2018-04-04
Today's Government meeting was held under the chairmanship of Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili at the Administration of the Government.
The Cabinet discussed 29 issues on its meeting agenda.
The Government approved the package of legislative amendments for the Step to a Better Future peace initiative incorporating three key directions:
1) Enhancing and simplifying trade along the boundary lines through creating new opportunities
Under the initiative, it will be possible to support and encourage individual and joint business initiatives across the administrative boundary lines.
2) Creating additional opportunities for quality education and simplifying access at every level of education both at home and abroad
3) Creation of a mechanism simplifying access to the benefits and goods available to our country resulting from the country's development, including European integration, visa waiver, free trade rights, and others.
This step is designed to build confidence and step up the process of reconciliation.
The Cabinet also approved new large-scale tax initiatives freeing entrepreneurs from excessive bureaucratic procedures and, instead of five tax documents presently required from entrepreneurs, establish only one, unified tax paper to be submitted. Companies will be encouraged through simplified tax and procedural issues, to buy products from local entrepreneurs, rural residents and small farmers. The third initiative seeks to turn Georgia into a regional financial hub. Accordingly, this initiative involves online business registration in Georgia for non-residents. This initiative will enable non-resident individuals to register their companies online in Georgia and open bank accounts in our country. They also will be able to manage their companies in our country online, without being physically present here.
The Government also approved the Draft Decree on Measures Necessary to Provide Georgia's Population with Natural Gas, according to which 17,517 more families will be supplied with natural gas. Planning and construction work necessary for providing gas supply in 80 villages and one town of 19 municipalities. These large-scale activities, which will be financed with 39.5 million GEL from the state budget, will be carried out in many villages of the Dedoplistzkaro, Kobuleti, Lanchkhuti, Chokhatauri, Terjola, Tzkaltubo, Lagodekhi, Dusheti, Mtskheta, Senaki, Bolnisi, Gori, Kaspi, Kareli, Khashuri, Gardabani, Zugdidi, and Khobi Municipalities, and in the neighborhoods of the city of Martvili that have yet to enjoy natural gas supply.
In 2013-2017, 80,000 additional households received natural gas supply as a result of the work performed by the Government.
On the initiative of the Government, the Law of Georgia on General Education will be amended to empower the office of mandaturi bailiffs and to eliminate legislative flaws in order to up the level of safety of students.
According to the project, rules for coordination and information exchange between the Ministry of Education, the Interior Ministry, and the Mandaturi Service will be approved to ensure better identification of student risk groups. Video surveillance of internal and external perimeters is becoming mandatory in schools. It is a gradual process expected to be finalized by the end of 2019. Similar requirements are enforced on private schools even today but the amendments include all schools.
The criteria for selecting mandaturi candidates are also about to change. Along with complete general education, bailiff candidates must have professional or higher education, and must be at least 21 years of age.
Along with other components, the curriculum for mandaturi courses will include physical education and practical training.
In addition, the Minister of Education will approve the rules and terms for protecting safety and public order.
"Pat-down" will be replaced with "external vision inspection", which means metal detector inspection of students for prohibited items. Importantly, this procedure must be performed with a school representative present.
Another novelty includes the mandaturi's duty to compose written reports on measures taken in relation to students, this change seeking to protect the rights of students.
On the decision of the Government, the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia will hold the School Sports Olympiad at the nationwide level.
The main goal of this decision is to promote healthy lifestyle among adolescents and to support its introduction. All schoolchildren, regardless of their athletic abilities, will be able to join the initial stage of the School Sports Olympiad.
The program's budget is nearly double, and its participants will include more than 100,000 students of over 1,700 public and private schools, with more than 8,000 athletic competitions to be held.
On the Government's decision, amendments are about to be made to the Agro Insurance Project. Unlike previous years, the program will be available to farmers with registered lots. In parallel, the registration process is being simplified for entrepreneurs and small farmers.
To promote agricultural activities, and to mitigate risks for entrepreneurs and farmers, the state has been running the Agro Insurance Project for over four years, which involves state insurance of crops from hail, flood, hurricane, and autumn frost covering all cultivars (70% coverage for all cultivars and 50% coverage on grapes).
Under the Agro Insurance Project, almost 60,000 hectares of land were insured, making up almost 500 million GEL worth of crops insured.
Prime Minister's Press Office