Chair of the Imereti district organisation of the Free Georgia political party, Gogi Tsulaia, stated that Kutaisi City Hall had given employment to individuals in different non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities before the elections. Mr Tsulaia noted that the local self-government offered employment to those members of the Georgian Dream who were promised jobs before the previous elections. He declared: “Demanding something from this government is absolutely futile. I would like to inform the population that Kutaisi City Hall gave employment in non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities to Georgian Dream members who are paid from the budget with our own money. The already overstaffed Kutaisi City Hall was burdened with new employees. In total, they employed approximately 90 individuals because elections are coming and, in this manner, they appeased their supporters who were angry.”

FactCheck

took interest in the accuracy of the statement.

We looked into the organisational and personnel structure of every non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entity in Kutaisi. In total, there are 14 non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities in Kutaisi and all of them were established by Kutaisi City Hall. In total, 4,000 people are employed (both as permanent and non-permanent staff members) in these organisations. Under the incumbent government; that is, since 2012, eight new non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities have been established. Last year, Kutaisi City Hall established two new non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities – Kutaisi Handball Club Kutaisi 2015 and Golden Canopy. Despite FactCheck

’s request for details, the public information we received from Kutaisi City Hall does not specify the number or the names of the non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities where employees were hired this year.

We also contacted Gogi Tsulaia concerning his statement and inquired about the source of the figures he gave. As he clarified, he himself had also requested this information from Kutaisi City Hall. Data concerning newly hired personnel at Kutaisi City Hall and in non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities in 2016 are found in the lists of public information which Kutaisi City Hall provided to Mr Tsulaia on 23 June 2016.

According to the letter signed by the Head of the Administrative Service of Kutaisi City Hall, Zviad Javakhia, a total of 79 individuals were appointed at Kutaisi City Hall and in non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities both in the capacity of non-permanent staff and temporary employees.

Table 1:

 Number of Employees Appointed in Non-entrepreneurial (Non-commercial) Legal Entities in 2016

Name	Non-permanent staff	Temporary Employees
Kutaisi City Hall	3	10
NELE[1] Special Services	30	0
NELE Art Establishment	15	0
NELE Day Nurseries	12	0
NELE House of Gratitude	2	0
NELE Sport Establishment	17	0

[1]

Non-entrepreneurial legal entities

Conclusion According to the information obtained by FactCheck, we determined that new employees (mostly in non-permanent staff positions) were indeed appointed at Kutaisi City Hall and in non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities under its subordination in 2016. FactCheck cannot assert that these individuals are supporters of the Georgian Dream or if they were promised employment before the previous elections. However, considering the fact that Kutaisi City Hall did indeed provide jobs to approximately 80 persons in non-entrepreneurial (non-commercial) legal entities under its subordination, FactCheck concludes that Gogi Tsulaia’s statement is MOSTLY TRUE.