CAN THE BLOCKCHAIN STOP ROMANIA’S GOVERNMENT CORRUPTION?

Originally Posted on D10e Blog by Josie Wales http://d10e.biz/can-blockchain-stop-romanias-government-corruption/

Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Bucharest on Sunday in what marks the 13th day of protests against the Romanian government. The demonstrations were sparked when the social democrat party sidestepped parliament to fast-track a decree decriminalizing corruption offenses causing less that 44,000 euros in damages as well as a draft bill granting prison pardons to 2,500 by emergency ordinance.

Protesters didn’t back down when the government withdrew the decree (in order to revise and put to parliament), they didn’t back back down when Justice Minister Florin Iordache announced his resignation, and they say they won’t back down until the Social-Democrat government resigns.

These protests signify a tipping point for the people of Romania. It was only 27 years ago when the Romanian people violently overthrew a Communist regime, only to be replaced by another wave of corrupt politicians.

“In such a young democracy and with such a history, old habits of putting up with whatever is being thrown at you are hard to break. But 27 years of corruption are enough. They have awoken our sleeping giant called conscience and you can see them scared of it roaring in every city. Even in my hometown of 120,000 people which traditionally is aligned with the government, hundreds of people took to the street”. – Adrei, 32, from Buzău in the east of Romania, The Guardian.
Government corruption is an issue that has plagued countries all over the globe since the beginning of time, a seemingly endless cycle almost always ending in bloodshed. In order to break the cycle, we need to cut the Gordian knot and build an infrastructure based on transparency and accountability, making government corruption almost impossible to get away with. Fortunately, this technology already exists – we just have to use it.

In July of 2016, Ukrainian Minister of Finance Alexander Danilyuk announced plans to utilize blockchain technology to make the country’s public service management sector more efficient and transparent. “We would like Ukraine to be the first country in the world that use the blockchain in selling state assets: to sell them transparently at the highest price and to make sure that there’s no place for corruption. And I believe that the blockchain offers such opportunities. That’s why I’m actively supporting the project Auction 3.0, which is done in partnership with Georgian Innovations and Development Foundation,” the Minister explained at the 2016 Blockchain Incredible Party.

Blockchain technology is rapidly becoming popular all over the globe, primarily due to the efficiency it provides. Decentralized record keeping startup Factom started working with the Honduran government in 2015 to run the country’s public land registry ledger. Factom’s VP of business development Abhi Dobhal explained, “In large organizations and within governments, data transactions between disparate systems can contain incorrect or inappropriate data. Thus, initiating a reconciliation process and, subsequently, an audit review. As the number of systems multiplies that each have sway over some set of data, settlement becomes increasingly difficult. A shared ledger – or source of truth, if you will – could ensure that transactions and data shared with the core systems are consistent and error free.”

With Romania at a turning point yet again, it could not be a better time for blockchain experts from all over the world to come together in Bucharest at this year’s d10e conference (www.d10e.biz) on February 21st to discuss the many benefits blockchain technology has to offer. Chris Bates of Bitland Global will be speaking about Bitland’s work in Ghana, where they are looking to assist governments in solving land disputes.

Grab your tickets to the event at www.d10e.biz/tickets and use STEEMIT for a 10% discount.