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Access to Work in Public Services Determined by Political Party Belonging or Kinship Relation

November 14, 2005

Access to Work in Public Services Determined by Political Party Belonging or Kinship Relation

The head of the Legal Department of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Affairs was appointed without having passed the necessary contest. Personal ties with the Deputy Minister appeared to be sufficient for granting her the position. In the contest for Deputy Governor of Gldani-Nadzaladevi, the winner came out to be Eka Ugulava, niece of Tbilisi’s Mayor Gigi Ugulava.

Despite the fact that the Georgian Constitution guarantees access to the Public Services to anyone, this is factually ignored by the current government.

The contests held during the last two years were to serve the objective selection of qualified candidates in order to increase the efficiency and professionalism of administrative bodies. In fact though, the contests seem to be little more than a PR action serving to reestablish the reputation and confidence in administrative bodies among the population. Although this hope indeed was raised in many of the qualified and educated people who were unable to enter into public serviced during the old government without patronage, this delusion, as with many other promises of the new government, disappeared very soon.

It has appeared to be impossible to win the contest without the right friends, relatives or party recommendations. An applicant of course can successfully pass the formal tests, though if one does not satisfy the main requirements – having the right relatives, the right contribution before the revolution and so on, the interview will prove to be the end of the line.

According to lawyer Giga Giorgadze, the contest for the mentioned post in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Affairs was much flawed. Actually, the person who did not participate in the contest at all was appointed to the position of head of the Legal Department. The candidacy of Giorgadze, who had passed all three examination stages, came to an end at the interview.

This ‘bizarre’ situation might be cleared up by knowledge of the following situation though. The case wants it that Minister Lado Chipashvili and the new head of the department Elza Guliashvili were witnesses at the wedding of Vakhtang Megrelishvili, who happens to be the first Deputy Minister of Health, Labor and Social Affairs. It seems therefore, that the Minister, his first deputy and the new head of the Legal Department have been tied by friendship long before. A relation that has likely helped them usurp the highest functions at the Ministry.

At a press conference held at the Human Rights Information and Documentation Center, Giga Giorgadze gave one more example of a similar violation of which he again was the victim. His competitor in the contest for the position of Deputy Head of the Gldani-Nadzaladevi district local government was Eka Ugulava, a close relative of Tbilisi’s Mayor Gigi Ugulava. Eka Ugulava won at the interview.

Note, that this is the experience of only one person trying to get into public service by means of contest. Obviously, many more of these instances have occurred and will occur in the future, a practice that cannot but directly affect the effectiveness of the work of Administrative Bodies. “Many of those who get posts in such fashion simply do not have the needed qualification and education. Another problem is that relatives and friends will always assist each other. Therefore, when confronted with violations connected to the exercise of public functions, they are likely to be muffled away” - Giorgadze states.

Another question deserves to be raised here – why is it needed to spend so much money for the contests when the results are known beforehand?

In addition, it is noteworthy to mention that members of civil society organizations take part in the organization and conduction of these contests along with representatives of the administration. Unfortunately, we do not hear any protests against the violations witnessed by them.

P.S. After the above-mentioned press conference, Elza Guliashvili phoned Giga Giorgadze on the mobile and talked to him for an annoying 25 minutes.

She considered the issue highlighted at the press conference to be a personal insult in her direction. During the phone talk she did not deny having personal ties with Minister Chipashvili and his deputy Megrelishvil, though she mentioned that this fact did not stand in connection to her appointment to the position.

On the advice of Giga Giorgadze that she should react properly if she considers herself insulted, the head of the Legal Department ironically replied: “Shall I complain to the court or shall I deal with you in the street?”

The Human Rights Information and Documentation Center regards this statement as a form of pressure from the side of a high public servant. It has applied to the media to take into attention the violations that have occurred during the contest in the Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Affairs.

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