Monitoring the lifestyle of officials should be one of the main tasks of all anti-corruption agencies, but the Montenegrin one, unfortunately, is currently limited only to checking the accuracy of data from submitted reports on assets and income.
The Acting Director of the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption expects these restrictions Dušan Drakić, to be removed by the adoption of the new Law on Prevention of Corruption.
"Property records should reflect a realistic picture of the assets and income of all public officials. Unfortunately, the current legal solution, first of all, limits the Agency to examining only the accuracy of the data from the submitted asset reports in relation to the data in the possession of other institutions. We expect that these restrictions will be removed during the upcoming amendments to the Law on Prevention of Corruption, so that the Agency can be fully operational. In addition, we envisioned the establishment of several mechanisms that will further improve cooperation with state authorities and competent prosecutors' offices in order to strengthen coordination and cooperation with the aim of more efficient processing of cases and be able to provide a more efficient exchange of data that enables a wider analysis and more effective action against potential corruption activities ", Drakic said in an interview for "Vijesti".
He said that the Agency is currently working on hundreds of cases from the previous period that have not received an epilogue.
Speaking about the Agency's actions in the case of the watch collection of the former head of state Milo Đukanović, Drakić points out that "that case required a careful and detailed review of the proceedings in the earlier period and a check of the entire documentation, but also cooperation with other competent institutions and the implementation of certain additional procedures".
How do you assess the situation in the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption at the halfway point of your term as Acting Director? In which areas do you appreciate that the situation must be improved?
In the past ten weeks, the Agency has made important steps towards greater transparency, efficiency and proactivity, but there is certainly still a lot of work to be done. We are determined to responsibly face all challenges, which are numerous. Since assuming office, we have been working on strengthening the capacities of key sectors that deal with the control of the property of officials, citizens' applications, and the monitoring of the financing of political entities. Also, the internal organization has been improved and measures have been introduced to speed up the processing of cases and shorten the deadlines for making decisions. As a prerequisite for this, we made a record of all the cases that are in the work, but that did not have an epilogue in the earlier period. There are about 600 of those cases, of which about 120 have been resolved.
All our activities are aimed at improving the quality of work and strengthening trust in the Agency as the bearer of activities in the fight against corruption.
However, a key area in which additional improvement is needed is the further improvement of the legal framework. In this direction, we initiated the broadest dialogue with all relevant institutions, international partners and the civil sector, primarily through the organization of three round tables where the entire professional public expressed their opinion on the application and improvement of the normative framework, after which they will make specific proposals for improvement. Our goal is for the Agency in the coming period to be recognized as an agile and transparent body that is fully committed to the fight against corruption.
A new systematization was adopted, and 98 executors were planned. How many employees have there been in the Agency so far and in which sector and why is reinforcement needed?
In accordance with GRECO's recommendations, it was clearly emphasized that it is necessary that the capacity of KAS, with the aim of its full operational independence, administrative capacity and efficiency, be further strengthened by providing independent merit-based recruitment procedures, which envisage testing the integrity of new personnel. It was also recommended to ensure that the number of permanent employees in KAS is increased to a level that is in accordance with its rules and the expected scope of work.
Currently, there are 55 active employees in the Agency, which is significantly less than the number that is necessary to achieve measurable results and a stronger impact. Strengthening is especially needed in the sectors that deal with the analysis of property records, the control of citizens' applications and the sector for research and prevention. By increasing the number of employees in these sectors, we can significantly improve the efficiency of the Agency, react more quickly to citizens' applications and perform better supervision over the property records of public officials. The goal is that more than 50 percent of employees directly implement the responsibilities prescribed by law.
These sectors are directly related to the Agency's mission to improve the anti-corruption framework of Montenegro and provide effective control, and also allow us to better respond to more complex cases that require additional research and attention.
One of the main objections in the previous period was the closed nature of the Agency, especially when it comes to compliance with the Law on Free Access to Information. Has the Agency managed to improve it since August?
One of our priorities was the improvement of transparency and access to information. Since August, we have taken a series of concrete steps to improve the availability of information and publish as much information of public interest as possible on our website, including all relevant data and work results.
Transparency itself implies openness in dealing with and reporting on our work and findings. In this regard, we organized working meetings with representatives of the NGO sector, the media and representatives of the judicial and executive authorities with the aim of improving cooperation, developing partnership relations and solving individual cases.
In addition, we significantly accelerated the response to requests for free access to information, in accordance with legal norms. Proactively, in 31 cases in the field of SPI in which complaints were filed against the Agency's earlier actions, we published the complete documentation and informed the applicants accordingly.
Our goal is to achieve citizens' complete trust in the Agency through a critical attitude towards all issues that are in the focus of our work, as well as transparent work and openness in providing information on procedures, cases and all activities.
How do you evaluate the current cooperation with non-governmental organizations?
I assess the cooperation with the non-governmental sector as constructive and increasingly intensive. We have established regular meetings and communication channels dedicated to fighting corruption and improving transparency. Our cooperation is valuable, because the work of civil society contributes to civil control and raising awareness of the importance of reporting corruption, but also to an effective institutional response.
The agency openly accepts suggestions from the non-governmental sector, and I am pleased to say that the feedback is used to improve our procedures. Cooperation with the NGO sector is extremely important because it enables additional public pressure that can improve our performance in the fight against corruption.
How many cases, when it comes to public officials, are currently in the works? How much of that was inherited from the previous period?
We inherited more than 250 pending cases related to public officials. At the moment, there are about 200 of them. After recording all those cases, detailed checks are underway, which include extensive documentation and compliance with legal procedures.
We paid extra attention to legacy cases, because it is important to resolve them in order to restore public confidence in the work of the Agency. Through efficient processing and faster decision-making, we strive to reduce the number of pending cases and increase overall efficiency.
So far, a decision has been made in about 50 cases, and in the coming period we will have an increased dynamics of solving backlogged cases, including those that have burdened the public for many years, and which have not received an appropriate epilogue.
You work on multiple cases that have been of public interest for years. One of these is the property of former president Milo Đukanović, especially the collection of watches. Are you close to a decision in that case? Did Mr. Đukanović make a statement regarding that issue?
This case required a careful and detailed review of the proceedings in the earlier period and a check of the entire documentation, but also cooperation with other competent institutions and the implementation of certain additional procedures necessary after reviewing the facts and evidence, as well as the statement of this public official. After collecting all relevant data, we will make a decision.
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A large number of decisions from an earlier period are currently before the Administrative Court, while others that are still unresolved or the Agency has not made a decision are currently in priority processing.
Especially in these cases, we are determined to ensure transparency and compliance with legal obligations within the competence of the Agency and to inform the public about all data related to previous actions or failures to act.
So far, only Montenegro and North Macedonia have signed the agreement
What do you expect from the application of the Agreement on the exchange of data on assets outside Montenegro? Have you had any inquiries from other signatories so far? Has the Agency requested data from other signatories so far, and if so, in how many cases?
We see the agreement on the exchange of property data with the countries of the region as extremely important and we expect its rapid implementation. So far, the agreement has been ratified by North Macedonia and Montenegro, thus showing determination for an effective fight against corruption.
What I can say with certainty is that we will start the full implementation of this agreement as soon as the conditions are met and that we expect that its implementation will improve regional cooperation, further increase responsibility in the performance of public functions and enable effective control of assets abroad.
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