Competition for Vacant Positions of Public Servants Protested in Guria

Nino Mshvidobadze, Guria

Amendments were introduced to the Law on Public Service at the end of June of 2013. It states that competition for the vacant positions of public servants was to be announced in municipalities before January 1, 2014. Many people, including public servants protested the competition in Guria. On November 15, several members of the Georgian Dream prevented the chairman of the municipal board to raise this question at the board session.

Soon after the session started, Georgian Dream’s member Nugzar Tsintsadze, head of GD’s local office Gogi Gegiadze, head of supervision service at the district administration Zaal Sanadze, GD’s member Giorgi Zenaishvili and few other people rushed into the hall. 

Nugzar Tsintsadze, GD member: “I am not against the competition, but I am against the candidates, who will be in the commission. They intend to invite National Movement’s members to the commission. Should UNM members conduct competition again? How can they select people? We all know what UNM was doing during nine years. In similar conditions, they will not hold competition. If they recruit different people, I am not against it.”

Board chairman had to call police and the session was postponed for two hours.

Board chairman Amiran Gigineishvili said the people, who rushed into the session, do not only protest the commission members but qualification requirements too. “We included elementary qualification requirements in the vacancy announcements. Any applicant for the public job shall be able to meet these requirements. The competition will be held by all means because Law on Public Service was amended on June 29 and it requires employment of people in public services only through competition except district governor and deputy governor. It will not happen only in Lanchkhuti; every municipality is announcing competition. However, it is not yet settled how the competition will be conducted,” the board chairman said.

Lanchkhuti district majoritarian MP Temur Chkhaidze said the law works for everybody and everybody shall obey it. “Now we are discussing how the competition should be held and who will be commission members. Soon we will finish selection process. It is stupid to protest the law, which is obligatory for everybody,” Chkhaidze said.