Transparency International Georgia, a local watchdog, released a statement on September 1, welcoming the proposed legislative package regarding the creation of an independent anti-corruption agency.
The bill was penned by 5 independent MPs, Tamar Chugoshvili, Tamar Khulordava, Irina Pruidze, Nino Goguadze and Dimitri Tskitishvili in close cooperation with TI Georgia.
According to the statement, the current anti-corruption policy is unable to meet the existing challenges. The proposed legislation, if approved, could serve as an important step towards strengthening the anti-corruption system in Georgia, the CSO noted.
The watchdog argued that the proposed agency would unite the various anti-corruption functions currently carried out by the State Security Service, Civil Service Bureau, or the State Audit Office. The agency would be accountable to the Parliament of Georgia and the chief of the agency would be appointed with a large quorum, ensuring a high grade of impartiality.
The proposed agency would:
- Execute the state’s anti-corruption legislation and work on refining the existing policy;
- Investigate cases of corruption in government agencies and enforce preventive measures;
- Monitor assets declarations of public officials;
- Monitor financial activities of political parties;
- Defend whistleblowers;
- Ensure that government bodies deliver on their international anti-corruption responsibilities;
TI Georgia stated that the proposed model had proved to be effective in various European countries and would provide an effective mechanism to deal with the cases of “elite corruption” in Georgia.
The watchdog called on the Georgian MPs to support the bill in order to help fundamentally strengthen the anti-corruption environment of Georgia.
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