Transparency International: corruption in Georgia still a problem

JAMnews

Tbilisi

Corruption in Georgia

According to a new study by Transparency International-Georgia (TI), Georgia’s fight against corruption has stagnated over the past decade. According to TI’s 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), Georgia has a score of 56, up one point from last year.

The organization states that a one-point change is considered statistically insignificant. In the case of Georgia, this has not improved significantly since 2012, which, according to the organization, means that “over the past ten years, the country has not taken effective steps against corruption.”

“Georgia’s place in the ranking is mainly due to a low level of petty bribery, but at the same time, elite corruption and the lack of political will to fight it remain a problem,” the study says.

“Even though Georgia leads the region with 56 points, this is due to the elimination of petty bribery in the past. Since 2012, the consumer price index has been stagnating in the country. Unfortunately, in a country that was once the champion of fighting corruption in the region, the current government is effectively killing off any momentum to fight the problem. The ruling Georgian Dream party, whose leader is widely considered Georgia’s richest man and is a former prime minister, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has seized key government institutions, courts and law enforcement agencies, leaving abuses of power at the highest levels virtually unpunished.”

The study provides specific examples. Monitoring by Transparency International-Georgia in recent years has revealed dozens of cases of alleged high-level corruption that have not been investigated. In their opinion, the content and scale, number and dynamics of the growth of these cases give reason to say that corruption in Georgia is essentially kleptocracy:

“The authorities use aggressive rhetoric against civil society engaged in exposing corruption. Recent smear campaigns against activists have raised suspicions that the parliament may pass a law on foreign agents, similar to one in Russia, and use it against non-profit organizations.”

According to Transparency International-Georgia, fulfillment of the twelve recommendations set by the European Commission for Georgia is the best way to improve the situation.

According to the organization, it is necessary:

to initiate effective investigations into alleged cases of high-level corruption;
to strengthen the role of oversight bodies, and above all the role of parliament;
Allow media and non-governmental organizations to freely exercise their oversight functions in a safe environment;
Develop critical media and investigative journalism, and assist the non-governmental sector and anti-corruption organizations.

The Georgian Dream party called the study “manipulative” and states that, compared to last year, Georgia improved its result and moved from 45th to 41st place among 180 countries of the world.

“For the first time in history, Georgia is among the best in Europe. Georgia is ahead of 12 out of 27 EU member states or has an equal rating. As for the EU candidate countries, Georgia is far ahead of them all,” a Georgian Dream statement says.