On February 21, 2007 was held the Meeting of the Government of Georgia. The agenda included 35 items.
Upon the beginning of the Meeting the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili expressed the opinion in the reasonability of the detailed view by the members of the Government of Georgia of the document On the Plan of Government of Georgia for Implementation of the European Union-Georgia Plan of Actions in Frames of the European Neighboring Policy and stated - " Though this document shall be adopted as soon as possible, it shall not be approved in a slapdash manner, The big work for preparation of this plan was performed by the Georgian state minister for integration in the European and Euro-Atlantic structures and its staff. However, this is a very important issue as its exceeds the limits of one structure and represents the unified liabilities of the Government before the European Union. We shall study how to cooperate seriously with the European Union. Every liability which we will undertake shall be well comprehended and shall comply with the strategic tasks of the country. During the next year this will be the plan of actions of the Government of Georgia and everybody will be enabled to participate in its implementation.
The next issue discussed by the Georgian President was the effectiveness of work of the state departments, in particular, from the aspect of service of citizens. Georgia, said the President, has attained such a level that the World Bank has declared our country the number one reformer and that is in the first turn, the service of the Government. We have attained such a level that in Georgia there practically is no institutional corruption and some facts of corruption are subject to the relentless struggle against. The society have got used that we are irreconcilable to such facts and it is not strange enough that somewhere is detained a deputy mayor, head of administration or department. However, if we are building a real free economy, if we really wish to attract the large-scale investment capital in the country and develop our economy quickly and effectively, the customs and tax departments, finance police, other fiscal institutions, all ministries shall be more oriented to citizens. This means that a citizen who comes to your department shall come with such a mood that he or she will be met happily, and that the persons hired by him will serve him with full enthusiasm. This shall be the main criterion determining the activity of the tax and customs departments. I shall also note than the indicators for January 2007 were the all-time better from the tax pays aspects and both fiscal institutions have additionally collected 91 millions that is very important and meets the public interests. At the same time, for us and for our businessmen other criteria are more important, how quickly are served the customers, those people who are going to cross the border with their load and are passing the custom procedures. Are those procedures simplified and understandable for them? How comfortable are relations between a fair payer and non-smuggler and the custom and tax structures? Custom and tax subjects shall not be considered potential criminals. For example, not long ago I was in Dubai which is the most clear example of rapid development. There are people who were not checked for dozens of years because those people are known as fair players. We, on the contrary, look at all as to potential criminals and consequently check them.
What is the level of competence of low rank employees and how effective is their activity? This concerns not only the tax and customs departments but all departments as well. You are aware of large crowds, we know about some facts of disregard. I know one fact when a person applied with a question to the tax service asking what is the income tax in Georgia. For sixth month already the answer has not been provided. Nobody has dared to answer this question. In low echelons and sometimes in high echelons of this service the staff is often very incompetent. Simply speaking nobody dares or wants to make a decision because the most safe decision is postponement of the decision and its shifting onto another. In many cases because of shifting of liability onto each other between the fiscal departments the procedures are complicated and extended in time thus causing detriment to an entrepreneurs. Of course we shall protect our market from smugglers but at the same time we shall simplify the Customs Code, procedures and shall bring practically to zero the custom rates. Such policy will protect us from smugglers and will protect our fair citizens. We shall carry trainings, testing and advancement of skills of all fiscal employees; make correct plans of management systems, introduce electronic management systems on all levels.
