The International Anti-Corruption Day is celebrated on December 9. This day is important for raising awareness about the challenges in terms of corruption and planning effective measures to eliminate the existing gaps.

IDFI continues to be actively involved in the fight against corruption. The organization implements significant measures to promote awareness raising in the Anti-Corruption direction; collaborates with local self-government bodies to establish more open and participatory governance at the local level and is involved in the civic supervision of policy-making process at the national level. IDFI continues monitoring the implementation of the Anticorruption policy documents. The organization observes the implementation of the Anti-Corruption Action Plan and actively participates in the monitoring process. IDFI has elaborated recommendations for the New Anti-Corruption Strategy and Action Plan 2019-2020. However, some very important recommendations have not been reflected in the documents.

IDFI observes the assessments by international organizations of the situation in Georgia regarding corruption, analyzes and periodically publishes the results. It is noteworthy that the international organizations still note that the high-level corruption by public officials remains a problem in the country. In 2020 Georgia was mentioned in the rankings of several international organizations. All of them indicate that corruption situation in the country is worsening with high-level corruption being mentioned as one of the causes.

Analysis of the practice of combating corruption in Georgia shows that the independence of the agencies fighting against corruption is the most challenging, which is one of the most important standards that ensures effective fight against corruption and high level of public trust. It is necessary to reform the system since it cannot effectively respond to cases of high-level corruption. This poses questions in the society and negatively affects the trust towards public institutions. Furthermore, non-investigation of alleged high-level corruption cases harms the country's democratic development.

Taking into consideration the shortcomings of the existing Anti-Corruption System and recognizing the challenges of high-level corruption, IDFI has long advocated the importance of creating an Independent Anti-Corruption Agency equipped with high degree of independence, relevant authority and public trust to investigate high-profile corruption cases and answer all the lingering questions.

Working in Anti-Corruption direction remains a priority for IDFI even in the conditions created by Covid-19 pandemic. The organization has been actively discussing from the beginning the dangers of rising corruption risks within the pandemic and indicating the problems of simplified procurements related to Covid-19.

In order to overcome the existing challenges, it is crucial that Georgia adheres to the recommendations of international anticorruption institutions. In this regard, it is especially important to use the platforms of international initiatives, where Georgia, in addition to sharing the experience, may undertake commitments to make changes in specific areas.

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This material has been financed by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, Sida. Responsibility for the content rests entirely with the creator. Sida does not necessarily share the expressed views and interpretations.