Georgia’s State Audit Office to Become More Independent
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, December 14
(TBILISI) – Georgia’s Auditor General Irakli Mekvabishvili presented a new 2018-2022 Development Strategy of the State Audit Office (SAO), which aims to strengthen the independence of the agency.
"Our challenge is to improve the quality the audit office within five years. This will improve the quality of the public finance management process,” Mekvabishvili said, adding that the other goals imply offering institutions result-oriented recommendations to help them effectively manage their activities and increase the implementation of recommendations with the active involvement of the parliament.
“We are not a punitive organization. We want to contribute to the management of public finance through qualified work. Our recommendations will be strictly result-oriented,” Mekvabishvili said while presenting the new strategy to the public.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili gave his approval for the strategy, noting that the SAO is the Parliament's key institutional tool in ensuring good governance and transparency.
“As the country is switching to a parliamentary system of government, the recommendations of the SAO are of critical importance,” said Kvirikashvili.
Parliament Speaker Irakli Kobakhidze sees the SAO as a key cog in the constitutional system, adding that it helps public agencies carry out their authority in accordance with the law.
