Saakashvili Plans ‘Special Anti-Corruption Commission’

President Saakashvili said he was planning to set up, what he called, ?a special anti-corruption commission?, which would report to only him and Parliamentary Chairperson Nino Burjanadze.

Speaking at a televised meeting with his cabinet members, Saakashvili indicated that the decision had been prompted by a recent probe into financial wrongdoings in the Ministry of Defense, while Irakli Okruashvili served as the minister there.

?We have learnt a bitter lesson recently,? Saakashvili said. ?So we have no other alternative.?

?Do not be disappointed, but the commission?s major task will be to inspect and control each of you and your relatives,? he told the ministers.

He said that the commission would rely on information received from state agencies, including the state audit agency ? the Chamber of Control. ?It will be directly subordinate to the country?s top leadership ? the President and the Parliamentary Chairperson,? Saakashvili said.

The president, however, gave no further details. It is still unknown, for instance, who will staff the commission, or even when it will be set up.

Anti-corruption commission, which was set up in 2001 by ex-President Shevardnadze, involving civil society representatives, was canceled in 2004 shortly after Mikheil Saakashvili became the President. The authorities cited the commission?s ineffectiveness as a reason behind the decision to cancel the commission.

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