Bendukidze Against Break-up of Healthcare, Social Ministry

Kakha Bendukidze, the state minister in charge of coordinating reforms, said he was against breaking up the Ministry for Healthcare, Labor and Social Welfare, and replacing it with two separate ministries, one dealing with social issues and the other healthcare.

?That would be a step back,? Bendukidze said in an interview with the Georgian Public Broadcaster (GPB) on January 17.

His comment follows media speculation that the break-up of the ministry would be part of expected structural changes in the government. Although there has been no official confirmation of the media conjecture, Bendukidze?s remarks have done little to dispel it. 

Bendukidze said the ministry had responsibility for the government?s top priority ? the reduction of poverty. Spliting the ministry, he said, would only create additional bureaucracy and lessen efficiency.

The 2008 state budget allocates GEL 1.284 billion for the Ministry of Labor, Healthcare and Social Welfare against GEL 996.9 million in 2007. Bendukidze said the increased allocation was ?in harmony? with Mikheil Saakashvili?s pre-election promises. ?There was a team of professionals in the Ministry of Finance, which was translating all these promises into figures and financial calculations,? he said.

He said increased funding for social programs was made possible at the expense of infrastructure projects, in particular energy, roads and defense.

Bendukidze explained that the state was in any case cutting back on funding the energy sector as most power facilities had already been privatized.

As for defense spending, Bendukidze said ?huge military procurements? last year meant defense cuts were possible in 2008.

Bendukidze side-stepped media speculation that he would lose his portfolio in the new cabinet to be named by Saakashvili after his inauguration on January 20.

?Personalities are not important,? Bendukidze said. ?What’s important is that the reforms continue.?

He said that the new cabinet would face several major challenges. These were, he said, the continuation of reforms and the maintenance of stability. ?And the third major issue is the upcoming parliamentary elections, which will probably change the political landscape,? Bendukidze said.

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