Tuesday, July 31, 2007, #144 (1411)

Economic analyst mocks Bendukidze's 'Bendunomika'
By M. Alkhazashvili
(Translated by Diana Dundua)

Soso Tsiskarishvili, an economic analyst, cast doubts on claims of economic progress in Georgia in the pages of the newspaper 24 Saati. The analyst panned State Minister for Reforms Coordination Kakha Bendukidze's work, dubbing economic policy in Georgia 'Bendunomika' after the influential state minister.

"I cannot call the ongoing economic process in Georgia normal. We are witnessing the Georgian 'Bendunomika': its slogan is 'welfare for select people,'" says Tsiskarishvili.

In 2007, 24 Saati writes, incomes for Georgian citizens dropped by USD 70 million.

While commonly cited numbers show GDP up about 60 percent over the last four years, the paper claims that the real number is 27 percent. Most revenues collected have gone to developing state institutions.

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