Monitoring Georgia's Implementation of the OECD's ACN Recommendations - Follow Up
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Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe MD 18 / Annex 2
Mission to Georgia
Monitoring Georgia’s Implementation of the OECD’s ACN
Recommendations – Follow Up
Project Purpose/Objective(s):
During May – December, 07 Transparency International Georgia (TI Georgia) carried
out a project Monitoring Georgia’s Implementation of the OECD’s ACN
Recommendations funded by the OSCE Mission to Georgia. As part of this project TI
Georgia monitored the Georgian government’s adherence to the ACN
recommendations, prepared an alternative progress report that documented and analysed
major developments in this field, participated in the ACN review meeting and presented
its monitoring findings to the review group, studied the local government’s capacity to
carry out anticorruption efforts to complement the central government’s activities, and
disseminated its monitoring and analytical reports in and outside Georgia in English and
Georgian languages.
TI Georgia proposes to conduct a follow-up project that will aim at further fostering of
the ACN process in Georgia through continued monitoring of the central and local
government’s actions vis-à-vis the ACN recommendations.
Background:
TI Georgia has been monitoring the Georgian government’s adherence to the ACN
recommendations since 2005. Since then TI Georgia has prepared three alternative
progress reports and has participated in three review meetings organized by the ACN.
TI Georgia’s involvement in this process has allowed the ACN to have an access to a
neutral, non-governmental evaluation of Georgia’s anti-corruption initiatives. It has
also allowed Georgian citizens to be informed about the ACN process by ensuring
greater publicity of the ACN recommendations and their implementation by the
Georgian government.
TI Georgia’s alternative progress reports provided detailed analysis of the Georgian
government’s overall anti-corruption campaign, its main pillars, concrete mechanisms
put in place, their outcomes, and the lingering concerns. These reports were thus
widely utilized not only by the OECD’s ACN, but also by other Georgian and
international non-governmental organizations and institutions, diplomatic community
and media representatives working in Georgia. One of the reasons to that is that the
government’s own reporting on its reform initiatives and anti-corruption efforts is too
meagre.
Currently the government is in the process of refining its anti-corruption policy
planning and coordination process. The Office of the State Minister for Reform
OSCE Mission to Georgia/Project Co-ordination Cell 1Coordination has been abolished. To date it remains unclear what governmental
agency will assume the Office’s former responsibility of coordinating the National
Anti-corruption Action Plan and the ACN recommendation implementation. Until
this decision is made and in the followed process of transformation, it is of particular
importance that civil society remains actively engaged in monitoring this process, as
well as in tracking the government’s overall anti-corruption efforts. TI Georgia will
draw on its past experience of working closely with the Office of the State Minister
for Reform Coordination and the ACN, and establish close working contacts with the
newly designated anti-corruption activity coordination agency.
TI Georgia is a local non-governmental organization committed to combating corruption
in Georgia through the promotion of transparency and accountability. Our mission is to
serve as the primary source of information on corruption reform in Georgia, to assist the
Georgian Government and the broader public in facilitating reform in sectors where
corruption exists, and to build and strengthen institutions.
To fulfill this mission, TI Georgia: establishes programmatic activities that target
structural corruption in specific sectors; promotes access of local populations to
information on existing problems and changes initiated to address these problems;
encourages input on reform from local and international experts; assists the Government
in drafting policy; and produces analysis and public policy recommendations on current
activities and on future reform.
