A strong bureaucratic burden is the true reason for at least part of the corruption, said Janis Endziņš, head of the working group on reducing bureaucracy established by the Prime Minister, in an interview with the LETA agency.
According to Endziņš, excessive bureaucracy is actually the "godmother" of corruption. He knows this from personal experience when he headed the Register of Enterprises several years ago. "At that time, it took a month to register a business. Naturally, businesses need it quickly, and then they try to resolve this issue somehow. Acceptable — not by the most legal methods," said Endziņš.
He stated that under his leadership, the registration period was reduced to no more than three days.
"We achieved that a business could be registered in one visit to the institution. What does this mean in terms of corruption? There’s no need to give a bribe! Everything happens anyway," emphasized Endziņš.
He believes that wherever there are long processes, unnaturally complicated approvals, and everything that is called bureaucratic burden, lies the real reason for at least part of the corruption. "Thus, reducing bureaucracy not only brings economic benefits but also helps to lower the level of corruption and the shadow economy," said Endziņš.
