Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has announced at a government meeting that starting from January 2022, “we will gradually increase the salaries of public servants”, while the salaries of mayors were planned to be doubled.
Garibashvili said that as of today the salaries of mayors amounted to 1,800-2,000 GEL (about $648.30 or EUR 551.47), “which is absolutely out of line with the current reality”.
“It is inconceivable for a mayor to work for 2,000 GEL and serve, for example, Kutaisi, a huge city, or Batumi. It is unbelievable, so we will definitely resolve this issue”, Garibashvili said.
He added that the salaries of public servants had not increased over the years.
“Several days ago Minister of Finance Lasha Khutsishvil announced that as part of our new policy, the salaries of public servants would gradually be increased starting from January 2022. This is necessary, since people employed in the public sector can no longer really see a motivation, we can not compete with the private sector”, Garibashvili said.
Mariam Latsabidze, an analyst at the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association, said that the PM’s statement made during the pre-election campaign “really leaves the impression that it is aimed at winning the hearts of the voters”.
She added that the government could have freely introduced such initiatives long before or after the elections and not during the campaign period.
“In general, such initiatives blur the line between the state and the party, it is really problematic during the pre-election period”, Latsabidze said. (Agenda/Business World Magazine)