The second issue alarms me and the Prime Minister much. Unfortunately, in due time the Government could not pay due attention to this issue because within that period the Parliament was occupied with many other important issues such as adoption by the Parliament of the Law On Regulators and Transport Regulators which was corrupted throughout. I will repeat once more that we did not pay due attention to this fact. Was established a leech with the long name "National Transport Regulatory Commission of Georgia", which was occupied with extortion from any passenger entering Georgia by sea or by air of 5 USD, from any car permit - 60 GEL, from every entry of ship - 100 USD, from any flight - another extra tax. Of course, this payment shall be effected at the passenger's expense. When a person leaving from or arriving Georgia pays a fare he shall also pay to the national transport regulatory commission the money in order to provide a comfortable life for its members. There are 217 employees in that commission, or 217 leeches. I adduce an excuse to all of them because they are people , some are good employees and are not worthy to dismissal, but I repeat once more that their function in this commission is parasitizing at expense of others, in particular at the expense of citizens of Georgia and other countries. The secretary staff of the commission includes eight persons while the President's secretary staff includes tow, three or four persons; the administrative service - 26 units, the legal service - 8 units. Do they really hold many legal proceedings? The international service includes 12 units. What are the functions of this service? For example, lately they decline the appointment of one air company which performs flights Tbilisi-Dnepropetrovsk-Odessa, Tbilisi-Lugansk, though many our compatriots stay there. They have performed this act only under the ground that there is some agreement, frankly speaking, the black bargain between various air companies which had agreed not to drop the cost of flight and the manager of this black bargain was our state department. I do not want to warn you about this fact because we all shall be warned. I remember that Zurab Noghaideli was against establishment of such service.
I do all my efforts in order to open the politics, air market, to let carriers in and to drop the cost of flights; we have opened a new airport, created new conditions in order not to rise the cost of a ticket, but they have executed agreements with Czech Republic and China where they are introducing monopoly and forcing people to pay more than they are paying today. Such police of the transport regulatory commission concerns all means of transport. They interfered in regulation of shuttle minibuses. If I am not mistaken, they decided also to interfere in the railway fare. So they are doing, making decisions on everything and are the burden for all while we are sitting here and look at this disgrace.
We will take the following measures. Today at 18:00 all employees shall leave their office-rooms. I will order to the Ministry of Economic Development to reappoint employees in a way to avoid their unemployment and to find good activity for them as we need high-skilled officials. Today under the verbal instruction a draft law will enter the Parliament and next week the draft law will be brought in compliance with the law under the Parliament's resolution whereupon collection of all extra charges from the citizens by this leech department shall be terminated at last. If case of need we will involve the police. This department shall be closed today. And so we will close any agency or department notwithstanding who lobbies it at the Parliament. It shall not concern me. I am concerned in one matter only - our citizens, our society shall be protected against various special interests. This lesson shall be for those who have pushed this law in the Parliament, who carries out bad affairs in this department and for those who will try to create and introduce such precedents in future. Everybody shall take this into consideration.
The draft law is ready, its drafting was finished last night and all provisions will be considered with the Parliament. Of course, the majority of MPs are of good sense. I think that this case was really amusing. This could take place because at that time we all were occupied with the constitutional changes, procedure law, many other very important reforming laws, including customs and tax enactments. We have adopted really good laws. And at that time somebody thought that it was a good time and nobody will notice how we will arrange this case and our offices at the other's expense.
By the way, we shall also inspect other supervisory commissions, for example, the oil and gas company has a large supervisory commission as well as other companies have their supervisory commissions where the members are paid 3-5 thousand GEL salary. Let's ask them if they come to work any working day other than the salary payment day. I wonder what do they do in other days? Such situation takes place when we hardly increase the teachers' salary by 5, 10 or 15 GEL.
Now let's return to the customs. How does our Government differ from the old governments? If the old government got known about some problem, if it noticed this problem after many years, it would hold many meetings devoted to this problem and would make some kind of decision. We shall act by leaps and bounds. We have no time, the competition is strong in the sense that there are many countries which are willing to attract the investment capital as we are now attracting, for example the billions of investment capital from the East. The Prime Minister of Georgia visited Kuwait, I visited the United Arabian Emirates and all this was for the reason that we are more non-corruptive, more transparent, than earlier, but we shall be a more fast-acting country than all our neighbors and all other countries worldwide. This is our priority and we shall not seat in our offices with pompous faces and carry out as if important activity for our people. However, sometimes we are engaged in the activity quite pleasant for the people, and I hope, this is in most cases.
So I suggest to all to go to the Tbilisi custom terminal and to see what is the istuation there, to see at the place what do they do.
Press Center of the Chancellery of the Government of Georgia