Through partnership to building integrity in the security sector

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“The aim of the consultations is to check if we are on the right track when it comes to the analysis of the corruption risks in the security sector. I hope that we will together identify the biggest risks to security secor institutions through dynamic discussion, and also define which are the mechanisms needed to avoid the risks. We will intersect findings from this event with the results of previous research conducted by the BCSP and integrate it in a report that will be presented in September “, said BCSP Director Sonja Stojanovic Gajicat the opening of consultations.

As one of the risks in security sector institutions, the participants of the consultations pointed out determination of the degree of confidentiality of data. It was stated that it should be set clear criteria that will be used when classifying confidential documents, in a similar way as was done in the Security-Information Agency with existence of regulations on the criteria for determining the degree of confidentiality. In addition, it was pointed out that the dependence of the political changes often lead to a vacuum in decision-making and the blockade of the institutions, and that there are cases when management decisions are not made by procedures but based on personal assessment of manager.

{image2}Management of human resources is one of the most significant risks to the security institutions

“Internal advertising of job vacancies is very important and refers to the entire state administration. In order for employees to be able to plan their career development there should be a list of job vacancies and clearly defined criteria for career advancement”, said BCSP researcher Sasa Djordjevic who led a workshop on management of human resources.

Participants agreed that it is necessary to internally advertise job vacancies. As some of the reasons in favor to this statement they pointed out that it is important for the image of the organization because in that way it presents itself as an organization that cares about its employees, the internal announcement affects the motivation of employees and their mobility, and that the costs of internal vacancies are less in comparison to the external.

Participants stated that in the Ministry of Interior, there is a legal obligation to prepare a list of job vacancies at the annual level, and that it does not exist. It was also stated that in the Ministry of Interior is necessary to be written a clear job descriptions and precisely determined the criteria for advancement. It was pointed out that evaluation of employees is not objective and that there is no established procedures for analysis of working process. During the discussion it was pointed out that in the Ministry of Defence there are internal job vacancies and the criteria on which the selection is made, which are derived from the job description, but that there is not practice to notify about the formation vacancies within the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Army. During the workshop, it was highlighted the specific of jobs in Security-Information Agency, where there are specific jobs with a certain degree of confidentiality. For this reason, the group had no clear definition on the internal job vacancies and they considere that the topic should not be generalized. As a problem in the field of human resources which refers to theSecurity-information Agency (BIA), it was highlighted the insufficient number of trained personnel who are familiar with the procedures of work of BIA and staff with specific knowledge and skills.{split}

{image3}Better internal and external control would lead to the strengthening the integrity of institutions

“Effective internal control is very important for every institution, because it addresses the problems inside the house, which is of great importance to security sector institutions because of information leaks. External control should only complement the work of the internal control, not replace it. Therefore, the strengthening of internal control and improving cooperation between it and the external control institutions is of great importance”, said BCSP Executive Director Predrag Petrovic.

Divided into three groups, participants of the consultationa analyzed recommendations for strengthening the internal control in the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Interior and the Security-Information Agency. They agreed that the essence of the recommendations is to introduce control which is something between internal and external. However, the working group believes that segment of internal control should not be extracted from the system, but it should be developed within the system, while the mechanisms of external control should be strengthened. As they pointed out, none of the activities of external oversight could jeopardize the work of the security institutions, but it should be exist a balance between the public interest and national security. Participants recognized that there is cooperation between the external and internal control bodies and security institutions, but it should be legaly organized.

{image4}Performance audit of public procurement is still not a priority in Serbia

Performance audit of the public procurement process was the topic of lecture delivered by Danilo Pejovic from the organization Transparency Serbia. During the presentation, he pointed out that there is not enough literature and instructions how to do performance audits. Pejovic explained what are the main objectives of the performance audit, as well as what makes it different from other types of audits.

“The main objective of the performance audit is the providing opinion on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness of business. During performance audit, it is used a wider and more diversified methods for obtaining audit evidence and valuation methods than in the other types of audits”, explained Pejovic.

Participants noted that financial procedures are still a priority of audits in Serbia, and that only after they are completed it will be time for performance audit. They agreed that the problems in the planning of procurement pose a greater needs than finances, unrealistic and disproportional demands expressed by organizational units, as well as the fact that people who are engaged in the planning of public procurement do not have enough knowledge. In addition, as a problem it was pointed out that due to the poor state of the economy in Serbia, reduces the number of bidders in public procurement. The market is small, and for the specific procurement there are no bidders.