From Responsibility to Response: Assessing National - Brookings

CHAPTER 2 Case Studies: Georgia, Kenya, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka
Figure 2-1. Ministry for Internally Displaced Persons, Accommodation and Refugees Budget
Year Georgian Lari (GEL)
USD equivalent
(approximate, based on 2011
conversion rates)
2005 61,866,600 37,592,900
2006 59,239,300 35,996,400
2007 65,537,600 39,823,500
2008 121,783,100 74,000,800
2009 66,697,600 40,528,400
2010 41,670,600 25,320,900
2011 40,708,200 24,736,100
to meet their basic needs. 226 For the past several years,
the allocation from the state budget to the MRA usually
has hovered at around 60 million Georgian Lari (GEL);
see figure 2-1. An exception was in 2008, when, in response
to the renewed conflict and massive new displacement
in August, allocations from the state budget
to the ministry increased significantly, almost doubling
in size. By 2009, however, the budget dropped back to its
earlier amount. In 2010, the budget of the ministry was
reduced by a third, to just above 40 million Lari, where
planning figures remained in 2011. 227
In comparative terms, the planned state budget allocation
for the MRA in 2010 was equivalent to the allocation for
the Ministry of Agriculture; considering that agriculture
is a major sector of the Georgian economy, this comparison
gives some indication of the relative weight given to
IDP issues. The same year, the allocation to MRA was
more than double the amount allocated to the Ministry of
Environmental Protection and nearly four times greater
than the allocation to the Ministry of Energy. 228
226 Author’s notes, mission to Georgia, May 2000; UN
Commission on Human Rights, Report of the Representative
of the Secretary-General on Internally Displaced Persons,
Mr. Francis Deng—Addendum: Profiles in Displacement:
Georgia, 2001, para. 110.
227 Figures reported by the Government of Georgia, Ministry
of Finance. The author is grateful to Lasha Gogidze
of Transparency International for pointing me to and
translating this information from the Ministry of Finance
website.
228 Government of Georgia, Ministry of Finance, A Citizen’s
224
The budget of the ministry for 2011—which is posted
on the ministry website—reflects both the state budget
resources (38,732,200 GEL) and direct donor funding
to the ministry in the from of a World Bank community
development project in the amount of 1,976 million
GEL. Beyond that, while certain IDP budget line items
are specified—such as one-time health care allowances
for IDPs (in the amount of 20,000 GEL for 2011)—the
budget of the ministry is not disaggregated in terms of
the portion that goes to fund work with IDPs. Indeed,
that could be difficult or even impossible to do given
that a number of the staff and programs (for example,
the hotline and reception center) and resources of the
ministry go beyond IDPs to address other persons of
concern to the ministry.
Government offices and programs besides the MRA
also disburse resources for IDP-related activities. For instance,
immediately after the 2008 conflict, the government
allocated some 40 million GEL for shelter reconstruction,
through the Municipal Development Fund.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection
reported providing “Targeted Social Assistance” to over
22,000 IDP families as part of its overall budget of nearly
1.6 billion Georgian Lari in 2010. 229
Guide to the 2010 State Budget of Georgia (January 2010),
p. 17 (www.mof.ge/en/4070).
229 Author’s e-mail correspondence with Transparency
International Georgia, June 2010 and May 2011; and
Government of Georgia, A Citizen’s Guide to the 2010 State
Budget of Georgia.