Improvement of Corruption Risk Management in the Ozurgeti Municipality (GEOGT0003)
Overview
At-a-Glance
Action Plan: Action plan – Ozurgeti, Georgia, 2021 – 2021
Inception Report: Inception Report – Action plan – Ozurgeti, Georgia, 2021 – 2021
Commitment Start: Aug 2021
Commitment End: Sep 2021
Institutions involved:
- Ozurgeti Municipality City Hall
- Ozurgeti Municipality City Council
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded Good Governance Initiative program in Georgia (USAID GGI)
Primary Policy Area:
Primary Sector:
OGP Value:
- Public Accountability
- Technology and Innovation for Transparency and Accountability
Inception Report Summary
Verifiable: Yes
Relevance to OGP Values: Yes
The commitment is a new regulation, policy, practice or requirement.
The commitment activities is a positive change to a process, practice or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institution(s).
To view the detailed final assessment of this commitment read the End of Commitment Report
Description
Commitment ID
GEOGT0003
Commitment Title
Improvement of Corruption Risk Management in the Ozurgeti Municipality
Problem
During the past years, many shortcomings in Georgia's open government processes have been recognized by various international organizations at the national and local levels. Thus, in 2016 the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommended that Georgia develop anti-corruption actions for local governments to improve integrity and the enforcement of conflict-of-interest policies and anti-corruption restrictions. In response to the recommendation, Ozurgeti is committed to take further actions to eliminate corruption risks and strengthen anti-corruption mechanisms at the local level.
In 2020, Ozurgeti Municipality in close coordination with local CSOs developed and approved Building Integrity and Transparency Strategy and Action Plan. Despite a number of important activities carried out by the Ozurgeti Municipality in the area of fight against corruption, complete identification and analysis of corruption risks remains an important challenge the improvement of which will significantly help the Municipal bodies to effectively manage corruption risks
Status quo
Although, the Ozurgeti Municipality has developed a Building Integrity and Transparency Strategy and Action Plan and is carrying out specific activities to develop anticorruption capabilities, the Municipality does not have a corruption risk assessment system in place. Subsequently, there is no comprehensive analysis and assessment of corruption risks, which complicates the effective management of corruption risks.
Action
In order to improve corruption risk management Ozurgeti Municipality City Hall and City Council will:
- Examine in detail the internal business process in the municipality 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 Justice of Georgia.
- Carry out corruption risk assessment based on the corruption risk assessment methodology addressing specifics of the municipal governance
Prepare and approve a corruption risk assessment report
How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?
Through effective implementation of the commitment Ozurgeti Municipality will institutionalize corruption risk assessment system which will significantly improve corruption risk management in the municipality. As a result, level of public accountability and transparency of the Municipality will be considerably strengthened.
What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?
Ozurgeti municipality is committed to establishing itself as a model in-open government-oriented self-governance; with this commitment, the long-term objective for the municipality is to improve integrity and the enforcement of council-of-interest and anti-corruption restrictions. Thus, taking further actions to eliminate corruption risks and strengthen the anti-corruption mechanism at the local level is the priority for the local governance.
Primary Policy Area
Audits & Controls, Conflicts of Interest
Primary Sector
Cross-sectoral, Public Services (general)
What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?
| Public Accountability | An institutionalized corruption risk assessment system at the local level ensures that the risks are eliminated early and responded promptly. These are measures that contribute to strengthening the accountability of public officials and mitigate the risks of corruption. |
| Technology and Innovation for Transparency and Accountability | The standardized system to eliminate the corruption risks will improve the existing status quo and advance transparency and accountability of the local governance in the municipality. |