Public companies and institutions in transparency rating

The National Agency for Fiscal Administration, the National Housing Agency, the Romanian Lottery, the Hidroelectrica Company or the Self-governing Department for Administration of the State Heritage and Protocol are some of the less transparent Romanian institutions, according to a rating compiled by the Alliance for a Clean Romania.

The representatives of the organization claim that bad governing and corruption are influenced by "the opacity of the Public Administration".

Based on the evaluation of the answers requested by the Alliance and provided by the institutions concerned, in accordance with the public information access law, the rating compiled by the Alliance for a Clean Romania grants the latter a number of stars.

The most transparent institutions, namely the ones that received five stars, are: the State Printing House, the Agency of Payments for Rural Development and Fishing, the Romanian Railway Company (CFR), the National Agency for Roma or the General Inspectorate of Border Police.

Over 30 state agencies and companies weren’t granted any star. Among them, the Rovinari Energetic Complex and three which provide energy, hydropower or electricity services, but also some health care institutions, including the National Agency for Transplant or the "Victor Babeş" Institute.

Furthermore, following the study carried out by the Alliance for a Clean Romania, institutions such as the National Lottery, the Romanian Civil Aeronautical Authority, the Romanian Air Transport (TAROM), the National Agency for Fiscal Administration, the National Housing Agency and the Romanian Post National Company proved to be completely non-transparent.

The National Agency for Employment or the General Inspectorate of Romanian Police fell into the two stars category two star category.

Metrorex, the Romanian Naval Authority and the Financial Guard received three stars.

The National Freight Railway Company (CFR Marfă) and the Romanian Power Grid Company (Transelectrica) were granted four stars.

The transparency level or the lack of it, invoked by the Alliance for a Clean Romania, was obtained by requesting information from the assessed institutions.

To be more exact, the representatives of the Alliance asked the list with the acquisitions made since January 1st.

The list of employment litigations between 2009 and 2010, or the list with the legal advice or advertising contracts, the value of each contract, and also the list with the beneficiaries, natural persons or companies.

Further information were requested on the net revenue of the employees during May-August 2010, the number of the persons that have been hired/fired after January 1st as well as the list with the dissolved or unoccupied positions.

The Alliance for a Clean Romania consists of over 10 non-governmental organizations, which have been joined by several public figures.

The Alliance’s main objective is to promote the principles of good governing, namely that the Government serves the citizen and not the other way round, or that a nation is a community with equal legal rights.

According to the members of the Alliance, by compiling a transparency rating, the Alliance wishes to encourage good practices in this field, in the communication field, taking into account that, on many occasions, some institutions take a simple question for a hostile act, and this happens especially in the case of civil servants who should be serving tax payers.

Translated by Raluca Mizdrea and Gabriela Lungu
MA Students, MTTLC, Bucharest University