Saakashvili Outlines Structural Reforms in Government

Georgian President Saakashvili told the press conference on February 6 that the authorities prepared the package of the government’s structural reforms, which will be submitted to the Parliament in coming weeks.

“The number of the ministries will be reduced. I think two, or three ministries will be canceled, for example the Ministry of Energy, which will be merged to the Ministry of Communications and Transport and this new structure will be called the Ministry of Infrastructure,” Saakashvili said.

He also said that the all the governmental agencies and departments will be canceled as well and “they will be merged to the relevant ministries.”

“The reforms are anticipated in the Interior Ministry, particularly in the traffic police,” Saakashvili added.

“We also intend to cut down the number of employees of the governmental structures, particularly in the customs department. We do not need many officials with the salary of 20 Lari [$10 per month], we want few professional officials with the high salaries,” the President said.