Sattler praised the work of the KS Anti-Corruption Office

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Ambassador Johann Sattler, Head of the European Union Delegation to Bosnia and Herzegovina and EU Special Representative in Bosnia and Herzegovina, visited the Office for the Fight against Corruption and Quality Management of Sarajevo Canton today.

During the visit, the ambassador was informed about the Office's achievements to date in the area of ​​corruption prevention and fight, as well as the activities the Office intends to implement in the coming period. 

On that occasion, the Head of the Office, Erduan Kafedžić, stated that because corruption threatens the rule of law, negates human rights, and jeopardizes economic development, an effective fight against corruption includes assistance, cooperation, exchange of experiences, and a multidisciplinary approach.

"The European Union continuously provides us with significant assistance in establishing and upgrading the anti-corruption system of Sarajevo Canton. There is a need to further strengthen the legal framework to address existing shortcomings in the system of corruption prevention and fight.". 

Ambassador Sattler said that it is encouraging to see that the Anti-Corruption Office of Sarajevo Canton is continuously achieving good results.

"The Office is recognized as the most professional anti-corruption body in the country, due to the team's dedication, but also due to the legal framework that promotes integrity and transparency. The corruption prevention system established in Sarajevo Canton is proof that there are no obstacles to introducing rigorous integrity checks that include the publication of asset declarations at other levels of government, especially through the adoption of a law on conflict of interest in accordance with EU standards, as well as through amendments to the Law on the HJPC that would introduce integrity checks for judicial office holders.".

The Head of the Office also presented the information system used by the Office, which includes seven publicly available registers that promote the transparency of the public sector of Sarajevo Canton, allow insight into the assets of public officials, prevent conflicts of interest, and provide insight into the spending of public funds. In order to present data related to employment processes and the use of funds in the public sector more transparently, three more reports have been created in the analytics of the online Register of Employees in the Public Sector of Sarajevo Canton, which are available to the public as of today. The reports relate to the total amount of basic salaries on an annual and monthly basis, the total amount of basic salaries by ownership status of institutions on an annual basis, as well as the trend of the total amount of basic salaries by year. The aforementioned reports were created to more easily and adequately monitor corruption risks and potential irregularities in employment processes in the public sector, especially in critical moments such as elections or changes of government.

The activities carried out by the Office are recognized in the Report of Independent Experts on the Rule of Law in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the so-called Priebe Report) as a good example of the fight against corruption. The European Commission's Report on Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2021 also states that positive trends are continuing in Sarajevo Canton, and that the Office has continued to make progress in preventing and fighting corruption.