Embassy Events
U.S. Embassy Helps Town of Martin to Launch Fight Against Corruption
July 24, 2008
Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik gave opening remarks at the July 22 anti-corruption training session for local government officials held in the town of Martin. With the recent decentralization of national power, Slovakia has undergone a large transfer of competencies to the local and regional municipalities. This has created an increase of corruption on the local level. The town of Martin in co-operation with Transparency International Slovakia (TIS) and the U.S. Embassy wants to be the first town in Slovakia to adopt a comprehensive package of anti-corruption measures. The project is partly supported by a grant from the U.S. Embassy in Slovakia. "Corruption in business and the town's weak spots in supervising public procurements could have a deep impact on the health of the region, and on the whole country in fact," said U.S. Ambassador Vincent Obsitnik at a briefing. "Corruption undermines the rule of law and democracy itself, and transforms people - the moving force of change and growth - into cynics who lose interest in taking part in public life and in improving the situation that they are in," added the ambassador.