Giorgi Meskhidze Amiran Gigineishvili COOPERATION FOR DEVELOPMENT - Working together for organizational integrity and preventing corruption Supported by FPDL/Local Government Initiative of the Open Society Institute “ Program for Anticorruption Practitioners - PAP 2010 ”

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 1 What is this Anti-Corruption Initiative and how did you become involved in it?

International Association Civitas Georgica Program for Anticorruption Practitioners – PAP* FPDL initiated with the support of LGI/OSI and WBI, PAP*, aimed at establishing a network of skilled anti-corruption practitioners to work with LGs, to cure and prevent corruption. Civitas Georgica got involved in the process in 2009 by participating in PAP*. After FPDL theoretical and practical training, we have implemented a pilot project in Lanchkhuti municipality.

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 2 Can you tell to our international audience a little bit about Lanchkhuti municipality?

International Association Civitas Georgica Lanchkhuti Municipality Location: West Georgia, mainly mountainous with Black Sea coast Population: people, one town and 15 surrounding communities. Socio-Economic situation: Few employment opportunities, but developed civil society & media Local government structure: local council (elected) and executive branch/mayor (appointed) 26 elected council members and 107 employees in mayor’s office

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 3 Why did you pick Lanchkhuti municipality to work with? Is it particularly known as a corrupt city?

International Association Civitas Georgica Reasons for selection of Lanchkhuti municipality PAP* approach focuses on prevention and on building organizational integrity so that there is neither opportunity, nor motivation, to engage in corrupt behavior. Why Lanchkhuti? Experienced in working with civil society organizations Average size, income – typical municipality Cooperative and open to innovations

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 4 Why did Lanchkhuti local government agreed to take part in this project?

International Association Civitas Georgica Reasons for interest of Lanchkhuti Nothing like that was ever done in Georgia before, would like to be the first (pioneer) to try it Zero-tolerance policy towards corruption (in particular bribery) declared by central government Experience in previous cooperation with Civitas Important to talk in pre-elections about transparency, accountability and integrity

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 5 So how did you go on with the corruption prevention process?

International Association Civitas Georgica The process – start-up Obtaining strong support from mayor, signing a memorandum of collaboration Establishing strong working team – guiding coalition formed by nine members: deputy mayor (leader of the group), heads of departments: Procurement, Finance & Budgeting, Property Management, Public Relations, Infrastructure & Development, Social Services, Organizational (including human resources), one local councilor

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 6  Who decided on the guiding coalition composition?  Did it change during the project?  Why do you have a representative of local council engaged?  And, why the local team are not you, the consultants?

International Association Civitas Georgica Guiding Coalition Mayor recommended key managers – department heads. The composition changed due to LG elections in May, However, some people remained engaged. Presence of elected council member, gave legitimacy to the work of the coalition as strategic plan must be approved by the council. Ownership for the process and results stay with guiding coalition.

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 7 Which were key stages in your work with the guiding coalition?

International Association Civitas Georgica The process – summary Stage 1 – Information collection - Documents & Survey Stage 2 –analysis and identification of vulnerable to corruption areas Stage 3 – Getting to root causes of problems Stage 4 – Working out solutions & elaborating the strategic plan

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 8 What did the survey demonstrate and which areas did the guiding coalition select to focus on?

International Association Civitas Georgica Vulnerability Analysis Survey Results CitizensMunicipal EmployeesGuiding Coalition Human resource management Human resource recruitment/dismissal Organization of public amenities such as street lighting, parks, visual face of the city/settlement etc. Infrastructure project selection/implementation Human resource promotion/punishment Control over construction projects safety Organization of public amenities such as street lighting, parks, visual face of the city/settlement etc. Public transportation Permits and licensesPublic transportationHuman resource promotion/punishment Regulation of small-scale street trade Pre-school education, kindergartens Land managementControl over procurement terms Human resource recruitment/dismissal Water and forest management Infrastructure project selection/implementation Land management Social issuesBuilding Permits Regulation of small-scale street trade

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 9 What did the strategic plan contain?

International Association Civitas Georgica Focus areas of strategic plan 1. Human resources management: Recruiting/dismissal Promotion, bonuses, assessment Most of activities focused on this 2. Improvement of municipal territory Selection of infrastructure projects Control of implementation/monitoring of implementation of infrastructure projects Less actions here due to introduction of electronic tender system

International Association Civitas Georgica Lanchkhuti LG strategic objectives Improve management and increase transparency of infrastructure projects selection and implementation in the interests of citizens Establish adequate working conditions for effective functioning of staff Increase staff qualification and motivation Develop service regulations and standards to prevent and limit the possibilities of misuse of the official position for personal gains

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 10 Why did Lanchkhuti local government decide to focus on these two fields selected and not others?

International Association Civitas Georgica Reasons for Lanchkhuti choice Decentralization process in Georgia not complete Many functions that are under control of LG in Europe are still at national level in Georgia. Thus, the emphasis was put on issues that the municipality can tackle independently.

International Association Civitas Georgica Question 11 So what were results of your work? What did each of you learn from your engagement in this one year project?

International Association Civitas Georgica Lessons Learned - LG Different forms of corruption – not only bribery, cultural issues – nepotism, protectionism Despite the fact that we all (guiding coalition members) work in the same building, our communication needed improvement Strategic thinking Elaboration of the plan is not enough, it needs implementation Our plan will be part of the national plan

International Association Civitas Georgica Lessons Learned - Consultants Focus on municipal function/area rather than department Publicity of the project is important Communication and meeting with the coalition should occur at least once a month, homework in between Engagement of elected council representative in the work of guiding coalition is crucial

International Association Civitas Georgica

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