The second of a series of capacity building seminar on developing, implementing, coordinating and evaluating anti-corruption policies was held in Banja Luka on 6 December 2012, within the framework of the EU funded project “Strengthening the Capacities of BiH Institutions to Prevent and Combat Corruption”.
Mr Sreto Pekic, Deputy Director of the BiH Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption and Mr Roman Prah, Project Team Leader addressed the participant at the beginning of the seminar. Ms Prah stressed that “Corruption is an organisational problem, and it requires an organisational response. Such a response should be given at all levels, in all structures of power. The present seminar is the second of a series of policy meetings with the State, Entity level and District Brcko Bosnia and Herzegovina institutions to assist them to improve the structure and the way in which their organisations function. Thus participants of the seminar will have a chance to voice out their political commitment to fighting corruption and taking visible steps towards more integrity within their respective institutions and in Bosnia and Herzegovina in general”.
18 high level public officials from RS Government (Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Administration and Self Local-governance, Ministry of Economic Relations and Regional Cooperation, Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Spatial Planning, Civil Engineering and Ecology, Ministry of Labor, War Veterans and Disabled Persons’ Protection, Ministry of Family, Youth and Sport, Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of , Ministry of Refugees and Displaced Persons) and member of the Selection and Operational Monitoring Committee of the Agency participated on the seminar.
The participants exchanged experiences and improved knowledge in developing the internal system and procedures required in order to put in place an effective system for policy development, coordination, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
The project is funded by the EU from the Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA 2009) in the amount of 460.000 EUR. The project is a part of broader efforts of the European Union aimed at strengthening governance in BiH and is a logical continuation of the EU support for drafting the first Anti-corruption Strategy and establishing the BiH Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption. Its aim is to support Bosnia and Herzegovina in strengthening the capacities of BiH institutions to enforce accountability and to effectively fight and prevent corruption.
The main beneficiaries of the project are the BiH Agency for Prevention of Corruption and Coordination of the Fight against Corruption and entity level bodies and District Brcko Bosnia and Herzegovina, designated under the Law for Establishing the Agency for Prevention of Corruption. The project commenced in February 2012 and will be completed in August 2013.
