Five Committees, presided by the Chair of the Budget and Finance Committee, Irakli Kovzanadze, heard the Cabinet and deliberated the Governmental Plan for 2021-2024 labeled as For Construction of the European State submitted to the Parliament by the Chief Ministerial Candidate, Irakli Gharibashvili.

According to I. Kovzanadze, the Governmental program, which has already been substantially deliberated by the Parliament a couple of months before, is largely intact and centers on restoring the economy.
“2021, I think, will be difficult and loaded with challenges, as the macroeconomic background is quite dense. The country also faces risks of macroeconomic stability, social and economic problems have emerged on the front line, and the Georgian people are waiting for us to overcome these problems. Every step and every word we hear today must be committed to tackling these issues. Georgian people are also waiting for political stability - that is the key. We must be mobilized in the face of these problems, and I think that today, every question and answer from the ministerial candidates must serve to address these issues. Macroeconomic stability and social and economic problems are the ones that concern the population of Georgia. Our country and people need political stability to overcome the pandemic and stop economic declination”, - I. Kovzanadze remarked.

Four ministerial candidates were heard at a joint sitting of five Committees: Natia Turnava, candidate for Minister of Economy, Irakli Karseladze, candidate for Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, Levan Davitashvili, candidate for Minister of Environment and Agriculture, and Ivane Machavariani, candidate for Minister of Finance.

The ministerial candidates focused on the challenges and problems from their fields, and briefed MPs on ongoing reforms and future plans. According to them, amid the global challenges, last year turned out to be more difficult than originally defined, but despite the negative results, there were some positive trends that will maintain macroeconomic stability and help the economy recover.

According to Natia Turnava, 2021 will be the year of rapid economic recovery.

"In 2021-24, Georgia will be a leader in the region with 5.3% economic growth; our country will also be a leader in terms of post-pandemic economic recovery - this is the assessment of international donors.
In 2020, our trade deficit improved with about one bln USD. Naturally, this is also the result of a policy that, despite the pandemic, was dedicated to strengthening and maintaining the export production”, - N. Turnava stated.

According to the candidate for Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, in 2020, exports of domestic production, excluding re-exports, increased with an absolute 3.5%, which is also a very important result of the Georgian Government's policy and shows that our export production has become more competitive despite the pandemic. New markets have also gained ground while there was also a positive rate in international shipping.

Talking about the reforms to be implemented in different directions, N. Turnava focused on a more active and aggressive privatization strategy, activities scheduled for the revival of tourism, as well as entrails reform, which, she said, is being implemented to create a healthy, competitive and investment-friendly environment in the country.

"We are absolutely confident that we will continue to maintain macroeconomic stability and very quickly begin to revive the economy", - the Candidate stated.

Irakli Karseladze, the candidate for the Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure, who represents a new face in the Cabinet of Ministers, thanked his predecessor Maia Tskitishvili for the work undertaken over the years, and said that the Ministry will continue large-scale and important infrastructure projects. He focused on the main road projects and the work already done, and added that water supply and sewerage remain the most important challenges for the Ministry along with the roads.

According to him, in 2019-2020 alone, as a result of mobilization and investment of 500 mln GEL, water systems were improved for 360 000 beneficiaries and it is especially noteworthy that in Kutaisi, Chiatura and Zugdidi, for the first time in the history of these cities, 24-hour water supply has been provided.

I. Karseladze also noted that in 2021, 349 mln GEL will be spent on water supply and sewerage systems. As a result of the investment, 220 000 people in 150 settlements will enjoy centralized water supply for the first time.

According to the Candidate, there are many more projects in the field of roads as well as water supply, which naturally experienced certain impact due to the pandemic, and today the Ministry is working on ways of implementation of these projects in the future.

"Decentralization, which is an important component of the EU accession process with a well-regulated infrastructure, is also being intensively developed not only at the legislative level but also directly to improve the skills of local staff", - he added.

According to I. Karseladze, despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic, in 2021 the financing of the regional fund and the implementation of the rural program will also continue.

Levan Davitashvili, the candidate for the Minister of Environment and Agriculture, briefed the MPs on the Government's program in the field of environment and agriculture, highlighted the reforms implemented and to be implemented, and noted that a number of important reforms are scheduled for the next 4 years.
"Recently, a number of reforms have been carried out in the field of environmental measures, protected areas have been expanded and the area of protected areas has increased with 288,539 hectares in 2012-2020.
The forestry sector has been reformed and we have adopted a new Forest Code. We have received unprecedented international financial support for this important reform - the Green Climate Fund (GCF) has allocated 33 mnl EURO to Georgia.
In order to reduce air pollution, a high standard of fuel has been in force since 2017 and its quality is regularly controlled”, - the Candidate elucidated.

According to L. Davitashvili, in order to reduce air pollution from industrial facilities and introduce a new European system for controlling emissions, legislative changes have already been adopted and passed by the Parliament with two readings. The action plan for improving the air quality of Rustavi for 2020-2022 was also approved - 60 mln GEL will be consumed to improve the ecological condition of the city.

"A fundamental reform has been carried out in the field of environmental responsibility. The draft law on "Environmental Responsibility" was drafted in accordance with EU requirements and adopted by the Parliament with two readings. We will completely change the form of state control and it will be a system focused on the prevention of damage to the environment. Also, a legal framework in line with modern, European principles of waste management has been established. New regulations have been adopted to introduce the extended liability of the manufacturer. I would like to note that in the next four years we plan to implement a number of other important reforms", - L. Davitashvili added.

Candidate for the Minister of Finance Ivane Machavariani, in turn, focused on the future plans of the Ministry of Finance. As he added, the legislation in the field of public finance management is in fact fully harmonized with the EU legislation and the reforms are currently underway mainly in terms of improving tax administration. According to him, it is planned to evaluate the effectiveness of budget programs using the methodology of the World Bank and the IMF, new infrastructure projects will be evaluated according to the methodology of public investment management and projects with the highest social and economic results will be funded. Speaking about fiscal risks and debt management, he noted that a new debt management strategy will be approved this year, which will be focused on effective debt management.

According to the candidate for the Minister of Finance, the main challenge of the government is to reduce the foreign debt for the next 3-4 years. Besides, as he added, it is necessary to start reducing foreign debt and, consequently, the deficit from 2022.

"Economic growth is projected at 4% this year. In 2020 alone, the Georgian economy lost 4 bln GEL. In 2020-2021 the total loss will be up to 8.5 bln GEL. While the pandemic is expected to end in 2021, rapid economic growth in the world and our trading partners over the next 3-4 years is unlikely. Our main challenge in these years is to reduce government debt, which due to the negative effects of the pandemic on GDP has exceeded 60%. In parallel with the reduction of debt, the deficit should be reduced every year. It is necessary to radically reduce it from 2022 and return to the pre-pandemic mark. It is also important that this does not happen at the expense of economic measures that will hinder economic growth and will not allow us to have a rapid rise in the post-pandemic period", -I. Machavariani stated.

After the ministerial candidates introduced the Governmental program and visions, they answered the questions of the MPs.

The members of all five Committees unanimously voted and approved the Governmental program and the Candidates.