"There will be no more chaotic development of the country" - Prime Minister of Georgia
Georgian PM speaks at government meeting
At a government meeting on December 12, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that the Anaklia port would be built with the participation of the state and investment companies, but the state would own 51% of the port’s shares. Garibashvili also said that the “War Party” [the main opposition National Movement party] wanted to open a second front of the war in Ukraine, but instead got double-digit economic growth. In addition, the country will close so-called religious organizations which aid young men avoid military service.
Port of Anaklia
According to Garibashvili, the port of Anaklia will be built with the participation of the state and investor companies, but the state will own 51% of the port’s shares:
“For the rest, we will announce an international bid and select partner companies. This project is now abandoned. This is categorically unacceptable. We must urgently find international companies and also start investing in this project. The project will be carried out with our participation – the state will undertake this project together with other companies.”
The idea of building a deep water port in Anaklia belongs to the previous government of Georgia, but the project was first undertaken by the current government.
In 2016, the bid for the construction of the deep water port was won by the Anaklia Development Consortium, one of the founders of which is TBC Holding. TBC Holding is owned by Mamuka Khazaradze, the former chairman of the supervisory board of TBC Bank, Georgia’s largest bank.
The bid was held when Giorgi Kvirikashvili was prime minister.
Later, Kvirikashvili’s relationship with the de facto ruler of Georgia, Bidzina Ivanishvili, turned sour, and Kvirikashvili resigned from the post of prime minister. The new government began to revise the decisions of its predecessors. Mamuka Khazaradze, a businessman close to Kvirikashvili and co-chairman of the Anaklia Development Consortium, had problems. A criminal case was initiated against him in connection with a television deal. On January 9, the Khazaradze consortium was deprived of the right to carry out the project.
The port of Anaklia is a strategically important project for Georgia, as it opens the way for cargo from Central Asia to Europe and vice versa.
The first Georgian deep-water port under construction in Anaklia claims to be a serious competitor to the ports of Turkey and other countries of the region. The construction of the port is also supported by the United States. Russia was against the project, and high-ranking Russian officials have made several public statements about it.
Party of “War and Death”
“We have made very serious progress across the board thanks to double-digit economic growth, and most importantly, the country’s gross domestic product has increased by almost 30 billion lari [about $11.2 billion] over the past two to three years, and the gross domestic product will be 80 billion lari [about $30 billion].
Almost $7,500 comes out for every citizen. So this is serious progress, and it was deliberate. I repeat, we do not blame anyone, but everyone should know this, and especially those extremists who planned to draw the country into the war, the “party of war and death,” as I call them: They wanted to open a second front, destroy the country, turn it into a training ground, and in return they got double-digit economic growth and progress,” Garibashvili said.
Georgian PM speaks at government meeting
“Bible Freedom” will be closed, and young men will be subject to compulsory military service
According to Garibashvili, the legal loophole in the form of the religious organization “Christian, Evangelical, Protestant Church of Georgia – Biblical Freedom” will be eliminated. The “sham religious organizations” through which young men evade the army would be shut down, the prime minister said.
“Christian, Evangelical, Protestant Church of Georgia – Biblical Freedom” is the name of a religious organization registered by the political movement “Girchi” in March 2017.
Since 2017 the organization has issued priest certificates to approximately 50,000 people. This document allowed young men to avoid compulsory military service.
According to the legislation of Georgia, if a person is a student at a theological seminary, he has the right to deferment of military service.
“This harmful, anti-national, anti-state program, invented by Girchi, actually confused the youth. We know perfectly well that this organization, which pretended to be religious, was a sham. We cannot turn a blind eye to this and it is our duty to resolve this issue, which we have done,” the Prime Minister said.
According to him, this issue has already been discussed with the Patriarchy and it “will be resolved once and for all.”
“We will no longer allow these pests to lead our young healthy generation astray,” Garibashvili added.
He also discussed reform of the compulsory military service system and noted that, by decision of the government, conscripts will be able to do military service only in defense departments, and students will be able to do military service for one month every year of their four years of study. According to Garibashvili, the changes will go into effect in 2025.
“There will be no more chaotic development of the country”
According to Garibashvili, it is necessary “to plan everything so that there is no more chaotic development of the country”:
“We are actively preparing a master plan for the entire country. The Ministry of Economy is actively working in this direction. We need the most successful foreign European companies that will work with our Georgian companies,” the prime minister said.
Georgian PM speaks at government meeting
