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Accused Rector Appointed a New Rector

September 29, 2010
Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori

The first rector of the unified Tskhinvali and Gori Universities Zaza Tsotniashvili, whose slogan was – “Education for Life” –, is accused now. After Dimitry Shashkin occupied the position of the Minister of Education and Science of Georgia, the rectors of the Gori, Tbilisi, Telavi and Kutaisi state universities were dismissed. More precisely, on August 6, 2010 the rector of the Gori University resigned; on August 13, 2010 the rector of the Tbilisi State University Giorgi Khubua resigned, on September 8, 2010 the rector of the Telavi University Giorgi Gotsiridze resigned and on September 12 the rector of the Kutaisi University Giorgi Oniani resigned.

On August 6, 2010 Gori district court imposed a bail on the former rector of the Gori University Zaza Tsotniashvili as a preventive measure. On the same day, the academic council of the university held a meeting and Tsotniashvili made a statement about resignation; he offered the professors to elect Aleksandre Mghebrishvili to be his substitution; nobody knew at the meeting that Tsotniashvili was accused.

According to the statute of the Gori University, if a rector breached the Georgian legislation, or improperly implemented his/her responsibilities or carried out the activities incompliant with the rector’s position, at least 1/3 of the members of the academic council shall cease his/her authority earlier in term. The rector does not participate in this process. However, Tsotniashvili did not inform the academic council that he was accused and made them elect Aleksandre Mghebrishvili as soon as he  returned from the court; furthermore, he also participated in the election process.

“I asked Tsotniashvili at the meeting why he was going to resign and he said it was his personal decision,” said the member of the academic council Shalva Sreseli.

Aleksandre Mghebrishvili was the director of the Gori Public School # 5. In parallel to it, he was member of the academic council and professor at the university. Another member of the council Shalva Sreseli said Aleksandre Mghebrishvili “accidentally” joined the council. According to the Law of Georgia on Education and Science, the council of the faculty shall elect a professor or an associated professor before s/he joins the academic council.

“I represent the same faculty as Aleksandre Mghebrishvili. In 2010, the faculty council did not elect him because I also had to take part in it and it never happened. Consequently, he does not have right to be the member of the academic council,” said Shalva Sreseli.

Aleksandre Mghebrishvili was interim-rector only for one month. On September 6, 2010 he held another meeting of the academic council and introduced a new candidate for the rector’s position – the head of the district education resource center and member of the Gori municipal board from the National Movement Giorgi Sosiashvili. The council elected Sosiashvili without any problems.

“I still do not know whether Tsotniashvili is accused or not. He has not told anything to us,’ said Aleksandre Mghebrishvili.

The agreements prove that Zaza Tsotniashvili still is professor at the Gori University and coordinates vocational programs at the university. According to the first agreement, Zaza Tsotniahsivli has been professor of the humanitarian faculty since February 2, 2009. The agreement expires in 2012. The University ceased the labor agreement with Tsotniashvili on August 6, 2010. On February 2, 2009 rector of the Gori University Zaza Tsotniashvili and citizen Zaza Tsotniashvili signed an agreement in accordance to the Georgian legislation and the legal acts of the university. One requirement to cease the labor agreement is blatant violation of the Ethic Code and disciplinary norms. The ethic commission did not discuss the ethic activities of Zaza Tsotniashvili based on the information provided by the University administration at all. The former rector is the professor and gets salary of 550 GEL though he is accused.

His second position, where he is still officially registered, is coordinator of vocational programs which is funded by the UN program. On September 3, 2009 Tsotniashvili, who was still rector, occupied one more position where he received a salary of 700 GEL – he is the coordinator of the vocational programs. According to the registration journal Tstoniashvili did not go to work to carry out his duties as a coordinator of the vocational programs.

“He came here at the last moment when he resigned from the position of the rector. I asked him to sign the registration journal but he categorically refused saying he had signed extraordinary agreement,” said Nino Arabashvili. However, there is nothing extraordinary in the labor agreement of Tsotniashvili.

Who Is Zaza Tsotniashvili?

Zaza Tsotniashvili was born in Tskhinvali. His father worked at the Tskhinvali University. In 1990s the University moved to Gori. In 2000-2005 he was dean of the philology-journalistic faculty at the Tskhinvali State University.

