Georgian PM says domestic economy “would have grown by at least $5bln if not for revolutionary efforts”

Georgian Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze on Wednesday claimed  the domestic nominal economy had “doubled in value in dollars” between 2021-2023 despite the domestic “radical parties and media outlets not letting the country enjoy calm for the past three years”.

If not for the revolutionary efforts, Georgia’s economy would have grown by at least $5 billion. This means the state budget would have received at least a billion dollars more every year, which could have allowed us to greatly expand existing state programmes and projects”, he told a press briefing at the Government Administration.

The opacity of [funding of] NGOs not only creates political problems for Georgia, but also represents a major obstacle to the development of its economy and the increase of its budget”, the PM added.

Kobakhidze also said it was “better to witness a few violent actions by the radical opposition now than to see Georgia in the midst of radicalism and a closed circle of polarisation”. 

The opacity of non-governmental organisations and relevant media outlets is used by [opposition] to carry out activities that are fundamentally against the interests of the Georgian state and society”, he told the briefing.

He claimed the activities included “drug and LGBT propaganda, attacks on the Orthodox Church, political intervention with religious pretence, attempts to destabilise state institutions and hindering of implementation of strategic economic projects”.

The Prime Minister also said “preventing such occurrences” was the Government's “responsibility to the voters” who had “given it the mandate to run the country”. 

He also alleged the “radical political minority” was using “violent resources” that should have been “saved for the end of October”, in reference to the upcoming parliamentary elections.