New Latvian President wants to fight medical corruption
Valdis Zatlers, a doctor who admits to having taken money himself, believes his country has made progress in fighting corruption
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By Virve Kähkönen
Latvia's recently-elected President Valdis Zatlers believes that bribes taken by doctors will soon no longer be a problem in his country. "I see light at the end of the tunnel, and I believe that by the end of the year this will not be a problem in Latvia", Zatlers said in an interview with Helsingin Sanomat in Helsinki on Wednesday.
Zatlers, a 52-year-old doctor and hospital administrator who became President in July, has admitted that he has also taken monetary bribes from his patients. The bribes were extra income for the doctor, which means that no taxes were paid. The fresh President was punished for his unpaid taxes with a fine of EUR 350, but this did not stop him from being elected President.
The President's admission has drawn attention to health care corruption, and to the common practice in the Baltic countries to slip an extra envelope full of cash into a doctor's pocket. The deeply ingrained practice has often been ascribed to low doctors' pay.
Zatlers' confidence that the problem will be solved seems ambitious. He feels that the problem is actually relatively easy to resolve, even though "peoples' habits cannot be changed in one day, or with a simple change in legislation".
A plan of action has been drawn up to eliminate the of bribery practice, and the President has made his own contribution to the plan. "Part of the plan will be made by the Ministry of Health. In a few days from now we will have a conference with civic groups, and I have made a few proposals myself."
The actual content of the plan of action is not very easy to fathom. Zatlers wants to create a system that is easy to control, and in which the rules are clear and transparent. The system should apply to all health care institutions.
The aim is for "all [doctors'] fees to be paid legally and according to the rules, and for taxes to be paid on them".
"Weeding out corruption is a never-ending struggle, as illegality is part of human nature. We must also understand that there is corruption of some kind in all countries. The only difference is, how states handle it", notes Zatlers, during his first working visit to Finland, during which he met President Tarja Halonen.
In his view, Latvia's progress in eliminating corruption can be seen as a success, in spite of the fact that political scandals seem to emerge at regular intervals.
The most recent case came out during the weekend, when investigative journalist Lato Lapsa revealed secret recordings of telephone conversations between a famous Latvian lawyer and judges.
Lapsa said that he had found the recordings in his mail box, and did not know where they came from. At the same time that he handed the tapes to the public prosecutors' office, he published a book about them. In the recordings, the lawyer and the judges engage in confidential discussions of the kind that violate rules of professional conduct. If the tapes prove genuine, they would call the impartiality of the system of justice into question.
One judge whose voice was said to have been heard on a tape, has reportedly submitted his resignation.
"The tapes reflect the situation 8 - 10 years ago, and not the present situation. However, they give good reason to examine the present system, and we will do that 100 per cent", President Zatlers says, commenting on the uproar.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 23.8.2007
VIRVE KÄHKÖNEN / Helsingin Sanomat
virve.kahkonen@hs.fi
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| 28.8.2007 - THIS WEEK |
 New Latvian President wants to fight medical corruption |
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