Tests Initiated by Sibashvili

Several days ago, competition was announced for 47 vacant places at the Gurjaani Municipality Board. A total of 210 applications were submitted to the board but only 176 applicants took tests. 75 points were required to pass the exam. Only 13 applicants managed to score that many points. Among the winners were people who have no experience in, or knowledge of, the law.

Before the Tests

Giorgi Sibashvili, deputy governor of the Kakheti region, proposed to announce competitive tests for the vacant places at the Kakheti regional administration and district municipality boards. According to his directives, the recently appointed governor of Gurjaani district, Giorgi Chiviashvili, compelled employees of the Gurhaani municipality board to write resignation letters on December 2, 2008. Nobody resisted the illegal request of the district governor. The former employees of the municipality board stated that unless they wrote resignation letters, the governor would have fired everyone. So, after obeying his order, some of them had a chance to be recruited again. After the resignation letters were signed, only two people – Giorgi Bibilashvili, former head of Finance and Budget Department and Nona Tatrishvili, the assistant were dismissed from the office. Since, these people had written the resignation letters; according to the law after being dismissed they were not compensated with one month’s salary.

The date for the competition was announced several times but for uncertain reasons it was not held until May 24. Despite the requirements, the Gurjaani district governor did not announce the name of the person who was in charge of preparing the tests. “I think we should not announce the company or the person who will prepare the tests. We live in Georgia and I do not exclude the possibility that the author will be bothered and agree to issue confidential information about the tests,” stated the governor.

-Mr. Giorgi, in this case is it also quite possible that applicants, who are close to you or commission members, will be provided with confidential information?

-It is impossible because we will receive the tests under seal.”

Tests in the Gym

The tests started at 1:00 pm on May 24. According to the charter the duration of the exam was to be 4 hours. However, commission members allowed the applicants to work for 5 hours. The tests were distributed to the applicants in “sealed” envelopes. The sealing wax was sealed by the Gurjaani Municipality Board. That means that if not every commission member, at least the district governor, who was the head of the exam-commission knew the tests.  

Representatives of local non-governmental organizations who observed the exams did not have any remarks regarding the process except the representative of the Human Rights Center. He complained that applicants copied the answers from each other and that un-authoritative people were in the hall.

An applicant, Ana Kutibashvili, working on variant “b” of the test, discovered some mistake in question N 70. It stated: “the municipality board is not responsible for: a) creation, reorganization and liquidation of local agencies according to the Law of Georgia; b) creation or abolishing the community; c) establishment of temporary working groups at the municipality board; d) the municipality board does not enjoy special authority. Since the question was not formulated correctly (the municipality board does enjoy special responsibilities) all listed answers were correct. Commission member Giorgi Sibashvili stated that applicants should leave the question open and the commission would assign one point for this question. Although the applicants working on the variant “a” of the tests protested the decision because that created unequal conditions for applicants, the commission members did not change their mind.

Journalists from the tribunes were observing the tests.. One of them indicated to observers that applicants Maia Nariashvili, Nino Kachlishvili, Giorgi Kviralashvili, Gela Gogiashvili and Izolda Tergiashvili were copying the answers. However the official observers failed to notice the violation.

It is noteworthy that Maia Nariashvili is a wife of Gela Kapanadze, An employee of the Kakheti regional administration and a friend of the regional governor. On May 21, 2008, on the day of the Parliamentary elections, Nariashvili was an assistant to Giorgi Ghviniashvli, the MP of the Gurjaani region.

Nino Kachlishvili and Gela Gogiashvili are relatives of Maia Nariashvili.

As for Giorgi Kviralashvili, he was Gurjaani district prosecutor and he was the leading one of the polls in Gurjaani during the last parliamentary elections. According to information, Giorgi Kviralashvili will be appointed by the Kakheti regional administration as a head of the supervision service of the Gurjaani.

Izolda Tergiashvili (a dentist by profession) is an activist of the National Movement and scored 77 points in the competition. She wants to be a head of the office of Gurjaani district administration. Officially, Tergiashvili works as a specialist of the supervision service of ground, water-supply and cleaning. According to accurate information she goes to work only to get the salary.

The Results

Only 13 out of the 176 participants in the test competition got the required minimum of 75 points. Because of the small number of people who received required points the commission decided to reduce the minimum from 75 to 60 points. 36 participants got that minimum.

According to the applicants, the test was quite difficult. It is remarkable that even lawyers who had already passed the qualification exams for lawyers, judges and procurators, could hardly get enough points.

Last week the second stage, the interview, was held with those candidates who had taken tests. It is unknown yet who will be selected. The results will be known in several days. The commission members select applicants based on their appearances and they ask questions about their families.

According to the official information, 1333 GEL from the local budget was spent to organize the first stage. 1000 GEL was allocated for Vasil Gonashvili, the head of the Constitutional Law Department at the Ministry of Justice, who prepared the tests.