Government hopes new strategy will help tackle public-sector corruption

The government yesterday held a press conference where it unveiled its "Strategy to fight corruption" document. This is a broad general list of activities and future plans to combat the problem. Corruption is receiving more and more publicity and perhaps rightly so as over the past decade the number of crimes connected with corruption has doubled, said Interior Minister Krzysztof Janik while presenting the document. The government wants to attack the conditions that make corruption possible. Among the proposals are to register declarations of wealth and assets of state officials so they will find it harder to accept and hide bribes. The document listed areas which are most vulnerable to corruption, such as public tender bids, and civil service recruitment procedures, which are prone to nepotism and where positions and promotions are sometimes bought. A major plank of the strategy is to change social attitudes to corruption, and to this end a corruption awareness program in schools is planned. Non-Government Organizations which fight corruption said that what is needed is not a new program but a new will tackle the issue decisively. (Zycie, pp. 1, 3) A.D.