Since 2000 TI Georgia has carried out following major projects:
1. Establishment of Support Office for the National Anti-Corruption Program
Elaboration Group
Period of performance: 16 August 2000 – 30 December 2001
Source of funding: ABA/CEELI
2. Distribution of Georgia’s National Anti-corruption Program Draft throughout
Georgia and Gathering Public Input
Period of performance: 01 August 2000 – 28 February 2001
Source of funding: IRIS/Georgia
3. Monitoring of Execution of the President’s Anti-Corruption Order #95
Period of performance: 01 June 2001 – 01 March 2002
Source of funding: Open Society Georgia Foundation
4. Monitoring of State Expenditures
Period of performance: 15 March 2002 – 20 October 2002
Source of funding: Open Society Georgia Foundation and Horizonti Foundation
5. Anti-Corruption Essay Competition for School Children
Period of performance: 1 August 2003 – 1 February 2004
Source of funding: Open Society Georgia Foundation
6. Parliamentary Code of Ethics
Period of performance: 1 June 2004 – 1 November 2004
Source of funding: OSCE Mission to Georgia
OSCE Mission to Georgia/Project Co-ordination Cell 27. Voter Education for Georgia’s Police Force
Period of performance: 15 February 2004 – 30 April 2004
Source of funding: OSCE Mission to Georgia
8. Voter Education for Ajara’s Police Force
Period of performance: 1 June 2004 – 1 July 2004
Source of funding: OSCE Mission to Georgia
9. Promoting Public Input into the Legislative Process
Period of performance: 1 June 2004 – 1 December 2004
Source of funding: Swiss Development Agency
10. Increasing Public Access to Free Medical Services
Period of performance: 1 June 2004 – 1 March 2005
Source of funding: European Commission
11. Monitoring Adherence to the OECD Anti-Corruption Network Recommendations
for Georgia
Period of performance: 1 September 2005 – 31 December 2005
Source of funding: OSCE Mission to Georgia
12. Preventing Corruption in the Education System
Period of performance: 1 May 2005 – 25 August 2005
Source of funding: Transparency International Secretariat
13. Parliamentary Outreach in Georgia’s Region of Samtskhe-Javakheti
Period of performance: 15 March 2005 – 15 September 2005
Source of funding: The Canadian Embassy
14. The Majoritarian Project: Informed Citizens and Accountable Government
Period of performance: 1 June 2005 – 31 May 2008
Source of funding: British Embassy in Tbilisi
15. Civic Forum for Ethnic Azeris in Kvemo Kartli
Period of performance: 1 February 2006 – 1 May 2007
Source of funding: European Commission and Canada Fund
16. TI Georgia Office in Parliament
Period of performance: 1 February 2006 – 31 January 2008
Source of funding: Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC)
17. Monitoring the Misuse of Administrative Resources during the 2006 Local
Government Elections
Period of performance: 17 July 2006 –17 January 2007
Source of funding: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia
18. Georgia's International Commitments Assessment Program
Period of performance: 1 July 2006 – 31 June 2007
Source of funding: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland
OSCE Mission to Georgia/Project Co-ordination Cell 319. State Expenditure Monitoring Project
Period of performance: 1 July 2005 – 1 July 2006
Source of funding: National Endowment for Democracy
20. Economic Governance and Public Finance
Period of performance: 1 September 2005 – 1 September 2006
Source of funding: Royal Netherlands Embassy
21. Monitoring the 2006 Unified National Exams in Georgia
Period of performance: 1 June 2006 – 1 September 2006
Source of funding: United States Agency for International Development
22. Government Efficiency Study
Period of performance: 1 September 2005 – 1 December 2006
Source of funding: UK Department for International Development
23. Monitoring the Implementation of Georgia's Anti-Corruption Strategy
Period of performance: 1 April 2006 – 1 November 2006 (expanded)
Source of funding: OSCE Mission to Georgia
24. Promoting Understanding of the Energy Sector in Georgia
Period of performance: 1 October 2007 – 1 November 2008
Source of funding: BP Georgia
25. Promoting Civil Society Monitoring of Secondary Healthcare Reform
Period of performance: 1 November 2007 – 1 April 2008
Source of funding: Eurasia Foundation Georgia
26. Monitoring the Use of Administrative Resources in Advance of the 2008 Presidential
and Parliamentary Elections
Period of performance: 15 October 2007 – June 2008
Source of funding: EC Delegation to Georgia, Swiss Agency for Cooperation and
Development
The OSCE Mission to Georgia, among other issues, focuses on developing small- and
medium-sized enterprises, supporting the fight against corruption and providing
economic policy guidance to the Government. The ACN’s recommendations for
Georgia concern national anti-corruption policy formulation and implementation, anti-
corruption legislation and its enforcement, civil service transparency, financial control
and business climate improvement. These two frameworks are closely linked, thus
further fostering of the ACN process in Georgia, which is the major objective of TI
Georgia’s project proposal, is directly connected with the OSCE’s objectives in
Georgia. The OSCE’s involvement in this project will, on the other hand, land
multilateral support for the work of TI Georgia and other domestic organizations
working in the monitored spheres.
