Georgian PM Initiates Establishment of Civil Servant Day
By Tea Mariamidze
Thursday, December 20
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has suggested establishing the Day of Civil Servant.
The PM made the statement while attending an event dedicated to the implementation of the Civil Service Reform. He added this day is celebrated in many countries.
"The initiative implies to establish a professional day of public servants. We should appreciate the honest people who have been in the service of our country for many years and the ones who with their high professionalism, patriotism and distinctive field knowledge, they are building our state,” he stated.
Bakhtadze noted that it is fair if public servants’ work is properly appreciated by the state.
My goal is that professional public servant, as an institution, was appreciated and attractive in our country, because the knowledge, professionalism and experience, with significant are necessary qualities needed to implement the reforms planned by the government,” he added.
The PM also talked about the Civil Service reform, adding it is one of the pillars of the democratic world.
“The functioning of the public governance system is one of the main preconditions for the state to be successful and oriented towards development and advancement,” he noted.
According to Bakhtadze, public servants are of great importance and they should be politically impartial.
"In order to achieve this result in time for reforming the public service, a law has been adopted, which provides a basis for strengthening the public service free of political influence, professional and based on meritocratic principle," he explained.
According to the Prime Minister, it is necessary to raise awareness of public governance reform, also support from public institutions and persons employed in the public sector itself is also necessary, which will bring tangible results.
"I would like to call on you to support the increase of the qualification of public service and to re-train the staff, to enhance their professional skills, which remains among priorities for our government. I would also like to thank donor organizations for their contributions in this field,” Bakhtadze addressed the event participants.
As he noted, the United Nations Development Program, the Swedish Government, the UK Government, the Danish Government, as well as the EU Delegation to Georgia, USAID, German International Cooperation Society and NATO Professional Development Program contributed to the development of the Public Servant Reform in Georgia.
According to the PM, the Association Agreement with Europe envisages the commitment to implement this reform and at the same time is one of the important prerequisites for visa liberalization.
"I am convinced that international partners clearly see the efforts we have made to make this reform exemplary and most successful," Bakhtadze noted.
The Civil Service Bureau of Georgia summarized its work in 2018 at a high-level event on 19 December.
The conference brought together over 200 representatives of the Georgian Government, Parliament, civil society, academic institutions and international organizations.
The event was organized with assistance from UNDP, the Government of Sweden, UK aid from the UK Government, and the Government of Denmark.
