Saturday, October 29, 2011
Saakashvili tackles unemployment - admits failure in wine exports
President of Georgia, Mikheil Saakashvili, has offered a limited amount of tax-exemption to any business which employs people between the ages of 45-60.
During a broad government cabinet meeting, attended by members of parliament, governors and representatives of business, in Batumi, a “10 Point Plan”, which includes the main social-economic policy direction of the country, was discussed. The above-mentioned project includes an action plan for solving the unemployment issue and modernizing the country. The document will be renewed every 6 months.
Sustaining macroeconomic stability, developing and sustaining the best investment and business environment, improving infrastructure, agriculture and the education systems as well as refining social policies, are some of the main components of the 10 Point Plan. Also, according to the urban and regional development program, an affordable and high quality medical care system should be developed for the country.
The President of Georgia noted that the representatives of parliament and business were specially invited by him in order to discuss this specific project. According to Mikheil Saakashvili, it is imperative that those who are responsible for employing people actively participate in the discussion regarding the social plan and the unemployment problem. The President believes that their remarks and advice will play an important role in the process of successfully implementing this plan.
“I have an offer which is very important to me. If any one of you hires persons between the ages of 45-60 to work for your business you will be exempt from taxes to a certain extent. We have many educated people and they just got unlucky. The first stimulating step for businesses was this – being exempt from income taxes. We will come up with a stimulus plan in order to help you increase employment opportunities for people in this age group in the private sector. We will also assist you in retraining these people, so that they satisfy the demands of the current job market” – noted Mikheil Saakashvili.
Wine exports fall well short of expectations
President Saakashvili also said, during the same meeting, that he was “dissatisfied” with the slow pace of entering new markets for Georgian wine and announced the sacking of the head of Samtrest, the wine agency under the Georgian Agriculture Ministry.
“I want to say that head of Samtrest [Vasil Managadze] is dismissed; I am dissatisfied; we are moving towards [new] markets with ant’s and turtle’s steps… There is unimaginable potential for our wine,” he said.
Saakashvili was speaking at a live televised meeting with government ministers in Batumi in presence of representatives of the Georgian business community.
“There is unimaginably huge market to sell our [wine], but Samtrest had to work little bit better,” he said and instructed new Agriculture Minister, Zaza Gorozia, to recruit a new head of the agency.
He also said: “Question – whether we will return or not to the Russian market – should not be even asked any more… Why should we depend on maniac Onishchenko?”
Saakashvili was impolitely referring to the chief of Russia’s consumer protection agency, RosPotrebNadzor, Gennady Onishchenko. RosPotrebNadzor cited consumer safety reasons behinds its decision when it banned import of Georgian wines and mineral waters in 2006.
Less than twenty minutes earlier, during the same televised meeting PM Nika Gilauri said while presenting the government’s ten-point plan for 2011-2015, that Georgian wine exports increased this year to 18 million bottles against 14 million in 2010.
PM Gilauri said that the goal was to increase annual export of wine to 27-30 million bottles, adding that it was possible through entering new markets, including China and Canada.
Geostat figures contradict Georgian PM’s claims
PM Gilauri also said that the value of exported wine last year was USD 50 million, which he claimed, was higher than in 2005, before Russia banned import of the Georgian wine. He said that in 2005 value of Georgia exported wine was USD 41-45 million.
But according to figures from the Geostat, the Georgian state statistics agency, value of exported Georgian wine in 2005 was USD 81 million; the figure halved following year to USD 41 million after Russia banned import of the Georgian wine in March, 2006; it further declined to USD 29 million in 2007. A tentative upward trend was visible in following years with value of exported Georgian wine increasing to USD 36.6 million in 2008; USD 32 million in 2009 and USD 39.2 million in 2010.
In the first three quarters of 2011 value of exported wine was USD 36 million, according to Geostat.
RD 10:15:58