Polling results and budgetary situation in Georgia

As the Ministry of Finance has announced, the Georgian state budget will be the subject of some amendments. The budgetary revenues will be increased by GEL 348 mln, taking the existing GEL 5.955 bln budget up to GEL 6. 304 bln. This increase could be explained by two reasons, first that the government is taking extra loans and the second is that the tax revenues administration has improved.

So far in 2011 significant economic growth has not been apparent in the country and economists think that the budget revenue increase is due to the increase of inflation.

Meanwhile the results of the polling carried out by NDI – US National Democratic Institute - were announced, having interviewed around 3000 respondents throughout the country. Among several interesting issues raised it was significant that the biggest concern of the respondents is still the economic and social situation in the country. It showed that even issues such as the lost territories are losing its significance for the Georgian citizens and social and economic problems are becoming more and more acute and dramatic. Employment has become the biggest subject for concern of the Georgian population and it is followed by the general increase in prices.

Though official statistics give different figures, the NDI research showed that 73% of respondents think that they are unemployed and that 61% thinks that a priority issue for the state should be the creation of the working places.

It is interesting that the ruling power still continues to boast of its achievements in the economic field, highlighting its political and economic prowess. The budget increase has also been presented to the population as a positive move but analysts have a contrasting view on the addition to the budget. They think that the increase of the budget will be happening in Georgia at the expense of higher inflation. So this kind of increase in reality has a minimal positive economic effect, on the contrary the budgetary increase creates an increase of expenditure as well.

Independent analysts suggest that to balance the situation, the state should have decreased budgetary expenditure items, whereas the government makes steps which might prolong the inflation process. So there are two sides to the story as the problems of the population become more and more difficult to tolerate.