Ilidža Municipality Drafts Action Plan for Fight Against Corruption

Corruption in a broader sense represents any abuse of public function and position for personal or group gain. In a narrower sense, it is an abuse of position or violation of the law for obtaining a specific, usually material benefit. At its core, it implies putting personal interest ahead of the public interest by a person whose primary duty or task is precisely the protection of the public interest.

The most common causes of corruption in society are: the absence or poor legal framework, lack of oversight institutions, non-transparent management, lack of accountability, and lack of professional ethics. Combating corruption is one of the greatest challenges for public administration, including local self-government units, and efforts are made to prevent it through the application of preventive and repressive measures. In the Municipality of Ilidža, in January 2018, the Action Plan for the Fight Against Corruption for the period 2018-2020 was drafted.

The Municipality of Ilidža has also proceeded with the development of anti-corruption measures at the local level, and the action plan represents one of the key documents for suppressing corruption, created with the aim of increasing transparency, efficiency, accountability, and openness of the local administration towards citizens. By adopting and implementing the Action Plan, the bodies of the Municipality of Ilidža wish to improve the level of responsibility and professionalism in their work, enhance the process of planning, adopting, and implementing acts and programs in a transparent manner, and provide a stimulating environment for the participation of the non-governmental and private sectors in the Municipality's activities.

The ultimate goal is to provide an opportunity to initiate dialogue with all actors in the local community, in order to find appropriate solutions for the prevention of corruption. Establishing an efficient anti-corruption system implies better access for citizens to information about work, limiting discretionary powers, improving certain administrative procedures, increasing communication within services, improving the efficiency of the municipality's work, enhancing the system of education and evaluation of employee performance, increasing citizens' influence on the work of the administration, and strengthening professional and ethical values.

In this way, the level of integrity, transparency, accountability, and efficiency of the administration is increased, while simultaneously strengthening citizens' trust in the work of the municipal administration.