Incoming PM Vano Merabishvili (right) and nominee for State Minister of Employment Paata Trapaidze (left) at a hearing in the Parliament on July 3. Photo: InterPressNews

Government plans to allocate GEL 950,000 (about USD 577,500) to fund a planned new state ministry in charge of employment this year, according to amendment to the state budget submitted to the Parliament for approval.

Paata Trapaidze, who was chief executive of construction firm Caucasus Road Project Ltd, before being nominated for the post of State Minister for Employment, said on July 3 that he would have “an efficient” staff of 20-25 people to tackle unemployment problems.

While meeting with lawmakers from various factions in the Parliament on July 3, incoming PM Vano Merabishvili presented his new government’s four-year, GEL 20 billion program “More Benefit to the People”, which involves a pledge to allocate GEL 6 billion for funding increased monthly pensions for next four years; GEL 3 billion for health insurance for next four years; GEL 3 billion for social aid programs; GEL 4 billion for agriculture and GEL 4 billion for education sector for next four years.

Merabishvili reiterated that tackling of unemployment would be his major priority and while speaking about the planned new state ministry said: “We, the government members, have found out that we know too little about the problem of unemployment.”

“We do not have exact information about the persons of which professions fail to find jobs most of all. We do not have exact information which professions are the most demanded in Georgia. We do not have exact information about what kind of vocational trainings should be carried out. We do not have exact information about unemployment per region and per town,” Merabishvili said.

According to the draft of budgetary amendments, GEL 950,000 for the new planned state ministry comes from “savings, accumulated as a result of Lari exchange rate.”

The Parliament is likely to approve the budgetary amendments at its special session on July 4.