Former vice-rector of the university Akaki Toliashvili recalled that Zaza Tstoniashvili was exchanging foreign currency at the Ergneti Bazroba (agricultural market near Tskhinvali where both Georgian and Ossetian people traded together; it was closed after the Rose Revolution to prevent smuggler activities there) in parallel to his activities as a dean at the University. “I told him to choose between the university and market. Our relationship worsened so much that in 2001 a stranger – supposedly he was hired by Tsotniashvili – hit me a stone in the head and I fell on the ground unconscious,” said Akaki Toliashvili. However, according to the investigation materials, the concrete offenders were not found and the investigation was dropped. Participation of Tsotniashvili in this incident was not proved. As for his activities in the Ergneti Bazroba Zaza Tsotniashvili reported to the media that he had no way out – he had no income and consequently he started to exchange foreign currency there.

Before June 22, 2007 Zaza Tsotniashvili was interim rector of the Tskhinvali University. When Kakha Lomaia was the minister of education the unification of the two universities – Gori and Tskhinvali universities – was being discussed. Despite the serious controversy, they were unified. On October 17, 2007 Zaza Tsotniashvili occupied the position of the interim rector of the joint university before August 22, 2008. According to the official documents, on August 22, 2008 academic council of the Gori University elected him for the position of the rector.

Election of a Rector during the Gun-Blazing

The protocol of the meeting of the academic council at the Gori University on August 22, 2008 reports that the council held the meeting in the building of the Cybernetic Institute in Tbilisi because of emergency situation in Gori (Georgian-Russian war in August of 2008).

“I was informed we were to elect a rector in Tbilisi. I did not leave Gori during the occupation and I could not travel to Tbilisi on August 22. The university newspaper reported that the elections were to be held in Gori,” recalled Shalva Sreseli. He confirmed that on August 22, Russian regular army was still deployed in Gori.

One more candidate for the position of the rector Zurab Tielidze did not attend the elections either. He was informed about the elections. “I returned back to Gori to take my working plan. However, could not leave the town then. I was called from Tbilisi – I had to travel to the capital for the elections but I could not take the working plan but they calmed me down everybody had left it in Gori. In fact, all documents were kept in the building of the Gori University. I cannot understand what kind of elections they held in Tbilisi,” said Zurab Tielidze.

The protocol of the meeting on August 22, 2008 states that members of the academic council listened to the working plans of the candidates and liked the working plan of Zaza Tsotniashvili best. In fact, Tielidze did not read any working plan at all.

According to the information from the website of the parliament of Georgia, initially the president of Georgia announced emergency situation before September 3, 2008 than he postponed the date till September 19; at the special session on September 18 it was declared that the emergency situation continued before October 3, 2008 only in the regions where Russian regular army was deployed. In this case, they meant the villages of the buffer zone.

Consequently, the emergency situation in Gori lasted till September 19, 2008. The resolution of the academic council of the Gori University enacted on August 22, 2008 on appointing Zaza Tsotniashivli to the position of the rector states that the interested parties could appeal against the resolution at Gori district court within one month. In fact, the interested party could not appeal against the resolution between August 22 and September 19 because of the emergency situation in the district.

According to the information of the Gori office of the Human Rights Center, the Gori district court renewed its activities on September 20 when the emergency situation was canceled. The lawyer of the Center Nino Andriashvili said if an interested party missed the estimated deadline because of the emergency situation, they can request additional time for the appeal … nobody knew then how long the situation would last.

Episodes from the Activities of the Accused Rector

On August 6, 2010 Zaza Tsotniashivli gave in the prosecutor’s office and pleaded guilty. Before that, three employees of the Gori University were detained. The crime committed by Tsotniashvili is the following: Tsotniashvili, a public worker – abused his power and committed crime against the public interest for the personal and other’s benefit,” the Shida Kartli Regional Prosecutor’s Office concluded in accordance to the Article 332 of the Criminal Code of Georgia. On August 6, 2010 Gori district court imposed a bail of 5 000 GEL on Tsotniashvili as a criminal liability.

Zaza Tsotniashvili does not make any comments. I got in touch with him through social networks asked him to speak about the situation. “Despite my deep respect towards you, I cannot say anything at this moment. Do not believe the rumors,” replied Tsotniashvili shortly.

