A rally against the newly appointed Governor
A protest was held today, January 17 in front of the Zugdidi regional administration building against the appointment of Mr. Tengiz Gunava as Governor of the region. Among the protest participants were members and supporter of Protect Georgia, a civic movement, Women for Peace organization, and the Georgian Dream coalition.
2013 State Budget: Analysis and Recommendations
The 2013 state budget has increased by a total of GEL 657 million compared to 2012, a rise of 8.1%. The 2013 budget reflects priorities of the new administration, which are agriculture, healthcare and social security, education and science. The government began the process of implementing its commitments in these priority areas in December 2012.
Is the UNM Predicted Budgetary Crisis in Sight?
At a January 15, 2013 press-conference Vano Merabishvili, Secretary General of the United National Movement (UNM), warned of an impending budgetary crisis. Below is our examination of the UNM arguments. UNM Secretary General said:
A budgetary crisis is setting in, signaled by decrease in tax revenues.
Protests Surround Discussion of the Constitutional Amendments
The first public discussion of the forthcoming changes to the draft of the country’s supreme law, held by the Committee for Constitutional Amendments in Zugdidi, was accompanied by disruption and argument. Supporters of the Georgian Dream Coalition met with members of the parliamentary minority at the Center for Civic Engagement, accompanied by shouts and whistles.
Transparency International Georgia calls on Prosecutor’s Office and media outlets to respect privacy of victims in secret sex videos case
On January 15, Archil Kbilashvili, the prosecutor general, told reporters that his office did not violate human rights because the people depicted in secretly recorded sex videos could not be identified.
How lawful is appointing Tengiz Gunava as governor?
On January 10, the President unveiled Tengiz Gunava, a defendant in a current criminal case, as the Samegrelo-Zemo Svaneti Governor. Questions have been raised regarding the lawfulness of the above decision. However, we believe that Gunava's appointment as governor was not in violation of the law.
The New Draft Law on Competition Regulation in the Healthcare Sector
Transparency International Georgia has examined the latest proposed amendments to the Law on Free Trade and Competition by Koba Davitashvili, MP.
The Cartu Bank’s Case
As is known, the Prosecutor’s office started examining Cartu Bank’s case and the amendments to the Georgian legislation (Tax Code and, respectively, to the law “on Enforcement Proceedings” which changed the way the priority of liens is calculated) made at the end of 2011. Transparency International Georgia had already published several analyses regarding this issue: