Ex-Speaker of Parliament: TI's Corruption Perceptions Index is "self-contradictory"
Georgia’s former Speaker of the Parliament, Irakli Kobakhidze has criticized the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2019, published by the global anti-corruption organization Transparency International (TI) last week, which claimed Georgia’s position had worsened compared to the previous report.
Kobakhidze, a member of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, says that Georgia has made significant progress in the anti-corruption direction and this report and other studies cannot ignore this reality.
"The data provided in the index is contradictory because, on the one hand, Georgia has been identified as a clear leader in anti-corruption in the region, and even ahead of EU countries, and on the other hand, the term used in the study 'state capture' is ridiculous. This research contradicts itself,” Kobakhidze stressed.
The ex-speaker also said that it is well-known that Georgia has made “fundamental progress” in terms of corruption, and negative terms used in the study do not describe the reality.
Anri Okhanashvili, Head of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Issues, said that Georgia’s position in the Corruption Perceptions Index, as of 2019, is much better than it was before 2012, when the GD came to power.
“The result and the output are clear: we are in first position among the countries of the region, Eastern Europe and Central Asia,” Okhanashvili said.
TI’s CPI 2019 reads that Georgia received a score of 56 and shares 44th place with Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, and Latvia in the 2019 edition of the index. Last year, Georgia had two points more in the rating, where 100 points indicate the lowest level of perceived corruption while 0 – its highest level.
The Index states that a two-point change is considered statistically insignificant and that Georgia still ranks top in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region.
However, the organization stressed that the lack of progress in terms of Georgia’s score in recent years points to the stagnation of anti-corruption reforms in the country.
“State capture and the concentration of power in private hands remain a major stumbling block in the region. Undue influence over key institutions continues to present the utmost challenge to political integrity in Georgia, which dropped two points on the CPI last year,” the study reads.
TI says that Georgia’s 2019 CPI score indicates that the country has not addressed the problems highlighted in last year’s report regarding the lack of accountability of the law enforcement bodies, corruption and political interference in the judiciary, state capture, government-sponsored attacks on independent civil society and the absence of an independent anti-corruption investigative agency.
The agency called on the authorities to take steps toward strengthening the country’s anti-corruption system and democratic institutions and ensure an effective system of checks and balances, establish an independent anti-corruption agency as a mechanism for effectively addressing instances of corruption, ensure a free and competitive electoral environment and also effectively address violations of party and election campaign financing rules.
In general, this year’s CPI revealed that the majority of countries are showing little to no improvement in tackling corruption. The study showed that corruption is more pervasive in countries where big money can flow freely into electoral campaigns and where governments listen only to the voices of wealthy or well-connected individuals.
The index ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, according to experts and business people.
Western Europe and the EU is the highest scoring region with an average of 66/100, while Sub-Saharan Africa is the lowest scoring region with 32 points.
The research revealed that the top countries are New Zealand and Denmark, with scores of 87 each, followed by Finland (86), Singapore (85), Sweden (85) and Switzerland (85).
The bottom countries are Somalia, South Sudan and Syria with scores of 9, 12 and 13, respectively. These countries are closely followed by Yemen (15), Venezuela (16), Sudan (16), Equatorial Guinea (16) and Afghanistan (16).
By Tea Mariamidze
Image source: Emerging Europe