7 Georgian Governors Used Enough Fuel to Drive Around the Earth 14 Times

Georgia-based non-governmental organization Institute for the Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) studied vehicles owned by regional governor administrations and the fuel they used, and found that in 2017-2018, the distance covered by seven governors on average equals twice the circumference of Earth, which means that the fuel used by them would be enough to circle the Earth 14 times.

The report says the analysis of vehicles owned by regional governor administrations and related fuel consumption points to challenges related to rational and efficient use of resources.

“The high overall number of vehicles owned by governor administrations, prevalence of expensive luxury models, and high fuel expenses demonstrate a necessity for optimization and stricter oversight mechanisms,” IDFI stated.

Further, the NGO says that a serious concern is the practice of free-of-charge gifting of vehicles to governors by municipalities within the respective region, adding “this practice raises questions about the proper use of municipal assets, contradicts the process of decentralization of governance and undermines the independence of local government.”

The IDFI noted that there is a need to consider the option of establishing a centralized service for state-owned vehicles and to introduce technological systems for stricter monitoring of state-vehicle use and their fuel consumption.

During the study, the organization requested data from 9 regional governor administrations, asking for public information about the state vehicles and fuel expenses in 2017-2018.

The report reads that as of January 2019, nine regional governor administrations own a total of 78 vehicles, of which 49% are high-performance, and 46% are assigned to specific officials or employees. All regional governors use Toyota Land Cruisers, most of which were gifted to governor administrations free of charge.

Further, 73% of vehicles owned by governor administrations were not purchased with their budgets and were transferred free of charge from other public institutions.

“There is a lack of transparency in this process, since information about the preconditions for these transfers is unknown,” the NGO noted.

The IDFI says the problematic nature of the practice is well-demonstrated by the example of a Kvemo Kartli Governor, who in 2015 appealed to Rustavi Mayor to transfer a vehicle, that was purchased for GEL 71,373 on the same day, from the municipal budget to the governor administration.

Moreover, each of the nine regional governors has monthly fuel limits which are not allowed to be exceeded, however, these limits are usually set by the governors themselves. The IDFI study revealed that in 2017-2018, the monthly fuel limits of governor administrations varied from 700 to 1,500 liters which amounted to GEL 534,015 in 2018 and GEL 481,585 in 2017.

In the same period, seven governors used a total of 132,208 liters of fuel and drove 750 thousand kilometers in total, averaging at 52.5 thousand kilometers in 2017, and 54.7 thousand in 2018.

It is noteworthy that in 2017-2018, vehicles assigned to governors drove an average of 150 kilometers per day, including weekends, and 215 kilometers per working day excluding weekends. Also, in the same period, the average fuel consumption per 100 kilometers of vehicles assigned to governors ranged from 15 to 19.83 liters.

The IDFI says the governor administrations of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti, Kakheti and Imereti regions were the highest spenders.

Sozar Subari, Head of the Department of Regions of the Government Administration, says that the fuel used by the governors in the last two years is “not high at all.” He explains that the governors have a lot of work, thus they drive a lot.

“The average amount of fuel used by governors a day is 25 liters. In addition, every governor must come to the capital once a week and attend the government meeting, which increases the distance they have traveled,” he said.

The Head of the Department of Regions noted high fuel expenses means the governors really work actively. Regarding the IDFI recommendation about inserting special chips in the governors’ vehicles to better control their fuel expenses and travel purposes, Subari explains each car already has chips and the use of every liter of fuel is strictly controlled by the state.

"I urge the governors to continue working very actively and to have daily communication with the population, including the remote areas and villages,” he said.

By Thea Morrison

Image source: Tabula