During debates on air on Rustavi 2, a member of the Parliamentary Majority, Zakaria Kutsnashvili, stated: "The representatives of the previous government, Kalmakhelidze and Gilauri, used to receive GEL 200,000 bonuses."
FactChecktook interest in the accuracy of the statement.
Khatuna Kalmakhelidze was appointed as the Minister of Corrections on 21 December 2009 and remained in that position until 19 September 2012. FactCheckrequested data about labour remuneration in the Ministry of Corrections from 2009 to the present day.
In 2009, Minister of Corrections, Khatuna Kalmakhelidze’s salary was GEL 1,385. In 2010, her labour remuneration was GEL 99,500. Of that amount, GEL 42,480 was salary and GEL 57,020 was bonus. In 2011,Ms Kalmakhelidze received GEL 54,875 as a bonus. In the first nine months of 2012, her salary was GEL 30,444 whilst her bonus was 40,965. As illustrated by the aforementioned information, the largest annual bonus for Khatuna Kalmakhelidze as the former Minister of Corrections in the period of 2009-2012 does not exceed GEL 57,000.
In 2012, Sozar Subari was appointed as the Minister of Corrections. FactChecktook interest in the amount of bonuses and salary supplements which Mr Subari received during his term in office. In 2013, he received GEL 42,480 as salary and GEL 47,685 as salary supplement. In regard to 2014, the total amount of bonus and salary supplement received by Sozar Subari as the Minister of Corrections was GEL 32,402.
FactCheckalso took interest in the amount of bonuses and salary supplements received by the other ministries in 2013.
Table 1:
Bonuses and Salary Supplements Received by Ministers in 2013
| Ministry | Bonus | Salary Supplement | Total |
| Ministry of Finance | 4,335 | 43,350 | 47,685 |
| Ministry of Defence | 4,335 | 78,741 | 83,076 |
| Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure | 7,285 | 43,350 | 50,635 |
| Ministry of Justice | 4,335 | 43,350 | 47,685 |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs | 400 | 43,350 | 43,750 |
| Ministry of Agriculture | 4,335 | 41,182 | 45,517 |
| Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs | 0 | 47,685 | 47,685 |
| Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection | 6,695 | 43,350 | 50,045 |
| Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection | 4,585 | 43,350 | 47,685 |
| Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons From the OccupiedTerritories, Accommodationand Refugees | 4,335 | 43,350 | 47,685 |
| Ministry of Corrections | 4,335 | 43,350 | 47,685 |
| Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs | 4,335 | 43,350 | 47,685 |
As illustrated in the table, the total amount of annual bonuses and salary supplements given to ministers was GEL 50,568 on average which resembles the average amount of bonuses received by Khatuna Kalmakhelidze in the period of 2009-2012.
Nika Gilauri was the Prime Minister of Georgia from February 2009 until June 2012. FactCheck requested information from the State Chancellery of Georgia about bonuses and salary supplements of former Georgian Prime Ministers, including Irakli Gharibashvili. A month has passed since FactChecksent a letter with this request butwe still have not received a reply. However, according to the information published by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), in the period of January-June 2012 (six months), Nika Gilauri, as the former Prime Minister, received GEL 114,750 in total as a bonus. Considering the fact that the amount of bonus for six months was GEL 114,000, it is possible that the total annual bonus for one year could reach GEL 200,000.
Conclusion
The former Minister of Corrections, Khatuna Kalmakhelidze, did not receive a GEL 200,000 bonus. The average amount of her bonuses is similar tothe average amount of bonuses and salary supplements received by other ministers throughout 2013.
As for Nika Gilauri, we have only six months of data for the year 2012 as concerns the amount of bonus he received. According to that data, Mr Gilauri received GEL 114,750 as a bonus from January until June 2012. Despite our numerous attempts to obtain information about the amount of bonuses or salary supplements received by other former Prime Ministers, those figures remain unknown.
FactCheck concludes that Zakaria Kutsnashvili’s statement is HALF TRUE.
