U.S. Envoy Hails Local Governance Reforms

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia John Tefft said on November 28 that the Georgian government should be commended for, as he put it, ?the revolution in local government that has taken place in Georgia this year.?

?Sweeping decentralization and local government reform legislation consolidated the number of local governments from over 1,000 to just 65, introduced a formula to increase the transparency of central government budget transfers, and decentralized property ownership,? he said.

Ambassador Tefft was speaking at the second annual meeting of the National Association of Local Authorities (NALA) held in Tbilisi.

Ambassador Tefft announced that the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will provide over USD 1.5 million for training local government officials elected in the October 5 local self-governance elections.

The USAID-funded training program includes regional workshops on legislation, service improvement techniques, program budgeting, accounting, procurement and community-based economic development.

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