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Description
The objective of this project, based on a pilot project realized in the districts of Liberec and Ústí nad Labem, is to reduce space for sophisticated corruption and abusive practices in public procurement. The outputs of the project will be analyses of public procurement in the field of construction contracts and public transport services, development of software for follow-up and evaluation of public procurement, new version of anti-corruption website nasliberec.cz and development of its twin website in the District of Ústí n. L., as well as strengthening capacities of our organization.
Summary of project results
The main problem is the systematic misuse of public funds for private purposes in the Liberec and Ústí Regions. This is mainly in the area of public contracts of a larger scale and European subsidies.
There are three main causes of this problem:
1. The connection between business and politics - in both regions, during the post-recession thirty years, a narrow layer of politicians and businessmen was formed, who behind the scenes influence the flow of public money and subsidies. Whether it is traditional, decades-long ties, or new players linked to new political entities, the principle is still the same.
2. Low level of political culture - accusations of a criminal offense and even a possible later indictment are not a reason for political reflection. The current governor, indicted for two crimes related to an overpriced subsidy contract, is still in office, pays professional PR workers from public budgets, downplays his transgressions, and attacks critics. The main arguments - after all, I won the election and everything is a campaign. A comparison with the case of the prime minister is directly offered. While in Western Europe transcripts of wiretapping would be enough to withdraw, in our country even the fact that the case is in court is not enough.
3. Dysfunctional system of public control – control committees of councils are not sufficient for their work, they only control minor problems and formal matters, they do not have the professional or time capacity to control public contracts. Journalists in the regions, unlike journalists from central newsrooms, do not have room for investigative work. Our organization is basically the only representative of the public that focuses on this area. All this under very stressful financial conditions.
The organization works with their own data, analyzes and cases, as well as cooperation with law enforcement authorities. There is enough partial data, what is missing is the capacity for their systematic evaluation.
The organization succeeded to:
1. Develop a detailed overview of selected construction contracts in both regions
2. Develop a detailed analysis of selected contracts in the field of public transport
3. Modernize the civil and anti-corruption website nasliberec.cz
4. Transfer our know-how to the Ústí Region
5. Publicize selected cases, outputs from analyzes and other project activities
6. Stabilize and strengthen the anti-corruption activities of our organization
The positive impact of the project is evident. Thanks in particular to the Náš Liberec website and cooperation with journalists, the public''s sensitivity to corruption is increasing. Journalists cite our press releases, articles and analyses. Representatives and politicians engage with our findings and recommendations and strive to improve the transparency of their offices. Students at the grammar school in Česká Lípa significantly improved their perception of corruption risks.