A corruption scandal that has reached the world music scene has caused an unprecedented political reaction in parliament. The leaders of the ruling parties GERB and MRF demanded the immediate closure of the Executive Agency "Automobile Administration" (EAAA), after it became clear that agency employees had demanded a bribe from the team of British star Robbie Williams. However, the proposal met with mixed reactions among the coalition partners and the opposition. Is there a way out… Damian Voinovski, former executive director of EA Automobile Administration and an auto technical expert, spoke to FACTI.
- Mr. Voinovski, you worked at the Executive Agency for many years “Automobile Administration“ and you know it from the inside. Why does a major corruption scandal break out every few years. How do you view what happened now? Agency employees are asking for money from Robbie Williams' trucks?
- Corruption is a very dangerous phenomenon with deep roots in our society. For corruption to exist, there are several main factors. First, there must be empowered people who ask for it, and people who are willing to give. Corruption is found where there are complex and time-consuming procedures or in places where control is carried out over entities with high sanctions or heavy coercive measures. The Executive Agency “Automobile Administration“ is one of the Bulgarian structures subject to a very high corruption risk. The agency provides numerous services for citizens and businesses and carries out control on the road and in enterprises, with the sanctions it imposes being high and accompanied by serious coercive measures in case of violations.
The salary of the agency's employees is chronically low for their assigned responsibility.
The agency has a serious lack of administrative capacity, which on the one hand leads to delays in the terms of providing administrative services, and on the other to a limited number of employees with control functions. The limited administrative capacity and low pay create a feeling of irreplaceability and impunity among some employees. These are the main factors that influence the high corruption risk. That is why we have witnessed a number of corruption scandals in the agency over the years.
Corruption is extremely harmful to business, competitiveness and the economy, and is also one of the prerequisites for road tragedies.
We could make an entire topic about its harmful consequences. In order to eradicate it, we must work systematically and constantly with appropriate measures. The enemy of corruption is transparency, publicity, electronic services (breaking the employee-client connection), internal control mechanisms and adequate payment. In the years spent at the agency, our team's efforts were directed precisely in this direction. Increasing the number of electronic services, automated control systems, video surveillance, a clear distribution of responsibilities between heads of units and control mechanisms. When the top management is aware of the risks and processes that are taking place in the agency and wants to limit corruption - there are mechanisms with which it can be achieved. And I believe that this has been achieved to some extent over the past few years.
Unfortunately, this is not what I have observed in the last few months of this year. There is clearly a neglect or neglect of anti-corruption measures. I would like to believe that this neglect is dictated by an underestimation of the corruption risk, and not by the deliberate creation of conditions for a structured corruption scheme with the aim of enrichment, as was the case in 2012-2013. From the published information about the scandal with the bribe demanded from truck drivers of Robin Williams, one can see a self-confidence and a sense of impunity in the employees who asked for the bribe. This shows that they are confident that they will not be held accountable - either because they are not controlled, or they have been promised an "umbrella" for their actions. I hope that the investigating authorities will establish the truth.
- Is corruption in the Agency inherited from those in power?
- As I mentioned above, there is a high corruption risk in the agency and it is a matter of morality, skills and knowledge whether the management will create mechanisms to limit it or use it for its own benefit. Both options have been observed over the years. I want to emphasize that actions to detain corrupt employees do not always indicate the helplessness of the management or its participation in corruption schemes. Very often, the management of the agency has participated in exposing and documenting such crimes together with the investigative bodies, so corruption is definitely not inherited, but is exploited in a different way by the powerful of the day.
- How can this be stopped or is there simply no desire to stop it. What do you think?
- Corruption can be limited and even stopped, as long as there is a will to do so. Analyses and anti-corruption measures are prepared annually, but the important thing is how seriously and responsibly they are viewed and whether there is a will to implement them. It is very important that these analyses and the proposed measures are carried out by competent experts familiar with the processes taking place in the agency. Another important factor is the financial provision of the agency. For example, there is now talk of body cameras for inspectors.
I have been talking about these body cameras, and not only about a system for monitoring and storing recordings, since 2021, but funds were never provided.
The video recordings from the video surveillance cameras in cars are downloaded manually. In 2020, I started a project to automatically download recordings from the cameras and create a registry of recordings, which has not been completed to this day and has been abandoned. There is a periodic request to increase the pay of employees, but their salaries continue to be one of the lowest in control bodies in the country. I have repeatedly asked to increase the number of employees in the administration, but this is not happening. And I can give many other examples. In conclusion, I would like to say that I want to believe that the problem is being underestimated, not that there is no desire to deal with it.
- The Executive Agency “Automobile Administration“ monitors heavy goods traffic. Is this the basis for creating a field for corruption. There is no company that is 100% honest. Does this lead to the question: “What do we do now?“
- In addition to checking traffic, there are many administrative services provided by the agency. For business, time is money, and when obstacles are created for the rapid provision of services, prerequisites for corruption are created. There are many factors, the main ones being control and services. IAAA is a mega agency - I don't know if people realize how many public relations it regulates. This is also a prerequisite for corruption, it issues permits and controls compliance with the requirements for their use. Too much power in one place tempts to abuse it. But there are enough mechanisms that can have an impact so that corruption does not occur. As long as there is a leadership with high competence and morality, as well as a political will to deal with this problem.
- And the closure of the Agency has already been requested. What will change if it goes under the Ministry of Interior, for example…
- The Agency cannot be closed, it works for the implementation of many directives and regulations and its closure will create a legal vacuum, will harm business more and will lead to criminal proceedings against Bulgaria. What can be done is to restructure it, to separate control from the administration, to remove activities that can be carried out by business.
- Will the Traffic Police take over the functions of the Executive Agency “Automobile Administration“… This means that police officers have to learn new laws, because the work of inspectors in the Executive Agency "Automobile Administration" requires different training…
- Moving purely mechanically from one department to another is moving the sick head, but without eliminating the disease. Let us not forget why the exams and examinations were removed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 1999. Then again, the reason was corruption. This is an example of why it should not be done mechanically, but reform is necessary. The maintenance of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is very high and I do not believe that this is the most appropriate mechanism. In all of Europe, there are only two countries, as far as I remember, where the control of road transport is carried out by the police. The control can be removed from the agency and placed under the direct subordination of the Minister of Transport, as a directorate, for example. I proposed this option to Minister Karadjov and Prime Minister Zhelyazkov at the beginning of this government's mandate. The transfer of control should not be mechanical, it can be merged with the TOLL control and the control of overloading of trucks, which are currently two other structures. This will both increase the number of control bodies, cover a larger number of inspections and reduce the number of control bodies on the road, it will be able to be controlled by the ministry's inspectorate and I can list many other advantages.
- What happens to the people? Wherever they are moved, they will still be the same. You simply cannot train people immediately and replace the current ones. Isn't that right...
- Regarding the people, yes, the same people who control now must remain. An inspector in the agency is built over years. The state invests a lot in his training and qualification and these people cannot be easily dismissed. I argue that the problem is not in the inspectors, but in the conditions. If they have good pay and appropriate control mechanisms, people are not a problem. Of course, there are "black sheep" in every flock, but with appropriate measures they will be removed from this environment.
In conclusion, I will say that the problem of corruption in the Automobile Administration can be solved not by closing the agency or mechanically transferring competencies to another administration, but with political will, combined with competent leadership with high morale, which will make a qualitative reform in the agency.