State Budget May Increase by 120 Million GEL New Regulations For
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facebook.com/ georgiatoday www.georgiatoday.ge Issue no: 792/1 • NOVEMBER 10 - 12, 2015 • PUBLISHED TWICE WEEKLY YOUR FREE COPY In this week’s issue... Georgian Saperavi 2011 Wins Top Two Awards in Hong Kong PAGE 3 OK! Awards Wissol Group Founder as FOCUS Business ON THE MARKET Celebrity 2015 PAGE 3 Galt & Taggart’s Archil Gachechiladze expects a strong pick up and a positive outlook for Georgia’s economy in 2016 following on from an, at times, shocking 2015. Read his Georgian Tea: Finding EXCLUSIVE interview only in GT/Business New Strength In Unity? PAGE 7 ISET PAGE 4 Dechert OnPoint: State Budget May Increase by 120 Million GEL New Regulations for he Georgian Government plans to tion, I would like to ask to increase the tax plan Agricultural Cooperatives adjust the 2015 budget with an in the budget by 120 million Lari,” said Minister increase of 120 million Lari. The Khaduri. “At the same time, we want to reduce PAGE 11 Minister of Finance, Nodar Khaduri, borrowing in the domestic market by 283 mil- presented the state budget report lion Lari. There will be no need to issue treasury Tand a corrected budget draft of the ongoing year bills.” at a Government meeting. Foreign lending will decrease by approximately According to the Minister, from January to 100 million Lari and 96 million Lari, which will October the consolidated budget tax revenue be redirected to the Ministry of Labor, Health was 6 billion and 526 million, 641 million more and Social Affairs. Financing of leasing will than it was in the same period last year. Accord- increase by 4 million in the Ministry of Agricul- ing to data released on November 6th, the con- ture. Simultaneously, funds for irrigation and solidated budget tax revenue is already at 6 bil- drainage will decrease and the project will be lion and 641 million which is 85% of the annual delayed for one more year. Funding for the Min- plan. The state budget revenues amounted to 7 The Minister of Finance, Nodar Khaduri, istry of Regional Development and Infrastruc- billion and 962 million, which is 84% of the presented the state budget report ture will drop by 77 million Lari. annual plan. expenses amounted to 1 billion and 226 million The Minister of Finance has asked the Cabinet The state budget mobilized 605 million Lari Lari in the past ten months. of Ministers to send the presented amendments more than in the same period last year. In total “Based on these trends, we are presenting a to the Parliament this week. Prime Minister 7 billion and 710 million Lari was spent from state budget draft amendment of 2015. Given Irakli Garibashvili said the Government will January to October and the capital fi nancing the trend of economic growth and tax mobiliza- approve the presented project. GEORGIA TODAY 2 BUSINESS NOVEMBER 10 - 12, 2015 Rustavi2 Shareholders Will Not Cooperate with Court-Appointed Managers the TV Company,” reads the statement. BY KATIE RUTH DAVIES Levan and Giorgi Karamanishvili, pre- viously unknown to the Georgian public who are believed to be close associates ajority shareholders of of former President Mikheil Saakashvili, the Rustavi 2 TV broad- claimed that they will continue to “strug- caster have refused to gle along” with the Georgian public and negotiate with the the international community within all court-appointed tem- the available legal frames. Georgia Today Offers Mporary managers of the TV company, “Like in all other aspects of the ongo- claiming they “have nothing to talk about” ing attack aimed at seizing Rustavi 2, with “government-appointed political this proposal [of temporary managers] censors.” contains an obvious cynicism common On November 5, temporary managers to Russian political mentality, wherein New GT Business Edition of Rustavi 2 TV, appointed by the City the party, which itself is the only source Court, asked the current owners of the of the problem, hypocritically expresses broadcaster to name ‘any’ trustful person a desire to help solve the very same and they will grant to this person full problem. Our people have become vic- Every Tuesday! authority to implement all executive tims of such cynicism multiple times in functions required for the smooth day- the past, including in our homeland, to-day operation of the TV station. Abkhazia,” the statement reads. “Of ou may have noticed that Georgia Today, in its 15th year of oper- slowly becoming more and more recog- Owners of 91% of the Rustavi 2 shares, course we are not going to legitimize this edition of Georgia ation, is proud to present to you its newly nizable on the world geopolitical map, brothers Levan and Gia Karamanashvili, political censors by cooperating with Today is not only purple, designed newspaper- fi t to compete with attracting an increased number of foreign then released