Following recent corruption revelations in Georgia’s Ministry of Infrastructure, Paata Trapaidze, founder and general director of Caucasus Road Project, argues that corruption is not an isolated issue but a symptom of deeper systemic flaws. He emphasizes that effective reform begins with an accurate diagnosis: “Corruption does not exist by itself, as conditions are created for it. If we misdiagnose the problem, the treatment can become even more dangerous.” His comments come after the arrests of former Deputy Minister Koba Gabunia and Municipal Development Fund Director Giorgi Tabidze in a multimillion-GEL embezzlement case linked to kindergarten rehabilitation projects.
Trapaidze, who has two decades of experience in the road construction sector, believes that Georgia’s current infrastructure governance model has failed to evolve alongside the country’s expanding budget. “In 2012, the Ministry’s budget was about 350 million GEL; last year, it exceeded 2 billion. The structure hasn’t changed, yet the workload has multiplied. Without modernizing the system, we are simply creating conditions for corruption,” he said. According to Trapaidze, the core issue is the persistence of a vertical, centralized management system that lacks transparency and accountability.
To address these challenges, he proposes introducing a more horizontal and transparent governance model, similar to those in Western countries, and partially outsourcing infrastructure management to the private sector. “The private sector is more flexible and efficient. The Ministry could easily delegate certain projects, just as TBC Bank did when hiring a management company for its new headquarters,” Trapaidze noted. He also stressed that partnership between the public and private sectors is crucial for improving project quality and ensuring accountability.
While acknowledging systemic weaknesses, Trapaidze praised the new Minister of Infrastructure, Revaz Sokhadze, for showing openness to compromise and reform. However, he warned that unless Georgia shifts away from its rigid, top-down governance approach, corruption risks will persist. “If we’ve had more than a billion GEL worth of problematic projects for years and are only learning about them now, it means the system has failed. The West understood long ago that without horizontal governance, no one escapes corruption,” he concluded.
