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Wednesday,
August 8,
2007, #150 (1417) Political analyst Soso Tsiskarishvili has severely criticized the State Minister for Reforms Coordination, Kakha Bendukidze. Coining the term 'Bendunomica,' he explained the dangers of Bendukidze's approach. Bendunomica, he says, interprets the phrase "welfare for everyone" as "welfare for the elite," which usually reads as "welfare for me [Bendukidze]." Likewise, "shock therapy economy" becomes "surgery without anesthesia," putting the public in great pain. Bendunomica can be summed up by the slogan "sell everything without a conscience," Tsiskarishvili continues, adding it does not consider the strategic value of Georgian assets, but only the money. Tsiskarishvili warns of encroaching Russian influence in the South Caucasus as strategically important assets are sold to Russian companies, suggesting that a Russian "liberal" empire is slowly forming. The most visible result of Bendunomica, says Tsiskarishvili, is the level of poverty in Georgia. Leading economist and former economy minister Lado Papava expressed similar reservations. He argues that
it is dangerous for Georgia to have such high-level Russian and Kazakhstani
investment. Russia has already absorbed Armenia into its "liberal"
empire, he suggests, and is trying to create a unified economical space
by co-opting Georgia. He believes Kazakhstani investments have the same
political goal. |
Bendukidze's
'Bendunomica' is endangering the country, warns analyst