The red-pink city coalition in Vienna presented a “whistleblower platform” on Monday. This “Viennese whistleblower system”, as SP Mayor Michael Ludwig prefers to call it, is intended to enable anonymous information to be entered in the event of suspicion of corruption, economic crimes, bribery, tax waste or compliance violations – and all this under absolute anonymity, such as his vice, Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS) held on.
Return referred to the platform (http://go.apa.at/fXBhlT1r) as an “important milestone” in the area of transparency and the fight against corruption. He is also “proud” that the joint government work was able to get this off the ground so quickly. This is intended to strengthen confidence in politics and public administration. Because both are “scratched” by the discussions at the federal level.
But it is also about averting “damage”, said the Vice Mayor, who manages the area of transparency in his department. And it is also about protecting people who report the damage. Wiederkehr referred to it as a “fairness platform”, which creates a fear-free space. The anonymity of the whistleblower is absolutely guaranteed. “Something like this does not yet exist at community level in Austria – we set standards with it,” said Wiederkehr.
Ludwig saw this once again confirm Vienna’s “pioneering role” in the area of transparency: “In Vienna we see ourselves as pioneers.” The mayor referred to Vienna’s first place in the Index of Transparency International 2019.
With the “whistleblower system” you are now taking the “next step”, says Ludwig. The Vienna anti-corruption hotline, which has existed since 2005, will be expanded. Now it is possible to submit information easily accessible under accessibility at any time of the day or night.
The internal audit department is then responsible for the information; its task is to check what should happen with this information. However, every report should be followed up, of course “depending on the salary”. The consequences can then be of a criminal law or service law nature. The platform starts today, Monday. A written report is not planned, says Wiederkehr: “We will in any case receive reports.”
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