“With these changes, transparency and accountability in the public sector, including local self-governments, will be further strengthened. Most importantly, instances of nepotism and favoritism will be eliminated,” stated Rajden Kuprashvili, head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, while speaking to journalists about legislative changes.

According to him, the changes that will take effect from September will prohibit any public official from working in multiple public sector roles simultaneously.

“With these changes, transparency and accountability in the public sector, including local self-governments, will be further strengthened. Most importantly, instances of nepotism and favoritism will be eliminated. It will be completely prohibited for any public official to work in multiple public sector roles. Accordingly, this is very important for sustainability, transparency, and accountability. These reforms will be implemented exactly in the form established by the legislator,” Kuprashvili stated.

Kuprashvili explained that any citizen of Georgia can act as a whistleblower.

“The key is that the information they provide is thoroughly investigated and that there is a timely response to these facts. Accordingly, if such reporting mechanisms exist in the public sector, it will undoubtedly make the decisions of any public official even more transparent. Therefore, there is no threat here—on the contrary, public officials clearly understand the great importance of verifying any such fact to eliminate any weaknesses in the public sector that could create corruption risks. This is precisely prevention, to address specific violations and crimes proactively and allow preventive measures to correct existing weaknesses,” Kuprashvili clarified.