Business people to speak about progress under current Gov’t
By Messenger Staff
Monday, September 26
Georgia’s ex-Prime Minister and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD), coalition, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, has met with members of the country’s business community and urged them to inform their “staff and people around” about the positive steps Georgia has taken under the present authorities.
Ivanishvili stated that the GD Government, which defeated the nine-year rule of the previous United National Movement Government in 2012, has provided major changes, but it was hard for the changes to be so vivid when the UNM “collapsed the country”.
“60,000 new jobs have been created over the past four years, but an additional 600,000 new jobs are needed for the difference to be very obvious,” Ivanishvili said.
Ivanishvili stressed business had been “extremely suppressed” by the previous authorities, when now they were “absolutely free” from the Government’s interferences.
“You are the ones who can see the positive changes very obviously, I believe you should do your utmost, if you really like the existing situation, to maintain it and to further develop.
“Two weeks are left before the elections. Are you evaluating the situation as I see it and consequently are your taking relevant actions to explain it to your staff, neighbours, or relatives at least?” Ivanishvili asked the business.
Businessman Soso Pkhakadze as well as other businessmen agreed with Ivanishvili that making business was not as easy as it is now in Georgia.
Georgia’s ex-head of the National Bank, now a member of the UNM, Roman Gotsiridze, was also invited to the event, but he turned down the invitation.
He stressed the meeting was a “fruitless talk”, where business people were “summoned by Ivanishvili” and “unfortunately” they continued to attend such occasions.
Other UNM members accused Ivanishvili of trying to influence voters through “urging them to inform all people around them to speak about the positive things done by the current authorities”.
UNM member Sergi Kapanadze said Ivanishvili was an “informal ruler” of the Government and he tried to provide all resources to win the upcoming, October 8 Parliamentary Elections.
Ivanishvili served as Georgia’s PM in 2012-2013.
