“Shida Kartli has been the region most active in combating corruption,” says its new governor, Mikheil Kareli. Indeed, at the time of my first visit to Gori (the seat of Shida Kartli’s administration and home of Stalin) on 23 April, my meetings with Governor Kareli were interrupted by the arrival of General Prosecutor Irakli Okruashvili and Minister of Internal Affairs Giorgi Baramidze regarding an operation to arrest suspected criminals in Liakhvi Gorge. Significantly, the now famous national anti-corruption campaign was launched in Gori by the then-governor, now-general prosecutor, Irakli Okruashvili in December 2003. From the outset, he targeted the primary channel for contraband and criminal activity in Georgia—the roads leading from Tskhinvali to Gori. He even blew some up, though criminals reportedly repaired the roads overnight.

To make President Saakashvili’s security, governance, and economic reform programs a success, the new governor must aggressively curtail crime. Tskhinvali, the capital of separatist South Ossetia, is a primary transit point of contraband that enters Georgia from Russia and ends up on the Ergneti black market—the largest in Georgia and referred to as a criminals’ Harrods—just outside Tskhinvali. Georgia controls a mere twenty percent of Ergneti territory, and Tskhinvali calls itself independent and has its own authorities.

Regional Chief of Police Aleko Sukhitashvili explained that “the issues between Gori and Tskhinvali are the hardest to combat in Shida Kartli.” There are literally dozens of roads running between Tskhinvali and Gori. “Ossetian criminals just need 10 minutes to cross the border near Ergneti and to get to Tskhinvali. Once there they are home free.” More precisely, there is no fixed border with South Ossetia—only undefined conflict zones divide the two. Thus, no permanent customs control or border guards can be posted between Georgian and Ossetian-controlled lands. Moreover, doing so would unconstitutionally establish an official border within Georgia. For now, it is lawless territory.

Governor Kareli explained that the primary function of police in Liakhvi and Proni Gorges is to control contraband and decrease crime. 64 policemen with “special equipment” operate in the gorges. Nineteen are in Proni alone. “For the last 13 years, since Georgia’s break from the Soviet Union, there had only been a symbolic Georgian police presence in Liakhvi and no police presence in Proni. The road to Avnevi, the administrative centre of Proni Gorge, is one of the most dangerous of the conflict zone areas. Now, for the first time, Kareli claims, “police control the road.” To further tackle corruption and establish control, the governor is in the process of moving some local authority and administrative offices to the two gorges.

Under directives from Baramidze and Okruashvili to more accurately record crimes, the police gather information, log cases, and send a weekly report to the prosecutor’s office, which then conducts an audit. Sukhitashvili explained, “Under the former government, rather than risk not being able to ‘close’ cases, police simply did not record crimes. ‘Open’ cases were bad for careers.” Worse, police were often complicit in crime. He hopes that recording all crimes as they occur will eventually lead to more case closures because “criminals make mistakes somewhere along the line”. To demonstrate progress, he noted that the number of recorded cases in the period January to March 2004 was up 208 cases from the same period in 2003 (from 249 to 457). This progress may be due to more public confidence in authorities.

Because of Shida Kartli’s dependence on agriculture, corruption in the agricultural sector is the most important focus next to contraband. According to Governor Kareli, the head of the Gori Agricultural Department, Zakro Mazmishvili, was arrested allegedly for “illegally distributing land among close friends, relatives, and members of the old [Shevardnadze] government, as well as to people who bribed him over a four-year period.” Two weeks ago, Kareli took the land recently reclaimed and redistributed it to villagers throughout Gori. Another prominent arrest was that of the Gori agricultural market director for evading taxes.

Continual waves of replacements from the post of governor down to local officials evidence governance reforms in Shida Kartli. Governor Kareli replaced three of four deputies and is restructuring the governor’s apparatus. Most district gamgebelis (municipal authorities) have resigned. District police chiefs have been replaced. So was the head of the Education Department. Last week prosecutors stepped down. Kareli expects new tax authorities soon. Replacements total nearly 100, while the Governor fired another 100. For those who do not resign voluntarily, Governor Kareli sends a letter requesting their replacement to President Saakashvili or their respective ministries. New staff or officials will have a one-month period to demonstrate their ability to perform well, or they too will be replaced.

Governor Kareli stressed that the government’s aim behind the anti-corruption campaigns and reforms is to provide a sound platform for domestic and international investment and, thus, economic recovery (which will ensure national security). While he has no substantive experience working with the international community, he welcomes local governance development programs and is intent upon taking whatever measure is necessary to secure foreign investment. He is eager to see training programs accompany future projects. The success of Shida Kartli’s new leadership will become more apparent with time and once legal and institutional reforms are implemented on a national level. However, the new authorities fear that without future international support and economic development, their efforts will fail.