"[6] Georgia is "the only post-Soviet state in the past decade to have made a breakthrough" in addressing corruption, according to Foreign Policy.
For example, a 'clientelistic system' has emerged where the country's leadership 'allocates resources in order to generate the loyalty and support it needs to stay in power.
[7][8] As recently as 2003, according to the World Bank, corruption was an everyday part of Georgian life, with citizens reporting bribery as a regular occurrence.
[9] Moreover, while Transparency International Georgia's 2011 National Integrity System Assessment credited the post-2004 reforms with making the executive branch and law enforcement stronger and more efficient, as well as with strengthening the fight against petty bribery and certain other types of corruption, TI Georgia noted that some executive agencies were insufficiently accountable and transparent, that news media had not devoted enough resources to investigating corruption, and that the country's 2010 anti-corruption policy lacked a coherent framework based on a thorough analysis of the challenges.
TI Georgia also charged the Anti-Corruption Council, created in 2008, with poor monitoring and evaluation of the plan's implementation.
[9] TI Georgia has criticized the Ministry of Internal Affairs for excessive surveillance of private electronic communications and for placing its officers illegally in independent government agencies.
Also, firms with ties to a former defense minister were granted exclusive rights to outdoor advertising in the capital and a license to run the national lottery.
A 2014 report noted that Georgia had reduced the number of customs facilities and simplified the procedures for clearance, so that importing and exporting involve fewer documents and less expense than elsewhere in the region.
[9] In 2011, two businessmen from Israel, Ron Fuchs and Ze'ev Frenkiel, were imprisoned for offering a bribe to the Prime Minister, but were pardoned later that year, supposedly for humanitarian reasons.
On the same day that the pardon was made public, the Ministry of Justice announced a settlement with their firm, Tramex, that involved a $73 million reduction in an arbitration award against Georgia.
[9] Before the 2012 parliamentary elections, campaign contributions by corporations were made illegal, but this move was viewed not as an anti-corruption measure but as a means of maintaining the ruling party's advantage.
In addition, there are indications that campaign donations made by persons representing companies with government contracts were essentially kickbacks.
[9] The Economist complained in 2012 about new limits on political contributions that sought to curb the influence of Georgia's richest man and an opponent of the government, Bidzina Ivanishvili.
His regime has been behind the takeover of leading media by loyal business interests, as a result of which criticism of the authorities has "gradually disappeared" from TV, along with investigative programs.
[13] Indeed, the business environment in Georgia has been greatly improved in recent years owing to the introduction of comparatively low income taxes and more liberal regulation.
In addition, according to a 2013 report, the owners of some companies have been forced, on occasion, to make gifts to the government, or even relinquish ownership of the business.
"[9] It is believed that some firms have been awarded government contracts in return for campaign donations to the incumbent party, and have been discouraged for contributing to the opposition.
[13] Economic reform and anti-corruption were placed at the top political agenda of the Georgian government led by former President Saakashvili.
The total dissolution of the corrupt traffic police in 2004 and the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Interagency Council in 2008 were successful examples of the reform.
"[17][18] The World Bank, for example, attributed Georgia's success at fighting corruption to the following factors: "exercising strong political will; establishing credibility early; launching a frontal assault; attracting new staff; limiting the state's role; adopting unconventional methods; coordinating closely; tailoring international experience to local conditions; harnessing technology; using communications strategically.
"[6] The lesson of Georgia's success at fighting corruption, according to The Economist, is that "[l]eadership and political will are all important," as is "establishing early credibility.
"[2] Ending corruption in Georgia was part of an almost-libertarian effort to minimize the size of the state, creating fewer opportunities for graft.
The young and largely western-educated new staff of the government receives a high enough salary to dissuade the temptation of corruption.
Since 2013, Georgia has published online all public contracts, with a few exempted for national security reasons or because of specific exceptions, such as that applied to Georgian Railways.
[9] TI Georgia has praised the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) for improving the system of asset disclosure.