Draft amendments to the Local Self-Government Code have been discussed by the representatives of the Regional Policy and Self-Government Committee of the Parliament of Georgia, international organizations and non-governmental organizations.
The discussion meeting was initiated by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure of Georgia, as well as by Vano Khukhunaishvili Center for Effective Governance System and Territorial Arrangement Reform and was held with the support of Open Society Georgia Foundation.
The draft law was prepared by the Ministry of Regional Development and Infrastructure. It is partly based on the draft law developed by Open Society Georgia Foundation and its 16 partner NGOs within the framework of the campaign – “Now It is Time for Self-governance” and submitted to the Ministry on December 24, 2014.
Major goal of the draft amendments made to the Local Self-Government Code is to improve the mechanisms for achieving citizen participation in self-governance and to introduce new forms of participation. In particular, the project will introduce a new form of citizen participation in self-organization and local self-governance, such as General Assembly of a Village/City (Saerto Kreba) which will ensure effective involvement of citizens in the process of discussion, solution and initiation of the issues important for community and municipality. In addition, the project obliges Municipal Council to examine and consider the statements, requirements and submissions of standing body of the General Assembly and to notify outcomes of the discussion. Citizen Advisory Board will be established as a consultative body for District Administration/City Hall. According to the project, a new way of initiating petition is considered and availability of information is considerably improved.
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For more information on self-government reform and activities of NGOs in this regard, please visit the website: www.droa.ge
