Opposition challenge investment inflow claims

The opposition doubt the claims made by the administration about incoming investment, considering them to be pure PR. On April 22 President Saakashvili stated at a Government session that despite the world crisis the inflow of investments to the country has continued. He said that Georgia had preserved some investors and attracted the new ones. “We are among the countries where investments are still being made,” Saakashvili said.

Opposition oriented economic analysts challenge such claims. Gia Khukhashvili is not convinced by the recently announced Egyptian investment in the city of Kutaisi, a promise to invest USD 1.2 billion at the initial stage and 2 billion more later. The figures and the facts don’t correspond with each other, thinks Khukhashvili, giving certain calculations of his own. Another opposition economist, Niko Orvelashvili, suggests that often members of the Georgian administration stand behind these so-called foreign investments. “In reality, Saakashvili and his clique are bringing back Georgian money, sometimes under the cover of Arab, Egyptian, Kazakh and Russian companies, and calling these investors,” thinks Orvelashvili.