On Compliance with Anti-Corruption Legislation in the District
The prosecutor's office holds a special position in the system of law enforcement agencies combating corruption in the Republic of Belarus. One of the key tasks of the prosecutor's office is to exercise state oversight over the precise and uniform implementation of legislation in the field of combating corruption.
The issue of combating corruption, due to its destructive and degrading impact on the system of governance, social, and economic processes, remains one of the main directions of state policy.
Article 5 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated 15.07.2015 No. 305-Z "On Combating Corruption" stipulates that the fight against corruption is carried out by state bodies and other organizations through the comprehensive application of measures, including planning and coordinating activities to combat corruption, as well as restoring violated rights and legitimate interests of individuals and legal entities, eliminating other harmful consequences of offenses that create conditions for corruption, and corruption offenses.
In accordance with the requirements of part 2 of Article 13 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On the Basics of Activities for the Prevention of Offenses", state organizations are obliged to plan and conduct preventive measures to combat corruption and to carry out systematic work to form a staff of employees with a stable anti-corruption consciousness and appropriate professional, business, and moral qualities.
The personal responsibility for the measures taken to combat corruption is assigned to the head of the state organization.
The prosecutor's office of the district has analyzed the state of the fight against corruption-related crimes and offenses in the district for the year 2021.
In 2021, 209 crimes were registered in the district, of which 2 were corruption-related crimes (1% share).
For example, one of the aforementioned corruption crimes (part 3 of Article 425 of the Criminal Code) was initiated against one of the heads of an agricultural enterprise in the district, who, being reliably informed about the shortage of cattle in the amount of at least 841 heads and the shortage of cows in the main herd in the amount of at least 420 heads, did not take measures to ensure the accuracy of the information about the cattle population reflected in the accounting records and state statistical reporting.
In 2021, the prosecutor's office of the district identified 6 corruption offenses, while in 2020 there were 5.
A significant role in countering manifestations of corruption is assigned to anti-corruption commissions; however, as the conducted analysis showed, there are shortcomings in their activities regarding the organization of relevant work, including in planning anti-corruption measures.
For instance, during an inspection in November 2021, the Department of Education of the Braslaŭ District Executive Committee was found to have violated the requirements of legislation on combating corruption.
Thus, the anti-corruption commission in the department did not ensure the fulfillment of its tasks related to preventing corruption; the annual plans of its work are formal, they do not contain a number of issues to be considered, and the work plan at the time of the inspection was not posted on the official website of the district executive committee. The decisions made are also formal. In addition, violations of legislation regulating the provision and use of gratuitous (sponsorship) assistance were identified: reports on the targeted use of gratuitous (sponsorship) assistance were not prepared and not provided to sponsors within the established time frame; the amount of gratuitous assistance provided was not documented. Following this inspection, a submission was made to the head of the Department of Education of the Braslaŭ District Executive Committee demanding the elimination of the identified violations of anti-corruption legislation.
Also, in 2021, facts of non-compliance with the requirements of Article 5 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus dated 15.07.2015 "On Combating Corruption" were identified regarding the improper work of familiarizing state officials with anti-corruption restrictions.
In particular, it was established that all state officials of the State Enterprise "Braslaŭ District Veterinary Station", who have organizational and administrative or economic powers, did not sign obligations to comply with anti-corruption restrictions.
Similar violations were identified in OJSC "Agrovidzi", OJSC "Braslaŭ District Agroservice", KUSP "Vidzovski", KUSP "Braslaŭski", OJSC "Drujski". In particular, in these organizations, facts of unjustified inclusion of prohibitions established by the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On State Service in the Republic of Belarus" were also found, which do not apply to the employees of these enterprises, as they are not state officials.
Furthermore, in 2022, the prosecutor's office of the district, during the study of information posted on the electronic trading platform http://www.icetrade.by, identified violations of legislation during the procurement of goods (works, services) at the expense of own funds, and it was established that significant violations of legislation on the procurement of goods (works, services) at the expense of own funds occurred during the organization and conduct of the procurement procedure.
Thus, the auction documents of the organizations lack a draft contract for the purchase of goods; moreover, the invitation to participate in the state procurement procedure for lots of small and medium-sized enterprises did not specify the relevant parts (lots) for the goods.
The noted violations of legislation significantly limit the circle of potential participants and violate the principle of developing fair competition.
According to paragraph 12 of part 1 of Article 25 of the Law of the Republic of Belarus "On Combating Corruption", the established procedure for conducting competitions, auctions, and procurement procedures by a state official or a person equated to them is an offense that creates conditions for corruption.
As a result of the conducted inspection, the district prosecutor sent directives to the heads of organizations demanding the elimination of identified violations of anti-corruption legislation, which were considered, and the violations were eliminated.
Senior Assistant
Prosecutor of the Braslaŭ District E.S.Isakova