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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 07/04
Macedonia's Public Secret: How Corruption Drags The Country Down
August 14, 2002
Abstract
Corruption in Macedonia, especially at high levels of government, is endemic. It has evolved from passive exploitation to active coercion and acquired the capacity not only to retard economic progress but also to feed organised crime and, in turn, political and communal instability. In effect, the state has come to function in important respects as a "racket", while the racketeers thrive in a culture of impunity.
The disease has infected the banking system as well as the structures of government, making Macedonia both a source and a transit point for contraband and criminality. The system encourages autocratic administration while coexisting comfortably with inefficiency and politicisation of the judiciary. It saps Macedonian morale, leaving civil society enervated and the population at large cynical.
