MARCH 16 2015 (The Bulletin) – Several people were injured during a fight between activists of the ruling Georgian Dream coalition and activists of the opposition United National Movement party in the city of Zugdidi, media reported. The fight highlights worsening political climate in Georgia. A large opposition march is planned for Tbilisi on March 21.
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(News report from Issue No. 223, published on March 18 2015)
MARCH 5 2015 (The Bulletin) – Severe external shocks have hit Georgia’s economy causing it to falter and for growth to slow to a virtual standstill, the IMF said at the end of a mission to Tbilisi.
But the IMF said that because Georgia has been able to keep its government budget deficit under control it is better placed than other countries in the region to weather the economic storm triggered by a decline in oil prices and the drop in Russia’s economic health.
“We look forward to plans to accelerate reforms to make Georgia a more attractive place for doing business and for investing, for creating jobs, and for boosting growth in the future,” the IMF said in a statement.
“These should include easing recent restrictions on foreign businesses, seeking out new private investment, boosting saving through pension and capital market reforms and raising education standards.”
It also gave a much needed boost to Georgia’s Central Bank chief Giorgi Kadagidze who has been criticised for not doing enough to divert the country from a decline in the value of its lari currency.
“We need to protect independence of the central bank; they are doing a good job,” media quoted Mark Griffiths, who led the IMF mission as saying.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 10 2015 (The Bulletin) – Japan has made a grant of about $4.2m available to the Tbilisi city government to purchase electric buses, media reported. The deal is important because it shows Japan’s continued interested in developing links with the region and Tbilisi’s drive to update its public transport system.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 5 2015 (The Bulletin) – Two senior officials in the Tbilisi government, Reno Chakhava, head of the mayor’s office, and his deputy, Mariam Shelegia, have resigned over continued allegations of corruption and bribe-taking, media reported. The resignations throw the most powerful civic council in Georgia into disarray.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 5 2015 (The Bulletin) – After years of pirating software, Georgia’s government signed a deal with Microsoft to officially licence its operating system and other products, signalling its desire to promote its IT sector.
According to a 2013 study by the Business Software Alliance, a US-based industry lobby group, Georgia had the highest global software piracy rate. Around 90% of all the software installed in the country was unlicensed, including the government’s software.
Giga Paitchadze, IT expert and well known blogger, said this was a step towards professionalising Georgia’s image.
“Using licensed software on a state level will have a spill over effect on Georgian society, it will be a soft recommendation to respect other people’s work,” he said. “Just as our own intellectual property, patents, and products, need to be protected around the world as well.”
The license agreement is expected to have a positive effect on the Georgian IT sector. In the past few years, IT has been a major focus point of both the current and the previous government to be more competitive globally.
The government has estimated that the deal with Microsoft will cost around $8m to buy all state agencies with the latest versions of Microsoft’s operating systems.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
MARCH 11 2015 (The Bulletin) – Inmates in a prison in western Georgia have started a hunger strike over the postponement of their trials, the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported quoting one of the inmate’s lawyers. Western lobby groups have criticised Georgia previously for its harsh prison system and legal system.
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(News report from Issue No. 222, published on March 11 2015)
FEB. 25 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia’s Central Bank wants commercial banks to present plans to restructure US dollar loans to help them cope with the drop in the value of the lari. An estimated 60% of banks’ loans are held in foreign currencies making them more expensive to service.
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(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)
FEB. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The opposition United National Movement (UNM) called for a rally in Tbilisi against the government on March 21. The UNM has said Georgia’s economy is on the verge of collapse and blames the government. The demonstration may attract large numbers and is a potential flashpoint.
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(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)
MARCH 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Georgia increased the amount of tax imposed on alcoholic drinks by 50% to 60 tetri. The government said the rise is needed to align its tax base with EU regulations. Opponents said this is not the case and that it is just trying to raise extra revenues.
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(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)
FEB. 26 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Bidzina Ivanishvili, Georgia’s former PM and its richest and arguably most powerful man, accused Central Bank chief Giorgi Kadagidze of not doing enough to protect the country from the economic downturn enveloping the region.
Inflation is rising in Georgia, the lari currency is falling in value and businesses are worried. This has all heaped pressure on the 34-year-old Mr Kadagidze, who has been in the top job at the Central Bank since 2009.
Mr Ivanishvili’s intervention will pile on more pressure.
“The Governor of the NBG (National Bank of Georgia), Giorgi Kadagidze, who was appointed by the previous government, led us with his inactivity and incorrect actions to the lari crisis,” he said in a statement released through an NGO he has set up.
A fall in oil prices and economic turmoil in Russia have triggered inflation across Central Asia and the South Caucasus.
Some economic experts argue that Georgia’s Central Bank could have done more to dampen the inflation; others have said the government is merely looking for a scapegoat and that Mr Ivanishvili’s intervention is destabilising.
Vakhtang Charaia, director of the Center for Analysis and Forecast at Tbilisi State University, said: “Ivanishvili’s statement could lead to political instability, which in turn would negatively affect Georgia’s investment climate.”
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(News report from Issue No. 221, published on March 4 2015)
