Soros Fund and UN development program to help pay Georgian government officials

The UN development program and the Soros Fund will help pay the wages of top Georgian government officials. As a Rosbalt correspondent reports, this was announced by Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili at a press conference in Davos.

According to initial reports, the officials who will benefit from this extra funding are Georgian ministers, their deputies, the management of the road police and certain other government officials. 'This will help Georgia to deal with corruption. Officials will no longer feel the need to steal,' Mr Saakashvili said.

He said 'the allocated funds are not a loan, it is direct aid and it can not be stolen as it would have been in the previous government. It is the first example of reform in Georgia and it has the West's support,' he stressed.

He also said that every presidential trip abroad should bring the country financial gain. Despite Georgia's reputation for corruption and the disappearance of loans into the pockets of top officials, Mr Saakashvili said he hoped that foreign partners would continue to provide assistance.