Real changes, not window dressing
Sweeping shake-ups are taking place at the Attica Regional Authority Department of Sanitation and Health and at the Athens Municipal Police following the recent revelations of a major corruption scandal involving local officials, including two high-ranking ones in the two abovementioned authorities.
They were part of a large racket that demanded or accepted bribes from businesses to write off or ignore violations and supply them with the certificates they needed to operate.
Just a few months earlier, the Attica Region’s Department of Transport came under scrutiny after officials there were found to have been illegally issuing drivers’ licenses, license plates etc. No one was shocked by the fact that such shenanigans were taking place, especially in these particular departments, which are notorious for tolerating underhanded and corrupt practices.
The decision to make sweeping changes is a first step – and it will not be followed by a second or third if it is merely a reflexive response to the public outcry following revelations of wrongdoing. Sweeping changes cannot go any further if all the big and small loopholes that allow rackets to operate inside state services are not tackled. They cannot bear fruit unless answers are given about how and by whom these rackets were set up and why they were allowed to operate as long as they did; answers about who aided them or turned a blind eye to their shenanigans.
The battle against such pockets of corruption is being greatly aided by the gradual digitalization of state services, which allows citizens to be served without having to conduct any face-to-face transactions. Online services also make procedures more transparent and succinct in areas like operating licenses for businesses. They prevent under-the-table dealings over inspections that should be carried out but are not; they leave no room for blackmail or guarantees of impunity for blatant violations.
