Mass Firing of Governmental Employees for Weak Support in Parliamentary Elections

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

After the parliamentary election employees of the governmental agencies who received salaries from the state budget have been fired in mass. Employment agreements were initially dropped in regions. More than 100 teachers were dismissed from Gurjaani Musical Schools alone.  Nearly 40 employees of the Gurjaani Culture Center were refused to have their agreements extended. According to official information, widespread personnel changes will be carried out in local governmental and self-governance bodies before September.

The employees of the Kakheti municipality boards and district administrations have already received similar oral instructions from their chiefs. “Several days ago, Zaza Zedelashvili, Sighnaghi district governor, told us that based on the order of the regional administration, personnel changes should be carried out in the administrations and municipality boards of every district in Kakheti region where employees are receiving salaries from the state budget. This process has already started and it will be completed by the end of August.
Zedelashvili added that new personnel will be recruited through announced vacancies in September. The competition will be controlled by a special commission of the regional administration,” reported a specialist of the Sighnaghi municipality board who preferred to remain anonymous under the circumstances.

Personnel of Telavi and Sagarejo administrative boards have received similar warnings about their expected terminations. Those who work at the Culture Department of Telavi Municipality Board reported that the applicants will be accepted for vacant positions after having complied several qualifying criteria, which is basically how he or she worked in securing the victory for the Ruling Party during the parliamentary elections; whether or not he was able to implement the orders of the chief properly despite the fact the order was actually within his/her responsibilities or not. Finally, what is the type relationship that this person has with journalists and NGOs who work in the region?

Short time ago, personnel of Sighnaghi Art and Educational Service Center were fired base on this described criteria.

“We were ordered to work in favor of the single mandate candidate of the National Movement during parliamentary elections. We had to visit families and made speeches in favor of the ruling party and we refused. After the elections they decided to fire us. We have since applied to non-governmental organizations and journalists for their help. Our behavior was unforgivable, as the director of the library fired us on that very same day,” said Eleonora Gelashvili, former librarian of the Sighnaghi Central Library.

Zaza Zedelashvili does not deny the information about anticipated dismissal of the administration personnel. He said during over-phone conversation with us that the order on personnel changes was coming from the Kakheti regional administration. However, in spite of this inside knowledge, he did not mention who was the persona that had given the exact directive.

According to the Georgian General Administrative Code, the Human Rights Centre requested the public information whether the administration had received any written or oral directive on personnel changes from the regional governor or from the president’s administration in June and July of 2008.

However, Shorena Kadagishvili, a responsible person for providing public information at the Sighnaghi Municipality Board, refused to provide the requested information. She explained “the fact that issuing of public information is envisaged under the law does not mean that public agency has to reply to the questions of interested people.”

Kakheti Regional Administration also confirmed the information on personnel changes at public agencies. “Reorganization will be carried out at administrative boards and various public agencies and it might result into personnel changes as well. As for special commission, we have not decided the exact formulation and mission of the commission,” said Giorgi Botkoveli, deputy regional governor.