Anyone know anything about corruption in the Czech Republic?
Ask anyone on the street whether they think that the Czech Republic has a problem with corruption and they'll give you a definite "yes". And they will go on to give you many examples. You can corrupt a police officer to avoid a high speeding fine, you need to slip someone a few notes on the side if you want a construction permit quickly or any kind of permit quickly, in the past you could buy your way out of compulsory army service or get on the register of new firms in days instead of weeks. You could get a council flat ahead of others waiting in line or even win a tender.....Everyone says they know somebody who....and most people admit that they've had to do it themselves in a crisis.
Things don't work unless you oil the wheels, people argue. In fact a recent survey showed that although Czechs don't like the fact that corruption is rife they see it as a fact of life - something that nobody can eradicate. After all corruption exists at the highest level -or so they say - so where would you begin? Well, the government has now decided to take action - something that the EU has been urging it to do for some time. The Cabinet has just unveiled a series of hard-hitting measures targeting corruption. They include a tougher conflict of interests law, legalization of undercover agents offering bribes, and greater financial transparency in banking transactions, among others. All highly commendable, if a little overdue. The list of measures is also said to contain another proposal which greatly piques my curiosity. The interior minister has proposed it should be a criminal offence not to report corruption that you know of. Now in a country where everyone knows about it, where ministers admit to having "met with it" personally and where the Prime Minister says that corruption has become a part of our lives - you wonder who would be the first to tell -if such a law were to be approved. Would people prefer to get their affairs settled quickly by parting with some money or would they prefer to report the culprit and saviour the feeling of justice being done, then wait for months for whatever permit it is that they need. Right now everyone talks freely about corruption - but in future if you say you've met with it - and failed to report it - you could be in big trouble. If corruption really is a rife as they say we could all be in big trouble. Either that or we better quickly shut up about it. For my part I hope the minister's anti-corruption plan works, but until all the other things work smoothly in this country, it will be an uphill climb.
