Reconstruction of the State situation report reviews one year of anti-corruption pledges

The platform of non-governmental organizations today released a summary review of the political parties’ record on meeting their commitment to promote nine key anti-corruption laws. Publication of the report was supported by many noted entrepreneurs, who are disappointed by shelving the parties’ promises. An abridged version of the evaluation report will be distributed to 2.3 million households in cities and towns all over the Czech Republic.

In the past year, lawmakers have discussed four bills from the reconstruction package. Two bills were passed, one survived in a truncated version, and the fourth bill was repeatedly sent back to the Ministry of Justice for reassessment. Three more bills were included in the government’s legislative plan, but their formulation has been significantly delayed. The Minister of Finance has proposed a government decree to replace a bill on appointments of supervisory boards of state-controlled enterprises. A single act has come into effect thus far (regulation of bearer shares), but it happened in the previous legislative period of 2013.

None of the political parties, whose deputies upheld the Reconstruction of the State commitment before the elections, has received all top and all worst grades, from 1 for the best to 5 for flunking, from the expert groups. On two bills, namely on extending the powers of the Supreme Audit Office and a transparent legislative process, most parties provided worthwhile positive contributions. However, the ČSSD and ODS plan to block the extension of independent control in the Senate, and have voted against it in the Senate committee. Online publication of contracts was solidly upheld only by TOP 09/STAN, KDU-ČSL and in a way also Úsvit, parties which did not oppose the basic principles of the measures proposed. The Reconstruction of the State working group gives negative ratings to the Civil Service Act in its current form, chiefly brought about by pressures from the opposition ODS and TOP 09 parties, which threatened to filibuster in the lower house.

“Many parties including ODS and the ANO Movement promise transparent economic management of towns and municipalities, in the local elections. However, over the year they have failed to pass bills which would ensure such transparency,” says Pavel Franc, head of the Frank Bold organization and guarantor of the Reconstruction of the State project.

“The less the public studies billboards at elections and the more it monitors real action by political parties, the more chance is there for a responsible policy. Evaluation of the enforcement of reconstruction laws is one way to assist it,” declares David Ondráčka, platform guarantor and director of Transparency International ČR.

“We present voters with a completely impartial evaluation of the actual moves made by the various parties in order to meet their commitments. Citizens will also get hold of facts and the parties’ reactions so they can judge for themselves how politicians fulfil their promises,” notes the project’s guarantor Martin Kameník, chairman of Oživení Civic Association.

The release of this evaluation was supported by well-known industrialists such as Radim Jančura, Stanislav Bernard or Karel Janeček; the firms Y Soft, Delicomat, Lomax and others. Our campaign is supported by several enterprise groups, the Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (AMSP) and other chambers of commerce; Reconstruction of the State enjoys a long-term financial support from the Otakar Motejl Foundation.

“I meet with many entrepreneurs, who are disappointed to see that politicians are working overtime just to let reconstruction bills slowly slip into oblivion. That’s why we have pooled resources to support the publication of this assessment,” says industrialist Radim Jančura.

This evaluation will be available in written form to be distributed to the press and in leaflets in the regional hubs, and an electronic version billboarded online by spots produced in concert with well-known actors. Please visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaqXGa_0esrMuP8LR1H40tg.

With the help of leaflets, classifieds, electronic mail and volunteer activists, this evaluation report will reach an estimated 2.3 million readers. This evaluation is available on www.rekonstrukcestatu.cz/rokpote.

The platform’s expert groups evaluated the following criteria, monitored by the Reconstruction of the State representatives over one year: voting in the plenary sessions and in the committees of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate, putting forward draft amendments, and how the government ministries addressed legislative proposals.

In September, the Reconstruction of the State platform invited Senate election candidates to support the Reconstruction bills, in particular a Constitutional Amendment on the Supreme Audit Office that the Senate is set out to block. This call has the support of more than seventy candidates from all parties. The list receives continuous updates on www.rekonstrukcestatu.cz/senat2014.

Additional info to be gladly provided by:

Nikola Hořejš
nikola.horejs@frankbold.org
775 270 214