“The rumors” were written in the resolution of the judge. More precisely, in March of 2008 inventory commission was set up based on Tsotniashvili’s resolution. The commission had to discharge the damaged equipment from the university. It happened without the permission of the representative council. On March 31, 2008 the commission “discharged” various equipment for the scrap-iron whose price was 935 000 GEL.

According to the Article 18 of the Law of Georgia on Higher Education “Acquiring, alienating or leasing the entire or a part of real estate belonging to higher education institution having the status of legal entity of public law, also any other decision on  property, if it is outside the scope of educational and research activities is only permissible by the decision of higher education institution Senate with the consent of the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economic Development, in accordance with the procedures prescribed by the legislation.”

In the same spring, according to the information provided by the Shida Kartli regional prosecutor’s office, Zaza Tsotniashvili made a deal with the head of the purchase department at the university Stepane Mariamidze and network administrator Rusudan Eliashvili. “They agreed to sign the purchase documents on various equipments for their personal benefit and the documents were to be signed and sealed by Eliashvili,” states the prosecutor’s office.

According to the plea-agreements of Stepane Mariamidze and Rusudan Eliashvili, in spring of 2008, Rector Zaza Tsotniashvili invited Eliashvili to his working room and showed mobile telephone “Jazjar” on the computer. The price of the mobile phone was 800 GEL.

Rusudan Eliashvili really purchased the mobile phone for 800 GEL but transferred 896 GEL on Tsotniashvili’s personal bank account.

In January of 2009, Tsotniashvili – fully aware of the management basis – invited Rusudan Eliashvili to his working room again and requested 2 000 GEL from her for two pairs of skiis; he promised Eliashvili to inform the head of financial department of the University Mariamidze about the purchase. Rusudan Eliashvili indeed purchased two pairs of skiis, registered the agreement on her name and received 2 224 GEL; the sum was transferred on her personal bank account.

In summer of 2009, Zaza Tsotniashvili received 400 GEL for two bags of laptop. Purchase agreement was signed with Eliashvili and she received 448 GEL on her account.

Rusudan Eliashvili registered her relative Irakli Shoshiashvili as an individual entrepreneur based on the agreement with Tsotniashvili. However, Rusudan Eliashvili was in charge of the individual entrepreneur’s seal. Afterwards, the purchase agreements were signed with the individual entrepreneur “Irakli Shoshiashvili” but in fact Eliashvili used to sign and seal documents instead Shoshiashvili.

On October 9, 2009 Zaza Tsotniashvili purchased tennis equipment from the individual entrepreneur Irakli Shoshiashvili. The latter issued false invoice, which in fact was signed by Eliashvili. Gori University spent 1 660 GEL on the equipment. The sum was transferred from the university budget to the bank account of the individual entrepreneur Irakli Shoshiashvili; the latter gave the money to Rusudan Eliashvili.

On October 13, 2009 according to the rector’s order Rusudan Eliashvili issued invoice # 11 on 8  387 GEL. According to the invoice, the Gori University purchased computer equipment. However, Eliashvili pleaded that she had signed the invoice instead the individual entrepreneur but the rector and she divided the money in fact. The prosecutor’s office does not clarify the amount of money each of them received based on the illegal deal.

On October 31, 2009 the rector ordered Rusudan Eliashvili to issue false invoice # 12 again on 8 980 GEL. With the document, Gori University “purchased” computer equipment. In fact, Eliashvili and the rector divided the money among them which was transferred to the individual entrepreneur Irakli Shoshiashvili according to the documents.

On March 29, 2010 the rector ordered Rusudan Eliashvili to issue false invoice on 19 100 GEL to purchase computer equipment for the university. “They divided the money among them and it breached the legal interests of the state,” stated the prosecutor.

And finally, on April 19, 2010 false invoice was issued on 21 272 GEL for the computer equipment again. “They divided the money among them again,” the prosecutor’s office finished its declaration with these words. 

According to the information provided by the Gori district court, Zaza Tsotniashvili has not appealed them for the plea-agreement yet. He does not comment on the situation at all. “Please, let me refuse you to make any comments,” he said.

The article was funded by the EU Mission in Georgia in the framework of the project implemented by the Studio “Monitor”

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