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Signagi district former governor and his deputies received salaries even after quitting the job

January 6, 2017
 
Information Center of Kakheti

The Signagi district former governor Ramaz Popiashvili and his deputies, who had their authority suspended in July 2014 due to local self-governmental elections, received salaries in the amount of 10 300 GEL from the budget after leaving the job. 8 000 GEL of it was paid for “unused vacation” that is rude violation of the law. 

On December 14, 2016, the State Audit Service published a report on the financial-economic activities of the Signagi municipal administration in 2014-2015 on its website.
According to the examination of the Audit Service, several facts of unreasonable expenditure of state funds were identified in the municipality.

The conclusion reads that in July 2014, the former governor Ramaz Popiashvili and his deputies – Berdo Asanishvili, Nugzar Burduli and Ramaz Gozalishvili, as well as one contracted employee (driver) received salaries in the amount of 10 300 GEL after they quitted jobs in the municipal administration.

The salaries were paid based on the applications of the abovementioned persons, where they requested final  reimbursement of their work. 2 300 GEL of it was salary and the rest 8 000 GEL was paid for the unused vacation. It is noteworthy that in accordance to the Article 37 Part I of the Law on Public Service, the public servant can request salary only before being dismissed from the job; as for the additional reimbursement for the unused salary, the national legislation does not envisage similar regulation at all.
On February 27, 2015, the district administration appealed the court and requested the illegally funds back. The Signagi district court satisfied the appeal but the former employees returned only 1 300 GEL to the local budget by the period of audit survey.

It is noteworthy that former deputy governor Berdo Asanishvili still works on the same position. And Nugzar Burduli is head of the legal service unit in the district administration. In their 2015-2016 property declarations, they have not mentioned anything about reimbursement of the illegally received funds although Asanishvili received 36 400 GEL as a salary in the report period (5 200 GEL of it is bonus) and Nugzar Burduli received 29 100 GEL (5 100 of it is bonus). 

In addition to that, the audit report tells about other violations too:
In 2014, the Signagi district administration signed contract for the rehabilitation of the King Erekle II street and side-walk for the total price of 212 700 GEL. The asphalt-concrete cover on the King Erekle II street is completely damaged, that was caused by the rehabilitation work of the water system, which was implemented by the Ltd United Water Supply Company in 2016. Regardless the requirement of the contract to restore the asphalt of the street after the rehabilitation of the water system, the municipality administration has not yet requested the company to restore it.
In 2014-215, unauthorized persons used 470 sq. meter of non-agricultural plot and 12 buildings, which belonged to the Signagi district administration; the persons had not signed contract with the administration and did not pay rent. Among them was the Office of Attorneys in Signagi and offices of the Liberty Bank in different districts of the municipality. After the audit monitors inquired about the issue, the district administration signed contracts with the space-users and assigned 2 buildings under the lease-agreements; based on the agreements the local budget receives 3 600 GEL as lease rent annually. According to the evaluation of the private audit, if the district administration had leased out other properties too, the local budget would have received over 31 700 GEL per year.

In 2014-2015, as a result of simplified procurement process initiated by the Signagi municipal administration, based on 127 agreements, different companies purchased construction works in the amount of 1 496 000 GEL. In the report period, the district administration did not request the service provider to submit any reports on the expenditures that creates well-grounded doubt that the budget resources were unreasonably spent. Only based on the request of the audit monitors, the administration requested the documents from the service providers but the documents were not provided.

In 2014-2015, legal entities had to pay 112 200 GEL for cleaning but the local budget had received only 25 500 GEL, that makes 23% of the total obligation of the entities.
In 2014, the district administration incorrectly calculated the fine to be imposed on the Ltd Klotoida 2009, which had to rehabilitate the road in the village Kvemo Machkhaani and fined the company with 44 000 GEL instead 61 500 GEL for what the district administration lost additional income in the amount of 17 500 GEL.
In 2014-2015, based on the three contracts the district administration did not fine the service provider companies (Ltd Gumhbati, Ltd Burji+ and Ltd Tela) for the breached terms and finally lost 46 000 GEL.
In 2014, the district administration signed two agreements for the rehabilitation of the drainage channel and sewage system – total price of the work 27 000 GEL. The district administration transferred the money to the service provider later and the administration had to pay 6 900 GEL as a fine for the breached contract terms. 

In 2014-2015, the local budget has paid 52 000 GEL on the unpaid members of the Signagi municipal board without relevant documents. 

The State Audit Service does not mention in its report whether the collected information was forwarded to investigative bodies for further reaction. However, it is evident that some of the abovementioned violations contain signs of the professional offence which are punishable under the Criminal Code of Georgia.
 

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