‘Least corrupted’ in region

Transparency International, one of the most influential foreign non-profit organizations, has released its most recent survey addressing the situation in terms of corruption and bribery in 42 European and Central Asian states.

The survey said that Georgia was the fourth in the ratings after Switzerland, Sweden and Germany, with the lowest rates of corruption.

The report stressed that only 12% of the Georgian population named corruption/bribery as one of the three major problems the country was facing.

“Households in a number of Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries are at high risk of having to pay bribes to access basic public services. In Azerbaijan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Ukraine and Moldova around two in five households who had accessed public services paid a bribe (from 38 to 42 per cent) and this rises to 50 per cent in Tajikistan,” the TI report said.

“Georgia, however, is a positive exception to this trend, with a bribery rate of just 7 percent, which is at least on a par with EU member states,” the report added.

Ukraine, Slovenia, Kosovo, Spain and Moldova showed the worst outcomes in the survey, as the majority of the population of the countries named corruption among three key problems their countries were facing.

When it came to Georgia’s neighbors - Russia, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan – 39% of the Russian population named corruption among three main problems in their country, then came Armenia, with 37%, Turkey with 22% and Azerbaijan with 21%.

TI spoke to nearly 60,000 citizens in 42 countries in Europe and Central Asia about their daily life experiences with corruption to draft the survey.

However, the report also said Georgia’s population was not happy with the Government’s activities against corruption and they also had low awareness on how they could personally act against facts of corruption.

This means if the Government takes some genuine steps against corruption they must ensure to provide information about.

Also steps should be taken to raise people’s awareness concerning the threat of corruption and how they should act if come across with such cases.

The local branch of TI, Transparency International Georgia, also recommended the creation of a strong anti-corruption agency that would be “absolutely free” from political influences.

The recommendation should also be discussed and analyzed.