TI Georgia names high-level corruption as unresolved problem

By Natalia Kochiashvili

Friday, January 29

According to TI, 2020 has revealed problems even in the most successful countries and has shown that no country is free from corruption.

According to Transparency International, more than two-thirds of countries have less than 50 points, as in previous years.

Transparency International (TI) has published the Corruption Perceptions Index 2020. The NGO report estimates the level of corruption in the public sector in 180 countries and territories around the world. A scale from 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean) is used for evaluation.

According to the 2020 index, Georgia is in the 45th place with 56 points. In 2019, Georgia had 56 points, but was in 44th place, and in 2018, with 58 points out of 41, which was an improved position by 5 steps compared to 2017. It was also revealed that Georgia is ahead of 9 EU countries.

TI report stated that Denmark and New Zealand share the first place with 88-88 points. Somalia and South Sudan are in the last place with 12-12 points. The worst score since 2012, the US has 67 points.

The report addresses the impact of corruption on government response to COVID-19, investment in health care, and the weakening of democratic norms and institutions during the pandemic.

According to TI Director Delia Ferreira Rubio, the COVID-19 pandemic is not only a health and economic crisis, but also a corruption crisis and has yet to be tackled. Research shows that pandemic problems have been dealt with worse in countries with higher levels of corruption. According to the report, sustained corruption is undermining the healthcare system, contributing to the decline of democracy and posing a serious threat to the lives and livelihoods of its citizens.

The NGO report also includes recommendations aimed at reducing corruption and responding better to crises. Recommendations include strengthening controlling institutions, equipping them with sufficient resources and independence to carry out their duties, ensuring transparency of government contracts and exposing conflicts of interest, ensuring accountability of governments to civil society and the media, and providing realistic information on costs and resources.

According to TI Georgia, the problem of high-level corruption in the country remains unresolved. The fact that Georgia has a mediocre result that has not changed significantly over the years indicates that the country has made some progress in fighting corruption, in particular petty corruption, but that high-level corruption issues remain unresolved.