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Competition Commission at the Kutaisi City Hall Dismissed – Competition Results Annulled

January 17, 2014
 
Shorena Kakabadze,Kutaisi

Representatives of local nongovernmental organizations, participants of the test competition at the Kutaisi City Hall have been requesting resignation of the chairman of the Kutaisi City Council for two days already. They claim, Tamaz Margvelashvili, who is chairman of the competition commission, does not obey the law and acts selfishly. 

Competition on 52 vacant positions at the Kutaisi City Hall was announced on August 9, 2013 by the city council. The competition was criticized from the very beginning; the commission was accused of partiality and incompetence. 

First stage of the competition finished with the selection of vice-mayors. Commission did not change the people, who occupied positions of the interim vice-mayors after the reorganization in the City Hall. Head of service units were to be selected as a result of the next stage of the competition; competition participants claim the competition became disputable. The commission did not change old people on the positions that caused protest of not only competition participants but of general society too. 

This fact was followed by the notice of the Kutaisi interim mayor Shota Murgulia (he said experts of different fields were not invited to the commission); later he decided to annul the competition results. 

“The decision was logical. The competition announced for the selection of competent people for the City Hall finally turned into endless turmoil. Initially the process of accepting applications was postponed several times; then announcement of the results was delayed. Certain political powers tried to influence the commission. All in all, there were all reasons to reach similar decision,” former commission member and head of nongovernmental organization Sachino Zurab Khurtsidze told humanrights.ge. 

Khurtsidze left commission in protest several days ago. Nugzar Kvirikashvili also joined him. Former commission members state that commission chairperson and his deputy had to inform commission members about the competition results within five days and present the candidates to the interim mayor for approval on the positions within two weeks term. However, Tamaz Margvelashvili and Mamuka Mgvdeladze did not do that breaching the Law of Georgia on Public Service.”

Kutaisi City Hall competition commission was set up of seven members in April of 2013. The commission became reason of several street protests. Competition participants complained about incompetence and partiality of the commission members and held assemblies with the request to dismiss the commission. 

“The commission did not obey the law from the very first day it was established. They laughed at dozens of applicants, who treated the competition very seriously. I was among those applicants. But they blocked me at the first stage though did not inform me about it. Later they said I had not submitted all requested documents. As I found out they requested biography together with CV. In short, the commission did not implement its duties and served personal interests; as a result thousands of people got damaged. People were waiting for the results during several months,” head of Center for the Protection of Civic Interests Manana Managadze told humanrights.ge.

Managadze and other applicants request to attend the first session of the Kutaisi City Council together with the representatives of local NGOs; they intend to request resignation of Tamaz Margvelashvili from the positions of commission chairman and chairman of the city council too.

As for the competition commission, where only three members have remained, is on the edge of dismissal. Reportedly, soon other members will also quit the commission. For that reason, Tamaz Margvelashvili spread official statement addressing to nongovernmental organizations and media to nominate candidates for the commission members before January 14. “Involvement of the representatives of different sectors will ensure effective work of the commission, transparency, publicity of its activities and high public trust in its work. We are announcing competition for the vacant places in the commission,” the commission chairman’s statement reads. 

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