“Remunerations increased in 2014 by GEL 220 million indeed, however these funds were distributed to the police officers and the employees of the court and penitentiary system.”
On 12 December 2014, at the plenary session of the Parliament, Minister of Finance, Nodar Khaduri, stated: “In contrast with the first 11 months of 2012, remunerations have increased by GEL 220 million in 2014. Moreover, GEL 120 million was distributed to the Ministry of Defence. The police got an additional GEL 46.5 million. The employees of the court system took advantage of more than GEL 19 million whilst the remuneration for the corrections system rose by GEL 18 million.”
FactChecktook interest in the abovementioned statement and verified it.
In view of the fact that the budget execution for 2014 has not yet been published, we compared the data recorded in 2012 to those predicted for 2014. In 2012, remunerations were equal to GEL 1,049 million, increasing by 25% and reaching GEL 1,318 million in 2014.
According to the Ministry of Finance, remunerations for employees of the Ministry of Defence in 2012 were GEL 308 million, increasing to GEL 428 million by 2014. Accordingly, the amount rose by GEL 120 million. The total expenditure on wages for employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2012 was GEL 340 million, increasing by GEL 44 million in 2014. The Ministry of Corrections and Legal Assistance was provided with an additional GEL 18 million which increased its total amount of remunerations to the sum of GEL 68 million.
In 2014, an additional GEL 18 million were distributed to the court system, reaching the sum of GEL 45 million as compared to only GEL 26 million in 2012.
FactChecktook interest in other governmental agencies in which average wages also increased.
Table 1:
Remunerations Defined by the State Budget (2012-2014, GEL million)
|
Title |
2012 |
2014 |
Difference |
|
Parliament of Georgia and Associate Organizations |
24.9 |
33.2 |
8.3 |
|
Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia |
8.9 |
13.0 |
4.1 |
|
Ministry of Justice of Georgia |
24.0 |
37.5 |
13.5 |
|
Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia |
8.2 |
19.1 |
10.9 |
|
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection of Georgia |
6.0 |
16.5 |
10.5 |
It is important to mention that remunerations took 14% percent of the state’s whole budget in 2014 whilst this amount was 13% in 2012. Alongside with the increased wages, the number of employees in the public sector grew as well. The number of public servants was 102,976 in 2012, 109,685 in 2013 and 111,337 in 2014.
Conclusion
According to the Ministry of Finance, remunerations in 2014 increased by GEL 269 million and not by GEL 220 million as the Minister stated. The additional finances were distributed in the following ways: GEL 120 million to the Ministry of Defence, GEL 44 million to the police and GEL 18 million each to the court and corrections systems. Remunerations in other ministries grew as well.
FactCheck concludes that Nodar Khaduri’s statement is HALF TRUE.
