Georgia’s economic team reveals four-year development plan
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Georgia's future Cabinet have today introduced their agenda for the next four years, with the main goal to improve the welfare of the country.
Today Georgian lawmakers listened to members of Georgia's economic team - six acting ministers of Georgia - about the future plans for the country. The acting ministers were nominated for Cabinet positions but must be voted and approved by Parliament before being confirmed.
Today the six acting ministers spoke about their various ministries and what they planned to achieve in the next four years.
Georgia’s former Minister of Economy and now Acting Minister of Finance Dimitry Kumsishvili spoke about the 2017 state budget and highlighted where the money will go next year.
The 2017 state budget will be distributed across various sectors in the following way; 29.4 percent for social expenditures, 19.8 percent for infrastructural projects, 14.6 percent for law enforcement, defence and security and legal agencies, 8.6 percent for education and science, and 1.2 percent for tourism and entrepreneurship,” said Kumsishvili.
Next Georgia’s Acting Minister of Economy Giorgi Gakharia said the new Cabinet would focus on external and internal factors that affect economic development.
The Georgian economy is developing in a very difficult situation, and what I mean is the external environment. We have a small, open economy and it is impossible for the current developments in our trade partner countries not to affect our economy. However we also need to understand that we should not only blame the external factors but also consider internal factors as a hindrance of economic development,” Gakharia said.
Meanwhile Georgia's Acting Minister of Infrastructure Zurab Alavidze promised during the next four years his office would implement an "unprecedentedly large number of infrastructural projects” worth $3 billion in Georgia.
Alavidze said these projects will be carried out within the Spatial Arrangement Plan and the Government’s four-point reform agenda.
Within these state programs, the Government of Georgia promised to build and reconstruct 1,000km of roads. Additionally, 550km of highway will be built and about 800km of roads will be rehabilitated, while an extra 300 bridges and 50 tunnels will also be built making it easier to drive through Georgia. The estimated cost of this was $3.5 billion.
Georgia’s Acting Minister of Environment Gigla Agulashvili said his office was working on new methods to calculate the rate and risks of environmental damage and would create a law that would force everyone to compensate the damage "in different ways”.
Georgia’s Acting Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze promised he would continue implementing projects that support the country's energy independence.
And finally, Georgia's Acting Minister of Agriculture Levan Davitashvili said during the next four years his team would further develop the country's agricultural sector.
Georgia’s Parliament will vote and decide whether or not to support the country’s new Cabinet on Saturday, November 26.
Georgia’s Acting Minister of Corrections Kakha Kakhishvili told Parliament that the Ministry of Corrections planned to build a new prison for young offenders aged 14-21 years, through the recommendation and support of the European Union (EU).
Georgia’s Parliament will vote and decide whether or not to support the country’s new Cabinet on Saturday, November 26.
Out of Georgia’s 18-member Cabinet, 14 ministers remained the same, one had switched from one ministry to another and three ministers were new. Learn more about the new names in Georgia’s Cabinet below.
Ready for Parliament vote
There are three new names in the new Cabinet of Ministers of Georgia, and one official has switched from one ministry to another. A short time ago Georgia’s Acting Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili presented the proposed new Cabinet.
Today Acting Prime Minister of Georgia Giorgi Kvirikashvili has spoken about the Government’s next four-year plan before lawmakers of the third and smallest party in Parliament - the Alliance of Patriots.
Georgia’s Acting Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili answered the opposition United National Movement lawmakers’ questions in Parliament in the late afternoon, before the new legislative body votes for the Prime Minister and a new Cabinet tomorrow.
Today Georgia’s Parliament will vote and decide whether or not to support the country’s new Cabinet. An extraordinary plenary session of Parliament will convene at 12pm this afternoon.
During the past six hours active discussions have been taking place at the Parliament of Georgia, where the Acting Prime Minister and ministerial nominees have been answering questions from the country’s lawmakers.
The estimated real Gross Domestic Product growth rate of the country reached 1.3 percent year-on-year in October 2016, while the estimated real GDP growth reached 2.5 percent for the first ten months of 2016, latest figures show.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili has announced that Maia Tskhitishvili will be Georgia’s new Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure. Tskhitishvili has been the Head of the Government Administration since 2012. She will replace Zurab Alavidze, who took up the ministerial position in November 2016.