Economy Minister says Gov’t decentralisation action plan will strengthen Georgian municipalities

Strengthening governance and financial resources of the self-governing units in Georgia and the development of regions in the country are the “key strategic goals” of the 2022-2023 Action Plan for Decentralisation Strategy of the Government, Levan Davitashvili, the Georgian Economy Minister, said on Thursday. 

Following the second session of the Governmental Commission on Decentralisation, which aims to diversify resources and opportunities across the country instead of the current disproportionate focus on a few large cities, Irakli Karseladze, the Infrastructure Minister, said the implementation of the Action Plan would have an “important role” in achieving “no less” than seven percent of the gross domestic product from municipal revenues by the end of 2025. 

The state officials also discussed activities implemented over the last two years within the Action Plan, including increasing the power and financial conditions of local self-governments and establishing “credible, accountable, transparent, and results-oriented” functioning of self-governing entities, the Infrastructure Ministry said. 

Karseladze said 90 percent of the activities indicated in the 2020-2021 edition of the Action Plan had been “fully implemented” in the country, with the remaining 10 percent to be completed this year after the pandemic-induced delay.

Seeking to develop the state policy on local self-government development and decentralisation, the Commission was set up in 2018 and brought together Government and Parliament representatives and local self-government associations.