TRANSPARENCY AND CORRUPTION AT THE LEVEL OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Abstract

The level of corruption has consistently been a significant social and political phenomenon that affects the level of satisfaction with the current political situation and the support of the political system. Research conducted in recent years by third sector anti-corruption foundations or professional opinion research agencies suggests areas where the public perceives greater or lesser transparency. In the last decade, this significantly included the judiciary, healthcare, political parties, education and distrust grew e.g. also against the media. On the contrary, a relatively high level of trust was maintained by representatives of local governments - municipalities and cities. Given that the perception of transparency is highly emotionally based and the public can make their judgment based on “what I have heard”, the subject of the article is transparency in the local government environment. With the support of the Operational Program Effective Public Administration and the European Social Fund, a survey was conducted among the member local self-governments of the three local action groups (LAGs). From the methodological point of view, two techniques were used. The first was questionnaire survey among the inhabitants of the affected municipalities and at the same time data were requested from the municipalities within selected processes.