a statement regarding the those who have been appointed by the but is now out on a Tues- the best in Europe- and to announce that visitors from year to year. With my friends developments surrounding the Rustavi government by circumventing the Con- day! Fear not! You’ll still be Georgia Today will now be brought to I established an English language news- 2 TV Company in which they pointed stitution,” reads the statement. Ygetting an exciting bundle of politics, you TWICE weekly. paper with the ambition to become the to the illegality and violence that has Tbilisi City Court last Thursday even- society and cultural news every Friday, We sat down for a quick chat with leading news source about contemporary been on-going for three years in order ing terminated Rustavi 2’s General Direc- but the Georgia Today team will now George Sharashidze, Publisher & Gen- Georgia. At the time, Georgia Today was to seize Rustavi 2 and restrict freedom tor Nika Gvaramia’s right to manage also be offering you the double bonus eral Manager of Georgia Today newspa- only 10 pages long and, as it was until of speech. Georgia’s largest TV Company, appoint- of a second paper every Tuesday packed per, to discuss the fabulous changes. this month, was published every Friday. “In the light of the unprecedented reac- ing two outsiders, Davit Dvali, a former with Business, Economics and Law, I remember our fi rst exclusive interview tion from the Georgian public and inter- co-owner of the Company, and Revaz including EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS TELL US ABOUT THE with US Ambassador Kenneth Spencer national community, Ivanishvili’s gov- Sakevarishvili, the Deputy Director of with Georgia’s TOP BUSINESSMEN and BEGINNINGS OF THE GEORGIA Yalowitz on the back page which was a ernment, which is completely beyond rival TV Company Imedi, as provisional WOMEN, economic analyses from ISET TODAY NEWSPAPER message to our audience that Georgia the constitutional framework, retreated heads until the Constitutional Court and Galt&Taggart, and bi-monthly In early 2000 I realized the importance Today was striving to contribute to Geor- and offered us, through a third party makes the fi nal decision on ownership. updates on legal changes from Dechert. of having a professional newspaper in gia’s integration into western structures. naming, a candidate acceptable for us Judge Tamaz Urtmelidze ruled that, All in FULL COLOUR, every Tuesday! the English language as Georgia was who would be granted by the ‘temporary for former owner of Rustavi 2, Kibar WHY DID YOU DECIDE managers’ ‘full authority’ to manage the Khalvashi, to takeover, it has to be refl ected TO DIVIDE GT? TV company,” the statement read. in civil registry documentation before For 15 years Georgia Today has played The Karamanashvili brothers then go it becomes binding. an important role in the development of on to remind all that Rustavi 2 itself Rustavi 2’s current management con- quality media in Georgia. I, as a publisher, determines the editorial policy within sider the ruling unlawful based on the have had a growing need to make a big the framework of the joint Euro-Atlantic Constitutional Court’s ruling three days change which I knew Georgia Today values the TV Company has never devi- ago to temporarily suspend the govern- could handle and fi nally we decided to ated from. ment’s right to immediately enforce put our resources into a total rebrand- “Yes, Rustavi 2 is a television which decisions in fi rst instance courts if they ing. Thus, as 15 years ago, we can be sure criticizes. Who knows if the issues of Sak- have been appealed to a higher court. that Georgia Today is not only keeping drisi, Panorama Tbilisi, the economic The current situation surrounding the its position on the Georgian market but crisis and other actual issues would be Rustavi 2 has been called dire by experts leading the industry by providing Geor- covered if there was no Rustavi 2. This is who say there is no way to guess how gia with an example of a company work- the reason the government wants to seize the situation will develop. ing with European standards in the media sector. The idea about dividing GT from GT/Business comes from attracting an even wider audience, now from the busi- US Ambassador, EU Delegation Head ness sector, too. However, being pub- lished twice weekly has another impor- React to Rustavi 2 Development tant advantage in addition to business coverage. And this is timing; the way we are planning to deliver information to he United States (US) Ambas- to refrain from violence and dedicate our readers in a more operative and sador to Georgia, Ian Kelly, themselves to a peaceful resolution of the faster way. This means our readers will has expressed deep concern situation through dialogue,” The US be able to read the latest hot news, even over Rustavi 2’s recent devel- Ambassador continued.