Following the peaceful Rose Revolution in November 2003, Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili and State Minister for Reform Coordination Kakha Bendukidze sought to overhaul the country’s Soviet-style bureaucracy, which had become the target of public anger. Borrowing ideas from libertarian, free-market think tanks and the New Public Management model, Bendukidze recruited a staff, eliminated redundant functions in the executive arm of government, consolidated ministries and slashed the size of the civil service. Bendukidze’s vision of limited government complemented Saakashvili’s goal of eliminating corruption by reducing opportunities for bribe taking. Although Bendukidze was instrumental in developing many of the reform policies, his office left the implementation of reforms to individual ministries. This case chronicles the steps that the Georgian government took to reorganize and consolidate its operations, capitalizing on public support in order to make rapid and bold changes.
Richard Bennet drafted this case study based on interviews conducted in Tbilisi, Georgia, in June 2011, and interviews conducted and text prepared by Andrew Schalkwyk in May 2009. Case published December 2011.
When Ernest Bai Koroma assumed the presidency of Sierra Leone in 2007, he promised to run his government as efficiently as a private business. A few years earlier, a brutal 11-year civil war had ended, leaving an estimated 50,000 dead and an additional two million displaced. The effects of the war gutted the government’s capacity to deliver basic services. Koroma launched an ambitious agenda that targeted key areas for improvement including energy, agriculture, infrastructure and health. In 2009, he scored a win with the completion of the Bumbuna hydroelectric dam that brought power to the capital, Freetown. At the same time, the president faced mounting pressure to reduce maternal and child death rates, which were the highest in the world. In November, he announced an initiative to provide free health care for pregnant women, lactating mothers and children under five years of age, and set the launch date for April 2010, only six months away. Working with the country’s chief medical officer, Dr. Kisito Daoh, he shuffled key staff at the health ministry, created committees that brought ministries, donors and non-governmental organizations together to move actions forward, and developed systems for monitoring progress. Strong support from the center of government proved critical to enabling the project to launch on schedule. Initial data showed an increase in utilization rates at health centers and a decline in child death rates.
Batu Kutelia explains how Georgia modernized its post-Soviet law enforcement system after the Rose Revolution, which prior to 2004, he describes as highly politicized and corrupt. One of the central reforms Kutelia describes is personnel management, including changes to recruitment, training and oversight of police and defense personnel to reduce corruption. He also describes the necessity to depoliticize and demilitarize the law enforcement system. He explains how the two different national security institutions merged to reduce redundancy and how centralized decision-making processes shifted to improve transparency. While Kutelia recognizes that decentralization was a key element of Georigia’s security reform, he adds that political will and public support have been essential to sustain change in the country.
Since January 2011, Mr. Kutelia was the deputy secretary of the National Security Council of Georgia. From 2008 until 2011 he was the ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. In his previous capacities he has been first deputy minister of defense (2007-2008), deputy minister of defense and foreign affairs (2006-2007) and deputy minister of state security (2004). From 2005-2006 he functioned as the head of Foreign Intelligence Special Service of Georgia. Before this he was head of the Foreign Intelligence Department of the Ministry of State Security of Georgia and director of the Political Security Department of the National Security Council in 2004. Before turning into his diplomatic and political career Mr. Kutelia studied physics and holds a PhD in physics. He also holds a master's degree in public affairs administration. Mr. Kutelia is fluent in English, French, Russian and Georgian.
In this interview, Bertrand de Speville, as former head of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong, and author of Overcoming Corruption: The Essentials, details the measures that should be taken by successful anti-corruption agencies. He explains how the three-pronged strategy of the ICAC is very effective. The three departments of the ICAC—investigation, prevention, and education--- investigate allegations of corruption, attempt to prevent corruption from occurring in private and public sectors, and try to educate the general public about how to eliminate corruption, respectively. De Speville stresses how important it is for these departments to be closely coordinated. Also, he states how he was able to deduce the common mistakes that countries make in regard to their attempt to fight corruption. One of these common pitfalls is a flawed investigating policy, where countries just go for the “big fish.” Thus, the public may believe that the anti-corruption agency is not impartial, but has a political ulterior motive. Therefore, de Speville explains how resources must be allocated in a way that mostly every allegation of corruption should be investigated. This relates to de Speville’s stressing the importance of public trust, in which he elaborates how measures such as the Citizen Oversight Committee within each department and the institution of public relations, are taken. He states that the real measure of success of an anti-corruption agency is whether it can bring about a change of heart and mind in every member of a community, and draws upon the examples of Hong Kong, Singapore, Latvia, and Lithuania to show that this success is possible.
Born in Southern Rhodesia and educated in England, Betrand de Speville served as Solicitor General of Hong Kong before beginning his career in anti-corruption. In 1992, upon becoming the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong, de Speville commenced his concentration in fighting corruption. Through this position, in which he served from 1992-1996, de Speville witnessed the aspects of anti-corruption agencies that were effective, along with practices that were common mistakes. While leading ICAC, he states that he has few regrets, and that in order for corruption to be fought effectively in the future, although agencies should be tailored to their surroundings, they should have a three-pronged strategy of attack, and warrant public support, while staying away from the common mistakes made while fighting corruption, such as selective investigation. Since then, he has worked with dozens of countries and international organizations on setting up specialized anti-corruption agencies and other aspects of anti-corruption policy. From 1997-2003, he was the advisor to the Council of Europe’s Multidisciplinary Group on Corruption. He detailed the necessities of a successful agency and the pitfalls faced within his book, Overcoming Corruption: The Essentials, which was published in 2010. De Speville is currently the principal of de Speville and Associates, an international anti-corruption consultancy based in England.