The Head of Transparency International Lithuania Sergejus Muravjovas tells about the progress in corruption prevention in Lithuania, the Post Soviet Republic.
“Taxpayer’s mentality continues to develop and people understand that for taxes collected by the state, they have to receive public services. If something should be done in a different way, but legally, citizens are ready to wait and to ask questions”, explains Sergejus Muravjovas, Transparency International Lithuania. He also mentions the statistic results according to which only 6% of Lithuanian respondents report corruption in traffic police, whereas some years ago there were 24% of such cases.
“Transparency is the future of every society and it is just a matter of time before people understand that politicians have different interests they cannot or are unable to ignore,” says the Head of Transparency International Lithuania.
“A growing number of our politicians and state officials understand that their promises do not work any more as well as the laws. You have to inform the public where you are going, about the goals you have set, and how you are going to evaluate the results. This year, for the first time in our history, the Ministry of Health and the government set a goal in the anti-corruption program aimed to reduce bribery in healthcare sphere from 24% up to 10% by 2020. Evaluation of these goals will help to analyze the work of the government in several years.
I believe, if you want changes, you should change those spheres where the results become visible. To my mind, it would be cynical if not stop bribery in our region. Being aware of other problems inside the country, you can solve them quickly if you want.”
Mr. Muravjovas is convinced that efforts against corruption should continuously be made: “Transparency is a habit as well as ethical behavior patterns are also a habit. It means that you should behave ethically, and if not, your ethical behavior, like body muscles, will atrophy”.
Kyrylo Lukerenko, Hromadske Radio
