DUSHANBE, June 10, 2009, Asia-Plus — The former director of the anticorruption agency faced the complex task that required creative and scientific approach, director of the Center for Strategic Studies under the Tajik President Suhrob Sharipov said in an interview with Asia-Plus, commenting on replacement of the head of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption.
According to him, the ex-director of the anticorruption agency was to create a powerful structure of financial control and combating corruption in the country and Sherkhon Salimzoda (ex-director of the anticorruption agency) coped with that task. “Experience of work in the law enforcement agencies and in parliament has helped him. The agency worked normally, conducting many effective investigations. Tajikistan’s rating in Transparency International’s corruption report has improved over that time,” said the think tank head, “However, there were some shortcomings in the agency’s activity. The PR work was not arranged properly and only minimal attention was given by the agency to the prevention of corruption through scientific researches. Besides, the population was not well informed about the corruption situation and measures taken to prevent it.”
Sharipov added that he would recommend the new chief of the anticorruption agency to be maximally open for people in order that people would know more about him. “First of all, he should collaborate more actively with media; this should become a normal practice for all new high-ranking state officials. Besides, it is necessary to improve the organizing structure of the agency and reinforce it with skilled personnel,” the expert said.
“I know facts when unmasked corrupt officials made a powerful pressure on witnesses; therefore, the agency needs the real program of protection of witnesses,” Sharipov noted.
We will recall that the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption was established in January 2007. It has a staff of some 500. The anticorruption agency performs functions previously carried out by the State Financial Control Committee, Main Tax Police Directorate, Directorate for Combating Corruption, and other agencies. Sherkhon Salimzoda was the first director of this entity.
By president’s decree of June 4 Sherkhon Salimzoda was relieved of his post of Director of the Agency for State Financial Control and Combating Corruption and was appointed State Adviser to the President for Legal Matters and President’s Representative to Parliament. By other president’s decree, Fattoh Saidov, formerly chief of the Dushanbe police directorate, was appointed to head the anticorruption agency.
An interview with the new chief of the anticorruption agency will be published in a June 11 edition of the
Asia-Plus
weekly.
