Gov’t confirms 2019-20 anti-corruption strategy
By Natalia Kochiashvili
Friday, October 4
According to Tea Tsulukiani, Minister of Justice of Georgia, the action plan was approved by the Anti-Corruption Coordination Council several months ago, unanimously at the last meeting of the Council.
Strategic documents and action plans, that were presented and approved by the government yesterday, were endorsed with the involvement of members of the council.
“There are 69 members in the council, including ministries, the judiciary, parliament, municipalities, regulatory bodies, the private sector, business ombudsmen, NGOs, and international organizations," explained the minister.
This strategy and action plan is the 5th in Georgia and covers the period until 2021. However, it’s the first time that these documents have undergone EU expertise. According to the EU report, these documents are compiled in such a way that it is possible to assess the impact of each agency’s activities by the end of 2020.
As Tsulukiani commented, 16 priorities and directions, set out in the strategy will be measurable by the end of 2020 with relevant indicators.
“Corruption not only needs to be prevented and eliminated in the public sector, but also in business and, of course, in political parties, I mean the political parties, the transparency of their funding and the rules of financing," Justice Minister told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
The Minister of Justice focused on the main directions of the anti-corruption strategy, such as public information, public service, law enforcement, customs and tax system as well as criteria for transparency and evaluation in the second government. She also mentioned areas such as sports and infrastructure projects.
Tsulukiani notified the public about another news: seven municipalities will be participating in the anti-corruption strategy and action plan. She commended the efforts of the Kutaisi municipality that stood out by developing their anti-corruption strategy and action plan at the local level.
According to Tea Tsulukiani, the Minister of Justice of Georgia, most of the promises made by the Georgian government for the 2012 elections have been fulfilled as far as possible. After the cabinet meeting, the minister said there are no political promises that can be 100 % fulfilled.
“The key is that the Georgian Dream government has always been sincerely committed to its values. Anyway, I can tell you about myself. I, along with the members of my team, have tried to carry out the burden of commitment with dignity,” said Tsulukiani.
According to her, the Georgian Dream authorities have implemented legislative reforms in the judiciary that are used in some European countries.
Interestingly, media project FactCheck, independent and non-partisan website has checked 26 promises of the Georgian Dream in 2012, out of which 15 were not met or partly not met.