The New Structure and New Program ofthe Government of Georgia

Efforts of the Government of Georgia through the implementation of genuine and streamlined reforms since 2012 have been aimed at the building of democratic statehood, which is based on the main principles of democracy, such as fairness, freedom, equality, rule of law and respect towards human rights, security of property rights, freedom of doing business, independence of judiciary and media, depoliticized police, equal opportunities of education and medical treatment.
Government will pursue consistent work with an aim of strengthening the rule of law to make sure that independence of judiciary and performance of law enforcement bodies get further more approximated to the best European standards; freedom of media needs to be ensured along with the freedom of expression; work will be intensified to deepen the accessibility and affordability of quality education and healthcare for each citizen of the country by thereby improving the social programs offered in the public sector; new jobs will be created and poverty will be overcome.
Priorities remain to be the fully fledged integration of Georgia in the European and Euro-Atlantic space, further development and strengthening of democratic institutions, maintenance a balance between the h
GOVERNMENT VISION ON SOVEREIGN DEVELOPMENT Steps made forwards by the Government of Georgia in 2018-2020 should create solid basis for social and economic development of the country in a long-term perspective.
Government vision for the sovereign development towards this end is based on the following
principles:
– Full manifestation of the historic choice of the Georgian nation and irrevocable integration of Georgia into the European and Euro-Atlantic space. Approximation with European and Euro-Atlantic standards is essential in every sector, including the economic policy and international trade, reform of the education system, institutional development of the country and increased capacity of defense. Georgian Dream has greatest success achieved
in this realm and it needs further strengthening and deepening;
– Government will pursue fundamental and innovative reforms in all these directions. These reforms we result in such a model of economy and such fair rules of game will be institutionalized that will be felt by each household and each citizen of Georgia. As a result we will overcome poverty and economic retardation in contrast with high standards of democracy. At the same time, further development and strengthening of democratic
institutions will be continued;
– Concept of a Small Government. Country needs small, flexible and effective bureaucracy – government agencies, which operate with high standards of transparency and which are subject to public and institutional control, including the anti-corruption prism;
– Education, Youth and Innovation. Educated, motivated, entrepreneurial, confident youth will lead to the achievement of the main goal, which will position Georgia among the developed and innovative economies. Respectively, fundamental reforms in education and wide-scale investments will be given high priority.
– Individuals and care around humans is and will remain to be our main feature. Hence, all the efforts or initiatives will be oriented towards every individual, their freedom and dignity, towards giving them wide opportunities of welfare and self-realization in their own country.
Reforms to be implemented on the basis of the referred principles will result in having no alternatives to Georgia for the return of our Abkhaz and Ossetian brothers.
The New Structure of the Government to Include 10 Ministries and 1 Office of State Minister The new structure of the Georgian Government will consist of 10 Ministries and 1 Office of State Minister. The changes apply to the following structures:
 The Ministry of Culture and Sport will be integrated into the Ministry of Education and Science. It is a very important reform. We prioritize a human being, caring for human beings, and creating human capital. Consequently, a high level of coordination between such areas as education, culture, and sport is of crucial importance to this end.
 The Ministry of Corrections and Probation will be integrated into the Ministry of Justice.
 The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Accommodation and Refugees will be abolished, and its functions will be distributed among three other institutions: the refugee accommodation function will be assumed by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure, the migration component by the Ministry of Interior, and the social policy by the Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Affairs.
 The Agency for Religious Issues will merge with the Office of the State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality.
 The spatial development component of the Ministry of Economy will be taken over by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure.
“I am convinced that in introducing these changes, we will lay the foundation for the implementation of the small government concept, because this very type of government serves the interests of our people today. Of course, along with structural optimization, government expenses will decrease gradually to drop to 3.9% of GDP. This target will be our maximal goal to guide us. Assets saved on bureaucracy will be used for different initiatives as the state budget’s source, in other words, to benefit our society. To implement this structural reform, today the
Government will refer a relevant legislative initiative to the Parliament of Georgia. This is our vision, and this vision, I am convinced, is in full harmony with public demand to have a smaller bureaucracy in the country. We cannot afford spending on governance more that it is needed for our country today, to tackle the challenges facing our economy today. I have no doubt that the implementation of the small government concept will result in a totally different equation, in which government agencies focus on concrete results, on solving particular problems, all of
which will be surely felt by every citizen”, – the Prime-Minister, Mamuka Bakhtadze stated.