Society is losing control mechanisms over the government
After the adoption of the “Russian law” disguised as transparency, the government gradually began to take steps that deprive the public of the ability to control it.
One such step was taken on May 29 of last year, when amendments were made to the Law “On Combating Corruption”.
Before the amendments, the declarations of the president, prime minister, ministers, judges and other civil servants were published publicly on the website of the Anti-Corruption Bureau within 48 hours of being filled out. The parliament changed this rule and made it possible for the declarations of high-ranking officials not to be published even 60 days after being filled out.
According to the amendments, employees of the Anti-Corruption Bureau will notify the civil servant of the error within one month of filling out the declaration and give him a month to change the data. The law allows the bureau employee to notify the civil servant of the remarks within 30 days, and the official has one month to correct these shortcomings.
Additionally, the parliament has written into the law that during the period of detection and correction of the defect, which can last up to two months, “it is not permissible to make the declaration public or to issue the information reflected therein as public information.”
The Anti-Corruption Bureau website, on which the declarations of civil servants are published, is an important resource for journalists. The incomes of high-ranking officials and their family members are published there.
As of today, the situation in this regard has become even more complicated, because it is impossible to view the declarations of officials on the Anti-Corruption Bureau website declaration.acb.gov.ge for persons without authorization, and the website does not currently provide the opportunity for new authorization.
The government-controlled media and those working against corruption have lost another tool, which is linked to the CEC website. The CEC voter list field created an opportunity to check the connections of officials, their family members and businesses. Simply put, in the reality of Georgia, we often encountered the registration of property in the name of a family member, as well as the active participation of relatives of officials in state tenders.
The voter list tool made this task easier for investigative journalism, and thus the public benefited, which could control the government and the integrity of its own budget spending.
QvemoQartli.ge