During the regular lesson at the Anti-Corruption School for Young Leaders, participants were acquainted with the introduction of corruption prevention mechanisms in local self-government bodies.<\/p>\n
Mr. Narek Yenokyan, an anti-corruption expert at the Armenian Lawyers\u2019 Association conducted the lesson.<\/p>\n
The speaker presented 7 steps for the prevention of corruption in local self-government bodies<\/p>\n
\u201cCorruption is a common occurrence both in the state government system and in local governments.\u00a0Corruption in LSGs is similar to corruption found in public administration bodies for a number of common characteristics.\u00a0However, detecting corruption in local governments is a more complicated process, given the local government’s decentralization and the close interconnection of local government workers with the population,\u201d Narek Yenokyan said.<\/p>\n
The speaker also noted that\u00a0the systems of public administration and local self-government in Armenia are underdeveloped and do not meet the standards of good governance, so it is not accidental that international organizations are constantly raising the issue before Armenia.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to the 2018 Freedom House Report on Nations in Transit, the local government system in Armenia continues to be ineffective, particularly in small communities.\u00a0Decentralization in Armenia is subject to certain restrictions, as a result of which local self-government is weak.\u00a0About one third of the country’s 3 million population live in the capital, Yerevan.\u00a0Some rural and urban communities are under-populated, which reduces the tax revenues of those communities,\u201d Narek Yenokyan said.<\/p>\n
At the end of the training, the students were divided into teams and each presented own version of the struggle for systemic reform and ways of dealing with corruption at the local government.<\/p>\n