Business associations in Georgia demand Covid-19 restrictions be eased
Representative from the Hotels and Restaurants Federation Shalva Alaverdashvili said that it is important the land borders of Georgia be opened. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge.
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Business associations in Georgia have sent an open letter to Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, in which they demand coronavirus restrictions be eased in the country.
Head of the Restaurants Association Shota Burjanadze said that the organisations offer Garibashvili to create a joint working group and discuss together the way out of the current economic crisis.
We have three major crises in the country: the political crisis, the economic crisis and the Covid crisis. We must find a way out of this situation together. Small and medium-sized businesses should be offered solutions on how to overcome the economic crisis without harming the public", said Burjanadze.
Levan Karalashvili of the Shopping Centers Association said that the nationwide curfew is another obstacle for businesses. He said that the summer and tourism season is ahead and 'it is critical' that there be more time and space in the evening for activities.
Karalashvili also offered the government to initiate tax breaks for the retail sector 'that will revive the industry and allow nearly 25,000 people employed in the sector to return to work'.
Representative from the Hotels and Restaurants Federation Shalva Alaverdashvili said that it is important the land borders of Georgia be opened. He said that it is not logical for land borders to remain closed while Georgian airspace is opened.
The signatories of the letter expressed hope to meet Garibashvili within a week.
Ten business associations in Georgia have sent an open letter to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia in which they demand coronavirus restrictions be lifted step by step and offer help with the vaccination process.
Fifteen business associations in Georgia have sent an open letter to the government of Georgia today in which they demand coronavirus-related restrictions to be lifted step by step.
Seven business associations have released a statement in response to the increase of natural gas prices for the commercial sector that are coming into effect on January 3, 2021 , saying that Tbilisi Energy’s decision is ‘not understandable amid the pandemic and the decision will also influence households as increasing prices for the business sector will increase costs and thus prices of products.’
The Georgian Business Association has asked the government of Georgia and the newly elected parliament to make changes to the Tax Code as soon as possible in order to extend the tax breaks imposed on businesses in the spring amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The Georgian economy grew 4% year-on-year in March, posting growth for the first time in a year. However average real gross domestic product (GDP) declined 4.2% in the first quarter of 2021 year-on-year, show preliminary data from the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat).