2017-06-01
Self-government will develop undoubtedly, and will further spread throughout the municipal level. Nothing can stop this process, and the insinuation circulating lately are absolutely groundless, the Prime Minister of Georgia stated at today's Government meeting.
The Cabinet is discussing amendments to be made to the Local Self-Government Code.
According to Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the recent hot debates and insinuations about Georgia's self-government being in dire straits are absolutely unreasonable.
"The self-government reform is like a dynamic living body, and it requires correction , of course, because a number of irregularities have surfaced over the past three years, which prevent self-government from being positioned in a positive context, also undermining the development of genuine self-government in Georgia. These flaws were recorded in 14 municipalities, and today's amendments seek to cut their number down to 7, which in no-way means budget cuts in these municipalities. Municipal budgets will be consolidated when we consolidate city and district municipalities. The budgets of different towns or districts will be summed up, and not a single tetri will be cut," the Prime Minister stated.
Another reason for the amendments, according to the Head of Government, is the dual municipal government and a number of problems related to the effectiveness of executive authorities and duplication of functions.
According to Giorgi Kvirikashvili, duplication was apparent in some cases, and this empiric experience triggered the development of a set of important changes.
"Equally important is that Sakrebulo assemblies will have genuine mechanisms of democratic control. Unified municipalities will have the office of mayor who will endorse candidacies for the positions of deputy mayor and heads of departments who will be appointed upon approval from Sakrebulo assemblies," the Prime Minister stated.
According to Giorgi Kvirikashvili, the second set of amendments will regulate the streamlining mechanism for non-commercial legal entities in municipalities, along with principles for their establishment, so that one non-commercial legal entity may operate per area, which will also contribute to avoiding duplication of functions.
According to the Prime Minister, another equally important amendment involves the creation of territorial bodies in every settlement to raise the needs and requests of a given settlement before the municipal mayor. These bodies will ensure maximal possible citizen engagement in all decision-making processes.
"It is equally important that the Ministry of Finance is working on the development of normative rules for municipal budgeting, which will further increase citizen participation in the process of budgeting. This work is implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure. The process of budgeting will take into account the bottom-up approach, setting priorities, and using them to allocate resources during municipal budgeting. These are very important amendments that, I am convinced, will promote the reputation and success of self-government reform, and not the other way around as some have alluded," the Prime Minister said.
Prime Minister's Press Office