Public Service Reform

Civil Service Reform First Donor Coordination Meeting Was Held

17 May 2013

The first Civil Service Reform donor coordination meeting was organised by the Civil Service Bureau of Georgia and NATO Liaison Office in Georgia. The main objective of the meeting was to summarise the Reform’s activities, donor assistance, achievements, and challenges faced by the Civil Service Bureau to date. The meeting also gave a detailed overview of present donor activities; consequently it determined interest for joint projects among donors as well as facilitate discussion for further implementation of the Civil Service Reform.

The event was attended by representatives from international donors who wished to contribute to the civil service development in Georgia: NATO Liaison Office, USAID Georgia, Management Systems International (G3), GIZ, EU Delegation to Georgia and Open Society Georgia Foundation; as well as representatives from the State Chancellery of Georgia.

The director of the Civil Service Bureau, Mr Irakli Kotetishvili, presented the background of the civil service reform, its main stakeholders, trends in the reform and subsequent challenges. In addition, the vision of the Civil Service Bureau, with regard to the future of civil service reform, was presented: full depolitisation of the civil service by separating executive and political positions; merit-based recruitment and appointment; reforming HR departments; reforming pay and bonus systems; setting up continuous training curricula for civil servants; further enhancement of e-governance projects. During the meeting, the Head of the Chancellery of the Government of Georgia, Ms Maya Tskitishvili, emphasised that the Government considers the reform one of its priorities.

All donors expressed appreciation that this meeting was organised and requested that the Georgian Government initiate future meetings on a regular basis. In addition, the role of the State Chancellery was discussed with the regard to the future leadership of the reform efforts.