PM reveals his regional development plan
By Tea Mariamidze
Friday, March 13
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili held a meeting with Georgia’s mayors and regional governors, where he spoke about the current problems and future plans of the country.
The PM said that next week he is going to start the presentation of the regional development project, which aims to facilitate and promote the development of local enterprises and businesses in the regions.
According to him, the government's economic team has studied the tourism and investment potential in every region and has identified priorities.
“We are fully focused on activating the economic processes, especially in the regions. Regional development is our main priority. It is also important to accelerate the pace of infrastructure projects," the PM said.
Garibashvili assured that each region will have its own development plan, one that will fully reflect the potential of the regions.
“We will mobilize local businesses, as well as potential investors, and offer them our maximum support to start new projects and to encourage entrepreneurs. State property will be privatized,” he stated.
The PM noted that the private sector and the local population will actively be involved in regional development program to create more jobs.
"This will bring more enterprises, more employment and the regions will be strengthened economically,” he said.
The Prime Minister also spoke about the problems that hinder the development of the regions, including the development of the budget and the shortcomings of tenders.
He instructed the local authorities to be more responsible and accelerate the work they are doing on ongoing projects, as well as communicate with people to understand their problems better and respect their trust.
The PM called upon the municipalities to cut administrative expenses. The reduction of expenses will not concern social and infrastructure projects.
Garibashvili claimed that meetings with the representatives of regional governors will become regular and will be held every 2-3 months.
The PM and members of the government will start their regional tour next week. The first meeting within this initiative will be held in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region in southern Georgia. Garibashvili promised that he will personally visit every region to observe the timely implementation of regional programs.
