Paata Kvijinadze: At this stage, an increase in MPs’ salaries is not reflected in the budget at all – if it were added, it would amount to a little more than one million, while increasing the pension by 1 lari would require 11 million lari, so these two things cannot be connected in any way

The chairman of the Parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee, Paata Kvijinadze, states that the draft state budget for 2027 does not reflect an increase in salaries for members of parliament.

Today the Finance and Budget Committee is holding a summary session on the initial version of the 2027 budget draft.

As Kvijinadze stated, Georgia has one of the highest economic growth rates in the neighborhood and the region. According to him, the state budget has increased by 2.5 billion lari, and 80% of the increased budget is socially oriented. In this context, Kvijinadze focused on a number of social items and noted that 555 million goes to the increase in pensions, funding for healthcare programs increases by 125 million, and salaries of “ordinary people,” including teachers, workers, and specialists, increase by 520 million.

“In this budget, at this stage, MPs’ salaries are not included at all. I will also say here how much it is and what it would amount to in one year if it were added – it comes to a little more than one million – 1.3 million. If we imagine that the pension were increased by 10 lari, that would require 111 million, meaning that increasing the pension by 1 lari would require 11 million lari. An increase of more than one million for deputies would amount to the addition of a few tetri for a pensioner, so these two things cannot be connected in any way, as some would like to connect them,” Paata Kvijinadze stated.

For information: the amount of salaries of high-ranking state political officials, including members of parliament as well as judges, is determined by multiplying the base salary official rate by the coefficient established by parliament. According to the draft state budget for 2027, the amount of the base salary is increasing – the base salary next year will be 1,735 lari, which will lead to salary increases throughout the public sector. According to the law, salaries, including those of state political officials, should be increased.