2018-06-26
The new structure of the Georgian Government will consist of 10 Ministries and 1 Office of State Minister. During today's briefing, Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze discussed the concept of the small government, maximally flexible and prompt in decision-making.
The changes apply to the following structures:
• The Ministry of Culture and Sport will be integrated into the Ministry of Education and Science. It is a very important reform. We prioritize a human being, caring for human beings, and creating human capital. Consequently, a high level of coordination between such areas as education, culture, and sport is of crucial importance to this end.
• The Ministry of Corrections and Probation will be integrated into the Ministry of Justice.
• The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees will be abolished, and its functions will be distributed among three other institutions: the refugee accommodation function will be assumed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, the migration component by the Ministry of Interior, and the social policy by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs.
• In addition, the Agency for Religious Issues will merge with the Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality.
• The spatial development component of the Ministry of Economy will be taken over by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure.
"I am convinced that in introducing these changes, we will lay the foundation for the implementation of the small government concept, because this very type of government serves the interests of our people today. Of course, along with structural optimization, government expenses will decrease gradually to drop to 3.9% of GDP. This target will be our maximal goal to guide us. Assets saved on bureaucracy will be used for different initiatives as the state budget's source, in other words, to benefit our society. To implement this structural reform, today the Government will refer a relevant legislative initiative to the Parliament of Georgia.
This is our vision, and this vision, I am convinced, is in full harmony with public demand to have a smaller bureaucracy in the country. We cannot afford spending on governance more that it is needed for our country today, to tackle the challenges facing our economy today. I have no doubt that the implementation of the small government concept will result in a totally different equation, in which government agencies focus on concrete results, on solving particular problems, all of which will be surely felt by every citizen," Mamuka Bakhtadze stated.
Prime Minister's Press Office