Facilitating Effective Development in the Adjara Region

Feb, 2017

We are continuing to support the Government of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara (GoARA) in the process of regional development. Following PMCG’s assistance to GoARA, under the GIZ project aimed at elaborating a regional development strategy which allowed the Government to gain a deep understanding and vision of development priorities and objectives, GIZ has contracted PMCG to facilitate the implementation process. In order to reach maximum efficiency, PMCG in collaboration with all stakeholders is working on an action plan with built-in indicators that allow the Government to guide and measure development of the region. To ensure that the plan is clear and easy to use, the project team will also prepare guidelines. As a result of this joint effort, the GoARA will become more effective as the institution can see the whole picture and effectively manage the development process by analyzing key priority ideas and objectives, and taking ownership of tools to evaluate the process. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Developing the Strategy and Action Plan for High Mountainous Regions of Georgia

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Feasibility Study Paves Way for Georgia to Become Transport and Logistics Hub

Feb, 2017

PMCG, under a consortium led by Antea Netherland B.V., is working on a feasibility study and detailed design of the upgrading of the Rustavi – Red Bridge and Rustavi – Sadakhlo Roads.The roads have crucial importance, as they will be part of the East-West Highway project, which is a strategic project designed to transform Georgia into a transport and logistics hub for trade between Central Asia and the Far East, and Turkey and Europe. However, before starting the building process, the Government of Georgia through the Roads Department of Georgia requires a feasibility study and detailed design to be carried out.In the first phase, PMCG’s team will analyze the environmental impact of the project, taking into account positive and adverse effects on the environment, recommending appropriate solutions to minimize undesirable effects, and preparing the resettlement policy framework. During the second phase, the team will develop a detailed Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) based on the Resettlement Operation Policy of the World Bank (OP/BP 4.12), the Resettlement Policy Framework (RPF) prepared in the first phase and relevant national legislation and procedures specified by these documents. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Preparation of Feasibility Study and Detailed Design for the Upgrading of Rustavi-Red Bridge and Rustavi-Sadakhlo Roads

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Contributing to Rural Development in Georgia

Feb, 2017

Effective rural development is one of the main priorities of the Government of Georgia. In this direction, UNDP Georgia under the European Neighborhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD Georgia) has contracted PMCG to support key stakeholders.Specifically, PMCG in close collaboration with UNDP is conducting an assessment of institutional capacity of the Inter-Agency Coordination Council on Rural Development in Georgia (IACC) and Rural Development Council (RDC).The project team will facilitate stakeholder dialogue and, based on the combined results of the assessment and discussions, will propose a capacity development plan comprising short and mid-term actions.As a result of the collaboration, key players in the process of rural development of Georgia will obtain tools and a capacity development plan, facilitating development and implementation of the National Policy on Rural Development in Georgia.  Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Supporting Rural Development Policy in Georgia

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PMCG Demonstrates Tax System Expertise by Attaining TADAT Certificate

Feb, 2017

Ms. Maia Daiauri, PMCG’s Tax Policy Consultant, currently working under USAID Georgia’s Governing for Growth (G4G) program has been certified as a Tax Administration Diagnostics Assessment Tool (TADAT) Assessor, having recently passed the relevant examination with a perfect 100% score.TADAT is a tool initiated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and is supported by international development institutions such as the European Commission and the World Bank, and countries such as Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. It aims to provide an objective assessment of the condition of key components of countries’ systems of tax administration. As a TADAT Assessor, Ms. Daiauri will be guided by TADAT’s methodology and standards thereby giving PMCG more instruments to deliver progress and significantly contribute to clients’ development in tax systems. Attaining a TADAT certificate is a recognition of the knowledge, experience and standards enshrined by PMCG, and its partners and clients. This tool will give PMCG additional opportunities to work more actively in various countries and support them to enhance their tax administration systems. We would like to once again congratulate Maia on this excellent achievement.

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Supporting the State Audit Office to Review Its Communication Policy and Action Plan and Evaluate its “Budget Monitor” Platform

Feb, 2017

PMCG, as part of a consortium led by Tetra Tech ARD, within the USAID-funded program “Good Governance Initiative (GGI)”, is providing further support to the State Audit Office (SAO) in improving its communication policy.PMCG is assisting the SAO to review its broader Communication Policy and Action Plan, which covers all aspects of the SAO’s communication activities and target groups, beyond the local governments.The SAO has created a web-platform - the Budget Monitor - which will be finalized and made accessible online by February 2017. To support the SAO in finalization and introduction of the Budget Monitor, PMCG is providing assistance in evaluating the final draft of the platform and providing practical recommendations on its fine-tuning and promotion before the official roll-out. As a result, citizens of Georgia and all stakeholders will gain a user-friendly platform, where they can easily access information on government spending. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Supporting the State Audit Office (SAO) to Review Its Communication Policy and Action Plan and Evaluate its “Budget Monitor” Platform

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Corruption Perceptions Index 2016

