Asunción, Agencia IP.- Authorities from the three Branches of Government signed a document that marks the beginning of a proper strategy to combat corruption to place it at the center of the public policy agenda.
Today, the National Strategy to Combat Corruption was signed in the Government Palace. This document was signed by President Santiago Peña and Vice President Pedro Alliana, as well as by the Head of the National Congress, Silvio Ovelar, the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, César Diesel, the Attorney General of the State, Emiliano Rolón, the Head of the Chamber of Deputies, Raúl Latorre and the Comptroller General of the Republic, Camilo Benítez.
«Today we present this strategy to combat corruption, the result of a confluence of voices from the authorities of all branches of the State with more than 68 pages of projects and programs to face this enormous challenge,» said President Peña.
He explained that the initiative seeks to create a space for consensus to become a roadmap with tasks, commitments, and measurable objectives. It involves and challenges society for its execution and control, thus building a better public policy.
«The idea is to establish a true strategy against corruption that builds on a dialogue between institutions and citizens so that we can create among all Paraguayans a great public policy that decisively places the fight against corruption at the center of the public policy agenda,» he alleged.
On this point, he stated that his desire is for this document to mark the beginning of a process of profound national transformation and for the future to look back and identify this moment as a milestone that allowed Paraguay to become a free, sovereign, and fair country.
At another time, the President admitted that tremendous difficulties are faced every day but that, as he said, cannot lead to resignation and surrender, but on the contrary, to dream of a new and reborn Paraguay.
In that sense, he highlighted the need to change reality, lead the nation to the destiny of greatness, and confront people who usurp public goods. He also said that a country cannot be reborn without facing public corruption.
«Corruption is an endemic and perverse evil. It harms all sectors, mainly the most vulnerable, hence the importance of dialogue and debate, » the Head of State indicated.
It is a disease that erodes the social fabric but whose first victims are the most unprotected, whom the State must care for above all. Aware of this, he added, «My government had decided to engage in a frontal fight against corruption by inviting the other powers of the State to join this titanic task in a common and joint effort.»
The President said that all authorities agree that corruption is a problem that requires a coordinated, multidisciplinary, and transversal equation of the State to banish it from its institutions.
That better future must have corruption as its declared enemy. In this regard, he recognized that Paraguay has recently made significant advances. However, he maintained that they are insufficient because citizens expect and deserve much more.
He pointed out that the State’s efforts in isolation are not enough. In that context, he mentioned that a genuine fight against corruption requires collective action in which all levels of society participate.
Along the same lines, the President argued that it is imperative to establish a public policy that systematizes and coordinates the fight against corruption and includes all branches of state power, the media, the academic sector, and the entire civil society.