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“Georgian Government’s Tightened Belts: How Much Does Electoral Loyalty Cost?” 10/12/2020 We present the report “Georgian Government’s Tightened Belts: How Much Does Electoral Loyalty Cost?” covering the use of budgetary resources for ensuring the loyalty of the ruling party during elections. The first report addresses the issue of sports events and athletes.

Download the report from the following link ?

Civic IDEA published another report “Virus of Urgency”

The cases discussed above represent clear examples that the pandemic has hit the world economy on a global scale and almost every country has suffered signicant damages in this regard, although actions of governments were aimed not only at strengthening health systems but also at maintaining economic stability, which cannot be said about Georgia. According to the data from September 2020, the national currency of Georgia depreciated by 4.35 Tetri against the US dollar and the value of one dollar reached 3.3332 GEL. And in relation to the Euro, the exchange rate depreciated by 5.2 Tetri and the value of one Euro became 3.88 GEL.

The big picture allows for the government’s decisions to be carefully evaluated. Today, it is clear that the measures taken by the Government were catastrophic for the Georgian economy that was unstable even before the pandemic. Instead of a short-term model and a concrete action plan with minimal restrictions of rights that should have been offered by the Executive and the Parliament the Georgian society instead was granted strict restrictions announced by the Government. Despite the systematic removal of restrictions, citizens have lost their sense of stability because the government could at any time impose the same or harsher restrictions under a new ordinance. In addition to all this, is the fact that due to the forthcoming elections or, more generally, due to the lack of the medium to long-term plans the Georgian Executive refuses to hold a public debate in the Parliament. This sort of attitude intensies a feeling of confusion and hopelessness in society.

As we can see, both in the South Caucasus and in the Eastern European countries there are numerous facts of a “temptation” for a power grab. It is quite a difcult challenge to create a strong constitutional regime under a state of emergency as it is always in danger of being politically inuenced. Even the EU member states could not be safe from it, as we have seen in Polish and Hungarian examples. Accordingly, it is necessary to develop a mechanism that will better protect the principle of separation of powers and the interest of exercising civil rights even within a state of emergency. Otherwise, the state will be entirely dependent on the goodwill of politicians, which could lead the economic and social development of the country to a certain catastrophe. Unless the appropriate precautionary steps are taken, the emergency measures, as is their nature, will continue to exist for longer than necessary. According to the Venice Commission, the most serious human rights violations take place in the state of emergency situations. The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe stated that 

„The need for security often leads governments to adopt exceptional measures. These must be truly exceptional, as no State has the right to disregard the principle of the rule of law, even in extreme situations. At all events, there must be statutory guarantees preventing any misuse of exceptional measures“. Once the pandemic is over, states will face new challenges in both, socio-economic and democratic development because no one knows how easily governments will relinquish their increased powers under a state of emergency. Countries with weak democratic traditions and fragile institutions are particularly at risk.

“Fighting the pandemic with a “locked-in” attitude may create a “less open, less free, and less prosperous world.”

Civic IDEA’s 4^th China Watch report addresses another Chinese state-controlled company Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Co Ltd. (TBEA) which has already won two tenders in Georgia and is distinguished with its tainted international reputation. Below, we provide the readers with the key findings of our research:

• The report explains TBEA’s origins and activities in order to expose its affiliation with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). TBEA is the enterprise group designated by the Chinese government and has its full support to conduct import-export and business relations outside China. TBEAs activities extend to almost every continent, including Asia, Europe, North and South America, Australia and Africa. The main protagonists of its actions worldwide are the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese state-owned Exim Bank. Moreover, the company’s chairman Zhang Xin, is a member of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), his name is recorded in the list of members of the 11th and 13th National People’s Congress and he also represents the city of Changji in the National People’s Congress. In addition to that, TBEA has been involved in illegal machinations with the Xinjiang Changji Forced Labor Camp, where detainees are tortured, starved, and inhumanely treated. The company exploited the prisoners’ labor rights by forcing them to work without any compensation.
• Our research has revealed particular breaches in the contracts signed between the Georgian state and TBEA Shenyang Transformer Group Co. These agreements were followed by redundant extensions, violation of the fixed terms, futile expenditures. However, the state agencies involved in the procurement procedures, turned a blind eye to these legal violations while granting TBEA with various privileges. To encourage the Chinese company TBEA, the tender commission does not spare any effort to change the terms of the projects while also disqualifying competitors for utterly incomprehensible reasons.
• Our report thoroughly reviews the TBEA corruption and fraud scandals in Gambia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, proving that its reputation is being questioned internationally.  However, this occasion did not prevent JSC “Georgian State Electro system” to entrust the implementation of the large-scale infrastructural projects to TBEA that left the Kyrgyz population without electricity and heating at -27 degrees Celsius, a company whose branch in India is facing the problem of insolvency, a company that is exposed to corrupt dealings with various governments.

• Similar to other Chinese companies operating in Georgia, the state did not even try to implement the so-called “due diligence” concerning TBEA and its activities worldwide. The government failed to examine the company’s international reputation, while even the simplest and the most accessible search platform, Google instantly provides information regarding TBEA’s scandalous and corrupt deals sourced from trusted and qualified media outlets.

Civic IDEA’s third China Watch Report covers the controversies over SinoHydro & China Railway 23rd Bureau Group Co. The latter brings the story of Sinohydro Corporation Limited and China 23rd Railway Bureau Co, the Chinese companies that are responsible for the main infrastructural projects in Georgia and have a tainted reputation globally. We discuss the misconduct of the projects led by them in Georgia, particularly, the violations of environmental laws, violations of labor rights, violations of contractual terms, and regulations. Also, we evaluate the experiences of foreign countries to highlight the absence of due diligence on the side of the Georgian government while granting contracts to the company.

Civic IDEA’s third China Watch Report ?