The anticorruption hotlines of the central public authorities are inefficient and nonfunctional. Of the monitored authorities, only three ensured the basic conditions needed for the functioning of their hotlines. The monitoring was carried out by the Center for the Analysis and Prevention of Corruption, IPN reports.
According to the Center’s expert Radu Jigau, the most functional hotlines are those of the Customs Service, the Ministry of Education and the National Anticorruption Center. Those of the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are the most nonfunctional.
The author of the monitoring said these hotlines are nonfunctional because it is very hard to find them on institutions’ websites. Also, the telephone is answered by non-experts, often functionaries from the antechamber. The Ministry of Labor’s hotline is answered by an answering machine.
No institution informed the National Anticorruption Center about cases of corruption. This means that the information was not recorded rather than the people didn’t call. In their reports on the implementation of anticorruption strategies, all the authorities wrote that they received no call.
Radu Jigau said the direct hotlines are poorly promoted. The relevant announcements are posed only on websites or inside institutions’ halls. The central public authorities are advised to design videos and visible notices so that the people can easier find the hotlines and report cases of corruption.
However, the hotlines are now more visible than in 2012.
