Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze has appointed new governors to seven regions, among them Kvemo Kartli, Shida Kartli, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Imereti, Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti and Guria regions.
- Shota Rekhviashvili, who served as the Deputy Minister for IDPs, Accommodation and Refugees from 2014, has been appointed as the Governor of Kvemo Kartli region in eastern Georgia;
- Shalva Kereselidze, who worked as the head of the Regional Coordination Department of the Ministry of Agriculture from 2015, has become the Governor of Mtskheta-Mtianeti, a mountainous region north of Tbilisi;
- Giorgi Khojevanishvili, who was the head of the Contracts Division at MagtiCom, one of Georgia’s largest telecom operators, from 2013, will serve as the Governor of Shida Kartli region in eastern Georgia;
- Besik Amiranashvili, who served as the chief of the Regional Police Department in Imereti, Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti from 2017, has been appointed as the Governor of Samtskhe-Javakheti region in southern Georgia;
- Shavlego Tabatadze, who was in charge of the Eastern Command of the Land Forces of Georgia from 2016, has become the Governor of Georgia’s most populous Imereti region;
- Alexandre Motserelia, who led the Hazelnut Processors and Exporters Association from 2014, will serve as the Governor of Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti region in western Georgia;
- Zurab Nasaraia, who until recently worked as the Chairman of the Trade Union of the Georgian Railway, has been appointed as the Governor of Guria region in western Georgia.
Only two regional governors – those of Racha-Lechkhumi and Kvemo Svaneti and Kakheti – have retained their positions in recent staff changes.
Commenting the appointments, PM Mamuka Bakhtadze said the new governors would contribute to “unhindered and thorough” implementation of his government’s top priority – “equal and inclusive development of regions.”
Bakhtadze also said the governors would serve as “yet another important mechanism” for improving the government’s communication with people living in the regions.
Sozar Subari, PM’s adviser on regional development issues, added that the new governors would facilitate implementation of the government’s “ambitious and rapid reform plan.”
“The main task of the governors will be to bring the central government’s plans to every individual living in the regions and to make sure that they become part of these reforms and its results; of course, the governors cannot create jobs, but they can create a better [business] environment for jobs creation and ensure better coordination of municipalities,” he said.
The appointments come less than a month after Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze announced that the central government’s regional policy component would no longer be coordinated by the Infrastructure and Regional Development Ministry, and would henceforth be directly subordinated to the Prime Minister, through the Administration of Government.
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