At the Tbilisi Assembly meeting focusing on the Tbilisi budget 2023, the “For Georgia” party’s George Sharashidze, from former Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s team in the Tbilisi Assembly, introduced the initiative to activate citizen involvement in self-government.
Sharashidze mentioned in his speech that today, when Georgia has a historic chance to get closer to the EU by obtaining candidate status, and in the near future to become a full member of the European family, it is very important to develop decentralization and strong self-government, which is the fundamental basis of European democracy.
“Citizens’ participation in the budget formation and in the selection of budgetary priorities is a proven and successful practice in many European countries, and we consider it appropriate to introduce a similar practice in the municipalities of Georgia, and of course in the municipality of Tbilisi,” Sharashidze stated in his speech at the Tbilisi Assembly meeting on November 25.
He noted that public budgeting is necessary in order to bring the priorities of the municipality’s budget as close as possible to the real needs and demands of the citizens.
“Public Budgeting, not less than 3 percent of the municipality’s budget, is a crucial and effective method to bring the priorities of the municipality’s budget as close as possible to the real needs and demands of our citizens. This initiative will allow us to ensure the direct and active involvement of citizens in the budgetary process – in the disposal of a special amount of money in the municipality’s budget.
“I clarify here that Public Budgeting does not mean adding new financial expenses from either the local or the central budget, but it will be a new form of disposing of the local budget with the wide involvement of citizens within the limits of not less than 3 percent of the municipality’s budget,” he stated.
On November 29, the members of the “Tbilisi for Georgia” faction of Tbilisi City Assembly together with the Parliament members from Gakharia’s party will introduce the party’s vision regarding Public Budgeting to the other deputies from both the ruling party and the opposition.
