"Transparency International": Georgia is behind Russia in terms of budget transparency

According to the studies made by the international NGO named "Transparency International", the index of Georgia's budget transparency made 55 points, while in 2006 this same index was still lower - only 34 points. Georgia, along with Russia, which gained 60 points, got into the second category of countries, which "provide some information".

"In 2008-2009, our association addressed all government agencies asking them to provide information on how they spent budget money. It turned out that a large share of public funds was spent on maintenance of ministerial cars and telephone bills. Bonuses to employees should be marked particularly. It turns out that in most ministries and agencies employees' bonuses exceed their salaries. In our view, this field is very favourable for corruption," Anna Shalamberidze, an activist of the Association of Young Lawyers of Georgia, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"When working in Georgia, the Transparency International admits many absurdities in its surveys. Thus, when people see one thing in life and read about quite different things in reports, they express dissatisfaction, while the authority of international organizations is undermined," economist Demuri Gorkhelidze, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his story, Georgia has no structure, which could hold independent monitoring of the budget transparency. "This function was given to the Audit Chamber of Georgia as long as it existed, according to the Constitution, is an independent organization. But after the revolution, the chapter about the Audit Chamber was taken away from the Constitution of Georgia, and its functions passed over to the Parliament," said Mr Gorkhelidze. In Georgia, he said, the constitutional majority of the Parliament is represented by MPs from the ruling "United National Movement" and, therefore, the Parliament itself and the Audit Chamber depend on the Government.