The Georgian government is preparing legislative amendments that would allow deputy ministers, deputy state representatives and deputy mayors to receive salary supplements and cash rewards.
The draft law proposes amendments to the Law ‘On Remuneration in Public Institutions’ and says the goal is to place deputies “on an equal footing with other employees” by introducing additional financial incentives.
Under current rules, salary supplements and bonuses are restricted for government members, state representatives, mayors and their deputies. The government administration says the restriction exists to prevent conflicts of interest among direct managers, though it argues the risk is lower for deputies because their decisions are supervised by senior officials.
The changes would apply to deputy members of the Government of Georgia, deputy ministers in the governments of Abkhazia and Adjara, deputy state representatives, and deputy mayors of municipalities.
