IDFI releases new report: how much has Georgia spent on quarantine spaces, coronavirus hospitals?

The government spent 200 million GEL on the procurement of hotel and hospital services between March 21 to November 15, says the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI) in its new report named ‘COVID-19 related State Procurements’.

In the same period, the Georgian National Tourism Administration spent over 78 million GEL on the procurement of the goods and services required for the implementation of quarantining returning citizens and others entering the country.

Between July to November, the Social Service Agency requested an agreement for receiving 98.5 million GEL from the State Procurement Agency for the purposes of preparing additional beds at the hospitals,” says the IDFI.

The Social Service Agency allocated a sum of 625,537 GEL from July to November for the purposes of supporting medical personnel in quarantine/field conditions. Additionally, 300,000 GEL was allocated in November for the same purposes.

The analyzed data has shown that the largest share of the funds is spent on Covid-19 hotels and mobilization of hospitals,” says the IDFI.

The organisation recommends that the State Procurement Agency should guarantee the publication of the information in the electronic system in an open, processable format. 

It also notes that the State Procurement Agency should create a separate category for procurements related to Covid-19.  

Alternatively, it should facilitate the collection of the information pertaining to these procurements and publish them in a processable format notes the institute.