Corruption risks still exist - TI’s report findings
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The intensive movement of officials between the government and the private sector in Georgia, the new report of Transparency International Georgia released on December 4, explores movement of officials between government and business and the resulting corruption risks.
Revolving door is a relatively new subject in the field of corruption studies, while the report is the first attempt at a complex analysis of the problem in Georgia.
"Davit Bezhuashvili, Gocha Enukidze, and Kakha Okriashvili, wealthy businessmen who were elected to Parliament in 2012 from the United National Movement, left the former ruling party after it was voted out of power. This raises valid questions concerning the reasons why Georgian businessmen engage in politics, reads the report.
The report reads that a number of companies with connections to Georgian officials have obtained important benefits through their deals with the state in recent years.
"These benefits include money received through public procurement, tax exemptions, exclusive licenses and rights, legislation designed to suit the interests of specific companies, and the lenience of law enforcement agencies toward specific companies. Some officials have moved to the market sectors that they used to supervise in their official capacity, the report notes.
According to the report, revolving door is also a problem in the new government. The Ministry of Energy merits particular attention in this respect.
"Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze had direct and indirect ties with several companies operating in the energy sector prior to his appointment to this position, the report reads.
On the basis of these findings, Transparency International Georgia released the recommendations including addressing the gaps in the law and ensure implementation of the existing rules in practice, implement changes in the system of asset declarations, monitor the activities of former public officials for a certain period of time after their resignation, and others.
Transparency International Georgia has studied the entrepreneurial activities of 50 members of Tbilisi city council, revealing 10 officials have incompletely declared the business activities of themselves or their family members, six members have not transferred their stake in a private company to another person, while one occupies the position of director in a private company.
Transparency International (TI) Georgia reports that the public asset declarations of six public officials of the Government of Adjara, subordinate bodies and the Supreme Council were not filed correctly in 2019-2020.
Ruling party MP and Vice Parliament Speaker Gia Volski says that the recent poll of Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia), which says there is a ‘clan’ controlling the court system and that the Prosecutor’s Office ‘fully or partially’ serves the interests of the Georgian Dream, is ‘incorrect and absurd.’
Only three of 12 key institutions in Georgia have been highly assessed by TI in a report on facilitating democratic governance and preventing corruption in Georgia, reads the National Integrity System (NIS) assessment published by Transparency International Georgia, which covers the period between 2015 and 2020.