End of Commitment Report – Improvement of Corruption Risk Management in the Akhaltsikhe Municipality

Name of Evaluator

Tamar Gzirishvili

Email

tgzirishvili@gmail.com

Member

Akhaltsikhe, Georgia

Action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen...

Action plan – Akhaltsikhe, Georgia, 2021 – 2021

CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...

Improvement of Corruption Risk Management in the Akhaltsikhe Municipality

Action

In order to improve corruption risk management Akhaltsikhe Municipality City Hall will: Examine in detail the internal business processes in the City Hall and its subordinate agencies related to the identification, analysis, assessment and mitigation of corruption risks. Develop and approve the corruption risk assessment methodology addressing specifics of the municipal governance and taking into account the best international practices and experience as well as the corruption risk assessment methodology prepared by the Ministry of JusticeTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi... of Georgia. Carry out a corruption risk assessment based on the corruption risk assessment methodology addressing specifics of the municipal governance. Prepare and approve a corruption risk assessment report.

Problem

Akhaltsikhe Municipality City Hall is one of the first local government bodies in Georgia which elaborated the 2019-2020 Building Integrity and TransparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More Strategy and Action Plan through civil society involvement and with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Good Governance Initiative program in Georgia (USAID GGI). Despite a number of important activities carried out by the Akhaltsikhe Municipality City Hall in the area of the fight against corruption, complete identification and analysis of corruption risks remain an important challenge the improvement of which will significantly help the City Hall to effectively manage corruption risks. The commitment will include open government approaches including citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More as well as the transparency of the assessment results.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

Complete

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment was fully implemented according to the action plan with minor delays in milestone implementation. The first phase of the commitment envisioned conducting an internal overview of existing corruption risks in the Mayor’s Office and its subordinate entities, which was carried out with the participation of all relevant government units. Consequently, a detailed corruption risks assessment methodology was developed, which defines the steps of the assessment, instructions for risk identification, and their mitigation. Based on the adopted methodology, a detailed assessment of corruption risks was conducted and a risks database was created, which is an integral part of the report as it identifies risks, causes, mitigation measures, responsible persons, and the timeline. The government approved the report as envisioned by the AP. The activity was carried out with the support of the development partner USAID GGI.

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

• Akhaltsikhe Executive Summary Assessment Report ENG
• Akhaltsikhe Corruption Risk Assessment Methodology English
• OGP Local Action Plan Commitment 2 Akhaltsikhe Georgia 2021

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

The implementation of the commitment coincided with the local government electionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr... More in October 2021, which contributed to time delays in milestone implementation. Nevertheless, the initial situation analysis was conducted in the summer of 2021, whereas the methodology was approved in October 2021. While the final report of the corruption risks assessment was received and confirmed in October 2021, the official approval was passed in February 2022. While all milestones were implemented in time, the previous government left the final report for adoption to the new leadership to ensure the ownership of the processes, which indicated the continuity of the effort despite the change in management.

Additionally, the Mayor’s Office encountered other challenges, such as low awareness regarding corruption and the meaning of corruption risks among the employees of the government units, which impeded open discussions on corruption risks due to existing stigma on the issue. However, after detailed explanations on what corruption risks mean, and their ubiquitous nature in all government business, the employees opened up regarding the possible risks in their respective units. Therefore, openness towards the issue also increased. In addition, despite the fact that there were many participants in the discussions, only a few were vocal on corruption risks in their relevant unit. The possible reason for the reluctance to speak could be a low level of understanding of the importance of the process, which is key to meaningful participation.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

All of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment was implemented exactly as envisioned in the action plan with minor delays in milestone implementation.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Akhaltsikhe Executive Summary Assessment Report ENG1
• Akhaltsikhe Corruption Risk Assessment Methodology English

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Not Applicable

Degree of result:

– Select –

Provide evidence for your answer:

• OGP Local Action Plan Commitment 1 Akhaltsikhe Georgia 2021

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Not Applicable

Degree of result:

– Select –

Provide evidence for your answer:

• OGP Local Action Plan Commitment 1 Akhaltsikhe Georgia 20211

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Major

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

During the implementation of the commitment the awareness of the employees regarding corruption and corruption risks increased. Additionally, corruption risks were identified and accompanied by specific mitigation steps, which contribute to increasing the accountability of the government. However, it is unclear to what extent the practice will be institutionalized. At the time of the assessment, there are no internal regulations appointing specific persons responsible for carrying out a corruption risk assessment in the future, along with a clear division of roles and responsibilities for caring out a corruption risk assessment. That said, the adopted methodology lays out an assessment plan, specifying the regularity of conducting the assessment once a year. The methodology was approved by the decree of the Mayor, giving it a binding nature.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Akhaltiskhe Decree of the Mayors Office on Corruption Risks Assessment Methodology
• OGP Local Strategic Vision and Action Plan Akhaltsikhe Georgia 2021
• OGP Local Action Plan Commitment 1 Akhaltsikhe Georgia 20212

2.1.4 Other Results

Not Applicable

Degree of result:

– Select –

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The action plan stipulates that despite the strategic priority of Akhaltsikhe municipality to fight corruption at the local level, the municipality does not have specific tools to achieve the objective. There were no corruption risks assessment methodology and practices in the Mayor’s Office and its subordinate entities, which impeded the achievement of the strategic goal also presented in Georgia’s Decentralization Strategy 2020-2025 and the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2019-2020. The commitment addresses the above mentioned gap. The implementation of the commitment enables the municipal government to establish a continuous practice for corruption risk management. According to the representatives of the Mayor’s Office, the assessment will be conducted annually, which will deepen the experience of public entities with regard to corruption risk management. Additionally, this will increase the awareness of the employees regarding corruption and therefore, contribute to prevention.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• OGP Local Strategic Vision and Action Plan Akhaltsikhe Georgia 20211

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

1) During the implementation process, one of the challenges identified was low awareness of employees regarding corruption risks and the definition of corruption, and a low level of openness towards the issue. In order to ensure the continuity of the practice, it is recommended to increase the awareness and capacity of employees in accordance with the risk assessment methodology. This could entail basic training on corruption, as well as follow-up in-depth modules on different areas of the Mayor’s Office’s work.
2) The commitment is a big step forward toward the identification and mitigation of corruption risks at the local level. That said, the process could benefit from more openness and citizen participation. Despite the fact that the commitment focuses on sensitive information, increasing transparency and citizen engagement in the process could have a wider impact on opening the government. For example, before launching the assessment, the government can solicit citizen suggestions on which areas to put an emphasis on during the assessment (similar to the citizen participation mechanism of the State Audit Office allowing citizens to participate in the audit planning process). Proactive publication of non-sensitive findings of the assessment will inform citizens regarding the practice, and increase the transparency of the government, as well as citizens’ trust towards the institutions. For this purpose, the platform of the local council sakrebulo can be utilized, which will inform the public regarding OGP process in the municipality.
3) Internal regulations: Despite the fact that the methodology was approved with the official decree of the Mayor, giving it a binding nature, it is important to adopt specific internal regulations which will lay out detailed deadlines, responsible persons, roles and responsibilities, and more. The said recommendations is vital for further institutionalization of the practice.