Approach:
OSCE Mission to Georgia/Project Co-ordination Cell 4Activities
TI Georgia will continue to monitor action taken by the Government of Georgia to
implement the ACN recommendations and present the respective findings to the OECD
ACN and the Georgian public. To achieve these objectives TI Georgia will carry out the
following activities:
Monitoring Government Institutions at Central and Local Level
TI Georgia will regularly monitor the activities and agenda of the government to track
developments on important legislation and regulatory decisions that relate to the ACN
recommendations. This monitoring will target both, central and local government
institutions and will aim to evaluate their compliance with the ACN recommendations,
level of fulfillment of these recommendations, possible barriers to their realization, and
future steps planned by these institutions to promote this process.
Monitoring will be conducted by TI Georgia’s analysts. It will comprise the desk
research, review of legal and other official documentation (obtained through FOIA
requests), and in-depth interviews with the stakeholders.
Analyzing Corruption Cases at Local Level
Monitoring of corruption problems at local government level will evolve around tracking
and analyzing regional statistics on corruption arrests and investigations. Through this
analysis TI Georgia will seek to identify:
- Most frequently occurring types of corruption in the regions i.e. bribe solicitation,
extortion, legal manipulations, etc;
- Major sectors of corruption i.e. issuing official documents, registering lands,
administering public procurements, allocating state funds, etc;
- Levels of corruption i.e. senior-level local officials, lower-level local officials,
executive bodies, self-government units, etc;
- Regional distribution of corruption cases;
- Root causes of corruption i.e. legal loopholes, lack of transparency, poor
qualifications, lack of control, etc.
-
Based on monitoring TI Georgia’s analysts will prepare a separate report on main
findings of the analyses.On the basis of this analysis, TI Georgia will be able to
contribute to developing a systemic approach to preventing corruption at local level, as
opposed to putting all efforts into simply detecting and prosecuting corruption facts.
Preparing an Alternative Corruption Status Report
Based on monitoring TI Georgia’s analysts will prepare an independent, alternative
report that will outline the main developments and opinions around the ACN targeted
policy issues, including opposing views and recommendations. The report will provide
information for each specific ACN recommendation point by point. It will be prepared
in Georgian and English languages.
Submitting the Alternative Corruption Status Report to the ACN
OSCE Mission to Georgia/Project Co-ordination Cell 5TI Georgia’s alternative report prepared within the framework of the project will be
submitted to the ACN before its review meeting. At this point the meeting date has not
been finalized, however, taking into consideration the general ACN reporting timeline,
the meeting should take place in fall of 2008, most probably in September. TI Georgia
will continue communicating with the OECD ACN concerning the exact date to ensure
that the alternative report is prepared in a timely manner and that the information
provided in the report is up-to-date.
TI Georgia will participate in this review meeting to take place in Paris and will present
its alternative report findings to the invited participants. The Georgian government
representative will also take part in this discussion. S/he will be presenting the
government’s own assessment of its adherence to the ACN recommendations.
Following this meeting TI Georgia will compose a separate report about the discussed
points and disseminate this report, in Georgian and English languages, in Georgia
together with the meeting minutes prepared by the ACN.
Disseminating the Alternative Corruption Status Report
TI Georgia’s alternative report will be disseminated in Georgian and English through TI
Georgia’s electronic mailing lists to over 2,000 individuals that can influence decision-
making process in Georgia. This will include representatives of the Government,
Georgian and international public organizations, the diplomatic community, international
institutions, political parties, and media representatives. Printed versions of the reports
will be distributed to the regions through TI Georgia’s regional network of local
coordinators.
In addition to its alternative report, TI Georgia will translate the government’s progress
report submitted to the ACN review meeting and disseminate its Georgian and English
versions in and outside Georgia.
