to the
public.
TIH officials see as a positive step forward the adoption of
amendments to the law on the confidentiality of information, which
makes information of public interest available to the public.
Speaking about corruption, Racan called for greater engagement of
all democratic structures in the country's political and social
life.
The PM proposed that the topic of the next meeting be the
partnership between the government and non-government
organisations promoting transparency, as well as the TIH's joining
the evaluation of the national programme for the fight against
corruption, the statement said.
(hina) rml