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MIA – Raider of Local Self-Governments

March 18, 2010

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori

Police is intensively funded from the central budget. Nevertheless, it is increasingly funded from the local budgets too. We tried to find out why the police needs additional “local” funds and what the funds were wasted for during last two years (2008-2009).

We requested the information about allocated funds for police departments from Gori, Kareli and Khashuri district administrations together. Person responsible for public information did not prepare detailed information in reply. It must be pointed out that Kareli district administration provided the most detailed information; though I cannot say it was complete. 

We petitioned to the Kareli district administration on February 4, 2010 and received their reply on February 25, though the letter was dated by February 18 that means the person responsible for public information breached the 10-day deadline estimated by the law.

We sent quite a long letter to the Kareli and Khashuri district administrations and requested detailed information about the funds which are generally written in official documents. In our letter, we concretely asked them whether office expenses meant expenses for salaries of policemen, cars, petrol and other supplies.  The district administrations did not clarify the expenses for non-financial actives for what our questions were left without answer.

For example, in 2008 Kareli district budget spent 49 812 GEL on district police. 32 547 GEL of it is non-financial actives. So it remained unclear for us what the money was spent on. The rest 17 264 GEL was spent on communication expenses, electricity and gas bills and on the fire wood to heat the police stations.

Kareli district administration allocated approximately same sum 49 965 GEL for the district police in 2009. However, this time, non-financial actives were increased and amounted to 47 965 GEL. Instead, only 2 000 GEL was spent on communications, gas and electricity supply. According to spread information, non-financial actives are spent on the purchase of cars and other technical items for the police. Despite our effort, the information did not become public.

Khashuri district governor Roin Makharoblidze wrote information about financial expenditure for 2 years only on the half page. Unlike Kareli district administration, Khashuri district administration wrote us both concrete plan of expenses and their cash implementation. So, we found out that in 2008 Khashuri district budget allocated 122 200 GEL for the district police but they spent only 121 500 GEL.

As for office expenses, in 2008 Khashuri district administration spent 14 500 GEL on electricity and gas supply, on communications and central heating of the offices. District police received 18 000 GEL for vehicles and technical equipment. Non-financial actives amounted to 89 700 GEL. We could not find out even in Khashuri what the district administration meant by “non-financial actives.”

Instead, in 2009 Khashuri district budget reduced funds for the district police and it amounted to only 72 630 GEL. In fact, they spent only 200 GEL less than allocated sum. We were informed from Khashuri that last year district police spent most sum of the allocated funds on office expenses and it amounted to 40  515 GEL. 1 000 GEL was spent on vehicles and technical equipment. They did not forget “non-financial active” as well – 31 115 GEL.

We asked the chief accountant of the Khashuri district administration Lela Macharashvili to clarify what “non-financial actives” meant for the police. She said by the new classification it meant purchase of properties or main supplies which cost more than 500 GEL.

We asked whether the main supplies for the police were new cars and financial department of the Khashuri district administration confirmed that it really meant purchase of new cars too. Lela Macharashvili clarified that communal expenses also go into the office expenses.

Gori district administration was very short in their reply. According to their information, in 2009 189 582 GEL was allocated for the district police and 126 805 GEL in 2010. For example, in 2008 office expenses for Gori district police (communications, heating, electricity and other communal expenses) amounted to 25 000 GEL; in 2009 – 20 300 GEL and this year 70 000 GEL is allocated for the same purpose. Funds for the storage of police vehicles were envisaged only in 2008. Last year and this year Gori district police will not receive similar funds. 

Instead, “non-financial active” for Gori district police is also high. In 2008 it was 117 400 GEL; in 2009 it was 170 000 GEL and in 2010 it was 130 000 GEL. We asked the head of the financial office of the Gori district administration Pridon Apriamashvili to comment on the fact but he said the same as the chief accountant of the Khashuri district administration. “It is new term and means purchase of property – or what costs more than 500 GEL.

We asked whether purchase of new cars also went into non-financial actives and Apriamashvili replied: “Of course.” However, he could not recall how many cars were purchased by the local funds for the district police. 

Georgian state budget has allocated 548 million GEL for the MIA.

Head of the Gori district administration office Kakha Toliashvili thinks after the military operations allocation of funds from the local budget is our kind will and necessary.

Local organizations of the opposition parties make their evaluations about the funding of the police department. For example, member of the Gori district municipality board from the party of Irakli Okruashvili Temur Apkhazashvili said similar practice was introduced in Georgia after Vano Merabishvili became minister of internal affairs. He said police has influenced other articles of the district budget too.

“Gori budget funds are spent on the election campaign of the National Movement. In 2009, 128 200 GEL was allocated from the district budget for the construction of the square in front of the new building of the regional police department. I got interested what kind of square it was since it cost so expensive. Although it is another question whether 128 200 GEL was really spent on it or not, I want to say that there is no square in front of the building. Several days ago, financial, budget and investment commission held session and I attended it. I smiled and said – did you ever behave honestly and reduce expenses for the district police? Funding of the police from district budget is illegal. To tell the truth, Vano Merabishvili is a raider of the local self-government. It is direct raid or they have a deal with the MIA because officials of the ministry pretend not to notice some violations and local officials earn illegal money; apparently, police officials also have their shares. It is corruption,” said he.

The article was prepared with the  financial support of the EU within the project CSEPFM implemented by the UGPN. Author is responsible for the article. The article does not demonstrate the position of the EU or British Georgian Professional Network

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