Cooperation with the Government
TI Georgia will continue its previous practice of implementing this project in close
cooperation with the government. Although the Office of the State Ministry for Reform
Coordination has been abolished, its former employees have remained in the
government. Currently, they are employed by the National Security Council and as it
stands now, the Council is most likely to be put in charge for coordination and oversight
of state anti-corruption activities in general and the ACN specifically. Thus, TI Georgia
will work closely with the National Security Council, as well as with the line ministries
involved in the ACN process.
Results
The project seeks to independently assess the Government’s activities in comparison
with its international commitments in order to promote their implementation and to raise
public awareness of and promote public input into the Government's reform strategies.
Working together with relevant state entities and the non-governmental sector in Georgia
it would be possible to vastly increase the amount of analysis available in Georgian and
OSCE Mission to Georgia/Project Co-ordination Cell 6English on Georgia's international commitments and specifically, on Georgia’s adherence
to the ACN recommendations. By having a continuous process of reporting, analyzing,
and publicly discussing the activities of the government in the targeted areas, the project
will act as an early warning mechanism giving warning of corruption at one stage, and as
a catalyst of continuous re-planning and revision of decisions and procedures on a later
stage.
One of the most important results of the project will be a continuous and all-inclusive
assessment of the problematic issues in the country as outlined by the ACN. Detailed
information on government activities in the targeted fields will increase the public's
demand for information, will provide incentive for the government actors to initiate
reform, and will strengthen the basic platforms of democracy crucial for a well-
functioning state that is held accountable to its citizens.
Indicators
• TI Georgia will have monitored and evaluated the actions taken by the Georgian
government to fulfill the ACN recommendations at central and local level, and
presented its monitoring results to the ACN review meeting;
Source: Alternative Corruption Status Report written and presented to
ACN review meeting
A separate report analyzing corruption statistics at local level
• TI Georgia will have publicized, both in print and electronically, its alternative
report and the government’s own report electronically and in print;
Source: Number of copies of reports disseminated (a total of 1 000 copies
of each document)
Copies of these reports
List of recipients (electronic mailing list)
• TI Georgia will have publicized, both in print and electronically, the ACN’s
minutes of the review meeting and its report on the main points discussed;
Source: Number of copies of reports disseminated and the representative
list of recipients
Copies of these documents
List of recipients (electronic mailing list)
Assumptions and Risks
TI Georgia has developed an extensive experience in the ACN monitoring, as well as in
working closely with the involved government agencies in this process. Thus, it does not
anticipate any significant challenges during the project implementation. One difficulty
that might arise, though, relates to the date of the next review meeting. TI Georgia’s
project timeline will depend on the ACN’s timeline and should the ACN decide to
postpone consideration of Georgia’s progress report, TI Georgia will have to alter its
timeframes accordingly. This will have no budgetary implications.
Activity Timetable
OSCE Mission to Georgia/Project Co-ordination Cell 7April-July months
- Monitoring the actions taken by the Georgian government in accordance with the
OECD’s ACN recommendations at central and local levels;
- Translating government reports and TI Georgia’s analyses into English language;
- Distributing government reports and TI Georgia’s analyses through website
posting, e-mail lists, and regional network;
- Liaison with the Georgian government;
- Liaison with the OECD’s ACN.
August-September
- Summarizing project findings;
- Distributing summary of the project findings through website posting, e-mail lists
and regional network;
- Attending the OECD Steering Meeting in Paris;
- Disseminating government’s progress report, TI Georgia’s alternative report and
TI Georgia’s local corruption analysis report in Georgia and internationally;
- Liaison with the Georgian government;
- Liaison with the OECD’s ACN;
- Preparing narrative and financial reports for the OSCE Mission to Georgia.
Division of Tasks between OSCE and TI Georgia
All activities will be implemented by TI Georgia.
Staffing Requirements
The project will be implemented by the following staff: Project Manager will be
responsible for all aspects of project management; two Analysts will be responsible for
carrying out research and analysis of the government’s actions and comparing these
actions with the ACN recommendations; and one Accountant/Administrator will be
responsible for dealing with all administrative questions and budgeting.
Reporting and Evaluation Procedures
TI Georgia will produce narrative and financial reports upon the completion of the
project implementation or as otherwise agreed upon with the donor.
OSCE Mission to Georgia/Project Co-ordination Cell 8You can also read
