The German Government’s development agency GIZ (Society for International Cooperation) has declared its support to strengthen local governance and legal frameworks in Georgia. Thus, the international operating agency has established a new project entitled “Local Governance Program South Caucasus”, which aims to foster cooperation between government institutions and civil society organizations.
The project, which runs on a national level, focuses on stronger communication channels to tackle major development initiatives. Specific pilot regions and municipalities will be identified, and will implement projects first to see the viability and functionality together with the affected target groups. Furthermore, the project involves transnational networks operating in Georgia to help the exchange of knowledge and expertise in sector-specific issues.
Data and information gathered through the project will be utilized to develop new local governance and legal schemes for improving the frameworks across the country. The different transnational working groups involved in the project address sector-specific topics defined on the basis of the countries’ own reform programs.
A memorandum of cooperation was signed today by the Ministry of Finance and the GIZ to set the parameters for the project, determining financial contributions and other important parameters. The long-term goal is the implementation of efficient public finance management reforms and new internal audit systems.
GIZ has supported Georgian development efforts since 1992, soon after it gained independence; stating three main goals. Firstly, the support of a sustainable economic development environment; secondly, to enhance efforts to strengthen democracy, civil society engagement and bureaucracy efficiency; and thirdly, the legal expertise in questions relating to environmental protection and sustainable resource harvesting. The GIZ has successfully arranged project cooperations between public German institutions and companies in Georgia over the last twenty years.