Feb, 2017

On January 25, Transparency International published its Corruption Perceptions Index 2016. According to the Index, over two-thirds of the 176 countries assessed fall below the midpoint of the scale which ranges from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). As was the case in 2015, New Zealand and Denmark top the rankings with a score of 90.Georgia, with 57 points, occupies a leading position in Eastern Europe, improving by 5 points from last year. Indeed, Georgia is now ahead of some EU member states such as Czech Republic (55 points), Slovakia (51 points), Hungary (48 points), and Greece (44 points). Among CIS countries, Belarus is the leader with 40 points followed by Armenia (33 points), Moldova and Azerbaijan (30 points), Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Russia (29 points), and Tajikistan (25).Standards in Central Asia are generally low with the highest score in the region recorded by Kazakhstan (29 points) and the lowest by Uzbekistan (21 points).In the Balkans, results were mixed with Slovenia recording 61 points followed by neighbors Croatia (49 points), Montenegro (45 points), Greece (44 points) and Serbia (42 points).Countries given a low score in the Index are deemed to have untrustworthy and badly functioning public institutions. According to the report: “Even where anti-corruption laws are on the books, in practice they’re often skirted or ignored”. Meanwhile, in high-ranking nations there is a higher degree of press freedom, better access to information about public expenditure, stronger standards of integrity for public officials, and independent judicial systems. Please kindly follow the link below for the full report:http://www.transparency.org/news/feature/corruption_perceptions_index_2016  

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Raising Awareness of EU Delegation Activities in Georgia

Jan, 2017

PMCG, in consortium with MC Group, will support the EU delegation in Georgia to increase the awareness, understanding, and support among population for the EU and its activities in Georgia. The project will raise awareness in Georgia about EU sector reform programmes in the areas of Employment and Vocational Education and Training (EVET) and their impact on people’s lives and country’s development. Throughout the project many promotional activities, public media information campaigns, media relations and public outreach activities are planned to emphasize the achievements made in Georgia with EU support. These activities will present the impact of the sector intervention on people’s lives and ensure that all relevant EU projects in the EVET sector have coherent and coordinated communication strategies. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:EVET Communication Unit

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Supporting Civil Service Bureau with Comprehensive Performance Evaluation System

Jan, 2017

PMCG is continuing its strong support for the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) in a variety of ways, under the USAID Good Governance Initiative program.The new Civil Service Law (October, 2015) introduces a professional, merit-based civil service in which performance evaluation is a key cornerstone for determining rates of compensation, the need for capacity development and the eligibility for promotion.In line with the new law, PMCG supports CSB in the process of elaborating a comprehensive performance evaluation system. To this end, developing the indicators/criteria to evaluate the individual needs of the civil servant in the process of his/her evaluation is essential.Furthermore, PMCG will prepare and conduct trainings on the performance evaluation methodology for HR managers of GoG agencies.As a result, performance evaluation criteria/indicators for identifying the weaknesses of the candidate to assign him/her to the specific trainings will be elaborated and a corresponding training module will be developed and conducted. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Supporting Civil Service Bureau (CSB) with Comprehensive Performance Evaluation System

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Strengthening Georgian Competition Agency

Jan, 2017

Competition is an essential element in the functioning of a market economy as without an effective competition framework the process of liberalization and deregulation cannot succeed.Moreover, there is a great need to strengthen the effectiveness of the organizations involved in the implementation and enforcement of competition policy and to create the necessary conditions for systematic cooperation between the government, the agency, sector regulators, business operators and civil society as a whole in the process of related reforms.With this in mind, PMCG has been subcontracted by Business and Strategies Europe for the EU-funded project - Support to the Georgian Competition Agency - to improve the professional ability of staff to deal with rules and norms governing competition in Georgia and a wide range of related market issues. The project is being implemented under the framework of the EU-funded program - Support to EU-Georgia Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).The collaboration is focused on assisting the Competition Agency to run its affairs in a more effective way and to build its credibility among citizens, by supporting a stable business and investment climate, which will help to boost trade, to attract foreign investments, and to generate economic benefits for the market participants and the Georgian population. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Supporting Georgian Competition Agency

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Increasing Transparency of Public Spending in Georgia

Jan, 2017

Policy and Management Consulting Group (PMCG) has recently launched a project - Partnership for Budget Transparency: Civil Society Oversight of Public Spending in Georgia, funded by Europe Foundation, focused on enhancing civil society engagement in Georgia regarding budgeting process. To reach the main objective, project team will prepare three position papers, covering following topics: Promoting more transparency and accountability in public procurement including but not limited to changes to the public procurement legislation as well as GoG decree on “proactive publication of public information” Public engagement outreach of State Audit Office of Georgia (SAO) that will not compromise the supreme auditor’s independence. SAO’s audit reports are available on its website however the language and context is technical. In order to improve public engagement, recommendations will be provided on how to develop the annual report of SAO in a lay reader-friendly format Public participation in budgeting and budget execution. Georgia received the lowest scores in the area of public participation (43 out of 100) according to the Open Budget Index (OBI). The position paper will briefly describe weaknesses identified in the OBI 2015 survey and produce practical recommendations on how to establish credible and effective mechanisms (i.e. public hearings, surveys, focus groups) to capture a range of public perspectives on budget matters. Please kindly follow the link below for detailed information about the project:Assisting Kutaisi City Municipality with Spatial Urban Development Plan

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