Georgia Marks Progress Towards an Efficient and Professional Civil Service

PRESS RELEASE

The Civil Service Bureau of Georgia summarized its work in 2018 at a high-level event today. Opened by Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, the conference brought together over 200 representatives of the Georgian Government, Parliament, civil society, academic institutions and international organisations.

Kakha Kakhishvili, Head of the Georgian Government Administration; Louisa Vinton, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia; and H.E. Justin McKenzie Smith, British Ambassador to Georgia, addressed the participants of the conference with welcome remarks.  

Ekaterina Kardava, Head of the Civil Service Bureau of Georgia, highlighted the country’s achievements in reforming its civil service and hailed assistance provided to the reform by the United Nations Development Programme and the governments of the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark.

“The reform of civil service is a crucial step forward to strengthening democracy and good governance,” Ekaterina Kardava said. “The reform contributes to the establishment of the efficient civil service which encourages, supports and values professionalism.”

“An independent, transparent, merit-based civil service is a vital foundation stone in any society. In the UK and Georgia, people deserve a civil service that works for them,” said H.E. Justin McKenzie Smith, British Ambassador to Georgia. “We are pleased to be part of the coalition working to develop professionalism in the Georgian civil service and to make it an attractive career choice for the brightest and best young people.”

Louisa Vinton, UNDP Head in Georgia, stressed the importance of Georgia’s new Law on Civil Service.

“The Law on Civil Service puts the focus squarely on merit and professional qualifications while providing safeguards to fight politicization and corruption in the public administration,” Louisa Vinton said. “This is a major transformation, so UNDP has been working to ensure that civil servants and the public understand and accept the guiding principles behind the new system.”

During the conference, the Civil Service Bureau acknowledged the longest-serving civil servants and awarded the winners of two competitions carried out in 2018 – “Your Idea for the Bureau” and “Youth for Civil Service Development.”  

The event was organized with assistance from UNDP, the Government of Sweden, UK aid from the UK Government, and the Government of Denmark.