According to Transparency International’s 2020 Corruption Perceptions Index, Macedonia received the worst rating in history. With a drop of 5 spots, the country is on the 111th stop in the company of BiH, Panama and Mongolia.

Criticism of the government’s poor response to corruption also came from the US Ambassador to the country, Kate Byrnes, who in an interview with Telegrafi condemned the government’s tolerance of corruption, which in turn undermines citizens’ faith in democracy.

Asked what priorities should the country and citizens of Macedonia focus on in 2021, the US Ambassador says the fighting corruption begins with accountability.

Fighting corruption is not an end-goal in and of itself.  Rather, it is a prerequisite for achieving the goals.  Corruption—whether it is a high-level official demanding a kickback, a local official requiring a bribe to provide an essential service, a law enforcement official hitting up a driver for money for a fabricated infraction, rewarding an unqualified crony with a high-paying government position, or even the petty expectation of a small payment to get into the right school or hospital—is a cancer that eats away at the very foundations of society.

And let’s be honest—reports of exactly this type of behavior are heard all over the country.  This conduct and its tolerance by the government and general population alike erode people’s faith in democracy, diminish innovation and creativity, impede economic growth, obstruct progress, and ultimately deny people of their dignity.  It also creates fissures that external and internal malign influences exploit as their entry points, to spread discord and despair.  Where reforms and policies are the software, corruption is the virus in the operating system. Fighting corruption is therefore not just a matter of good governance, but of basic self-defense.

It all begins with accountability. Government—from the senior-most official to the most local bureaucrat, must aspire to the highest ethical standards. Political parties need to ensure they are modeling correct behavior and aren’t just “better than the next worst guy.”  They need to work to combat it from top to bottom within their own parties and the places where they are elected and allow the judiciary free rein to prosecute cases without political interference, she said.