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Cash-Strapped Saakashvili Misses His Days Collecting Money From US

© Flickr / Dan MoyleEmpty Pockets
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The Odessa Region's governor Mikheil Saakashvili seems to thoroughly miss the days when he was working for the US, and, as if to boast how he lived before, the politician has posted a document on his Facebook page offering proof of his official salary.

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Mikheil Saakashvili seems to be totally unsatisfied with the humble salary of a Ukrainian civil servant, albeit insisting that he hadn't taken his public sector job for the money, as “service for society is more important than any money”. 

This makes it all the more surprising that the politician has decided to reveal how much he used to earn from his former US employer.

His post in Facebook now says: “For those interested, my American salary amounted to almost $200,000 [annually] before my appointment to Odessa, plus the further income from lectures and public appearances.”

The claim is supported by a certificate issued in Washington DC and signed by former Georgian Ambassador to the US Temuri Yakobashvili, certifying that Mikheil Saakashvili has been employed at the New International Leadership Institute since May 1, 2015 with an annual gross salary of $198,000.

© Facebook / Mikheil SaakashviliA certificate issued in Washington DC and signed by former Georgian Ambassador to the US Temuri Yakobashvili
A certificate issued in Washington DC and signed by former Georgian Ambassador to the US Temuri Yakobashvili   - Sputnik International
A certificate issued in Washington DC and signed by former Georgian Ambassador to the US Temuri Yakobashvili

The certificate, as it says,  was issued on May 15, 2015.

Interestingly enough, Saakashvili was appointed as the governor of Odessa Region on May 30, 2015. And on May 13, he was appointed head of the Ukrainian National Council of Reforms. So it remains to be seen whether he had the chance to receive at least one monthly salary from the US institute.

Earlier in June the apparatus of the Odessa regional administration revealed what Saakashvili is getting now at his current post: an equivalent of $267 a month, a little more than the official income of a Verkhovna Rada deputy.

© lifenewsA certificate of the apparatus of the Odessa regional administration revealing what Saakashvili is getting now at his current post
A certificate of the apparatus of the Odessa regional administration revealing what Saakashvili is getting now at his current post  - Sputnik International
A certificate of the apparatus of the Odessa regional administration revealing what Saakashvili is getting now at his current post

Saakashvili however hastened to explain why he has turned down his expected wages in the US:

“Me and my friends are coming to the civil service not for money,” he claims, “anyway, the service for the society is more important than any money. It is hard to explain in a society where people experience hardship that the civil servants should be paid more. But my strong conviction is that we should employ new, unblemished people and in a while, when the tax revenues go up, in other words, when the money goes straight into the budget and not into the pockets of the corrupt officials,  we will offer them a decent salary; we wll simultaneously be able to raise pensions, build roads and better equip our armed forces.”

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