Abkhazia to review how effectively agricultural grants are being spent
The authorities in Abkhazia plan to review how agricultural grants have been spent. President Badra Gunba has ordered the government to return to the budget any money spent on ineffective projects.
The grants come from the Agriculture Ministry’s “Agricultural Development for 2025” programme and the Economy Ministry’s programme supporting small and medium-sized businesses.
The president’s decision to review how the grants are used was most likely prompted by numerous complaints from farmers on social media, who say the government is providing little or no support to actual producers.
Badra Gunba does not rule out some violations given the large amount of funding involved.
“If violations are found — and with such a huge amount of funding, they are bound to occur — we must respond to them. But most importantly, we should not simply punish those responsible. We must make sure they compensate the state for all the costs it has incurred and return the money to the budget,” the president said.
The opposition media outlet Respublika believes that the president’s decision to order law enforcement agencies to set up an interagency group to oversee state support programmes for small and medium-sized businesses can only mean one thing: something is clearly wrong with these programmes.
“It looks like someone has already decided to make a tidy profit from state support for entrepreneurs. Now law enforcement agencies have several options:
- simply scare them so they stop stealing;
- investigate what they have already managed to steal;
- or get in on the deal themselves.
Which option do you think they will choose?” Respublika asks, making it clear that it believes the answer is obvious.
The terminology, place names and views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial position of this website.
Agriculture in Abkhazia
