Saakashvili composed a program for the economic development of Georgia in prison

Imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili posted an extensive piece on his Facebook page on February 3, which he called "The main theses of my vision of the economy."

“In the current difficult socio-economic realities, people in Georgia are unfortunately suffering from poverty, hopelessness, lack of prospects, corruption and nepotism that have created an unbearable environment, and, in general… the absence of minimum living conditions. We lost precious years when the economy did not develop, on the contrary, it was significantly reduced.

As a result of poverty, high prices for transport, food and medicine, huge utility bills, a lack of prospects and a policy of alienating the most capable citizens of the country, hundreds of thousands of our compatriots lost their health, many lost their lives, and many were deprived of the opportunity to live happily in their country.

In addition to all this, mismanagement during the pandemic resulted in the loss of 15,000 people in little Georgia. As a result, according to this indicator, according to the calculation per one million people, Georgia is among the five countries with the worst [death rates from Covid-19] in the world. For many years, the government, both in words and in deeds, proved to people that Georgia is not a place where one can live happily, for many years they proved that we were not lucky enough to live in our homeland with dignity and happiness.

Our goal is to create a state that will serve to protect the culture, traditions, and identity of the Georgian people, as well as ensure their progressive future and prosperity. It is a lie that we do not have the potential for this, and we do not deserve it. The Georgian people have proved over the centuries that they are capable of much and deserve the best.

In our close neighbourhood, within a radius of 1000-1500 kilometres from the Georgian border, Georgia has a chance to become a real and outstanding leader. From the huge economies around us, from Russia, Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Ukraine, Iran, capital is constantly looking for a stable and democratic political and legal environment. We must be able to transfer the capital that flows around us from 100 times larger economies to Georgia and use this capital in the interests of our country. For this, Georgia must become a state of peace, stability, and predictable political and economic development. Only in this situation will we be able to use this huge geopolitical potential in a region where very large financial capital circulates.

Georgia should be the centre of infrastructure, logistics, tourism and entertainment, education, healthcare, and high-tech business in this vast region. We should be a country with low taxes, protected private property and an efficient little bureaucracy. Compared with all other neighbours, we must quickly turn our geography into our main advantage. After the change of government, we must show that, unlike all of them, we will have a full-fledged democracy. Georgia must move from a hybrid regime to the category of completely free countries.

We should have much less bureaucracy, fully digitised public services; a free, non-corrupt and competent judiciary; stable and democratic transfer of power; much smaller government and less government intervention in the economy; more security than in neighbouring countries; and most importantly, it is to eradicate corruption and protect private property. This will lead to an increase in the well-being of every citizen exponentially. We were on this path until 2013. Then there was an almost 10-year break, and now we must accept a much-improved model of the economy that existed before 2012. The main task of the new government of Georgia should be to reduce unemployment to below 10% and return the most qualified and able-bodied citizens of Georgia to their homeland. All this, I assure you, is possible.

The main ways to achieve the goal:

1. Judicial reform, English law, arbitration, decriminalisation of economic crimes

The main problem of the court is that it is not independent and is completely subordinate to one financial clan. This means that as soon as the interests of the investor… intersect with the interests of the clan or the state (which is controlled by the same clan), the investor will not find justice and will lose millions. Neither his property is protected nor, often, his safety. The influx of investments in such conditions is completely unrealistic. What comes today is either from Panama (Ivanishvili's money, with which he buys all of Georgia), or foreign investments, which are previously "covered" by the Ivanishvili clan in exchange for their share. This share is deducted not only from the investor, but also from business development, employment, and the country's income. We must understand well that the hand that goes into the pocket of every businessman is the hand in the pockets of each of us.

The judicial system must be fundamentally changed. A constitutional commission on judicial reform should be created, where the decisive word will be for non-political actors outside of politics - non-governmental organisations, with their active participation, the court should restore confidence and efficiency. As a result of judicial reform, Georgia should be strictly regulated by law, and resources for enforcement of regulations should be allocated from the budget to limit the passage of all three instances in private and administrative disputes. Within a maximum of 12 months from the date of filing a claim or application, the judicial system, if any, is obliged to go through all three instances of the case and already make a final decision. This part of the reform will set clear rules of the game for our citizens and investors. There will be no long-term practice of dragging out cases, which often harms citizens and investors no less than unfair decisions.

Georgia should allow unrestricted application of English law throughout the country for all commercial transactions, and the parties themselves will choose under which law they will act. Until there is a generation of judges who work equally in the field of English and German law, a chamber of English law should be established in every court of first instance. In the case of major property or tax disputes with the government, the business should be empowered to choose the venue of the dispute and the law for settling disputes from a list of arbitrations announced in advance and recognised in the world. For this purpose, it will be important if the state ensures the opening of an authoritative, best international arbitration office in Georgia.

Economic crimes must be decriminalized. About economic crimes, the possibility of pre-trial detention should be completely abolished. Imprisonment as a punishment should not be applied to many economic crimes, and it can only be maintained if the crimes involve large sums of money. A particularly large amount should be determined by law, and it really should be a particularly large amount, at least one million lari (about $330,000).

2. Law on de-oligarchisation

All persons whose assets exceed 5% of GDP are prohibited from founding and/or funding political parties and/or participating in their activities in any other way. We need many wealthy citizens in Georgia, but the well-being of many citizens will not improve if one or more organisations have a monopoly in the country and use political leverage to maintain the monopoly, and vice versa, creat[ing] monopolies using political leverage. We will have to breed big money and politics.

3. Energy development

“Georgia is a country of hydropower plants” is an outdated and incorrect thesis. “Georgia without power plants” is irrational and unjustified. HPPs should be built in Georgia at all costs, but this should be done because of a complete, deep, and qualified analysis. The HPP must be completely safe, and the negative impact on the environment must be minimised. In this regard, it is difficult for me personally to imagine large and gigantic hydroelectric power plants, especially in a country that simultaneously claims to be a tourist country and has unique and endemic landscapes. Small and micro power plants should become the main basis of our hydropower industry. And, in general, in the energy sector, the most important and, over time, the leading role should be played using wind and solar energy. In this regard, it is important to attract investors and create favourable tax or other benefits for them.

The problem of bitcoin is acute in Georgia. We already have the result that already rich people have become even richer with bitcoin, and the necessary growth of their bitcoin has been paid for by people in need. There is also inadequate transfer of electricity towards Abkhazia to transmit power, which is used to mine bitcoin by the Abkhaz and Georgian clans. Electricity is lost and bitcoins disappear without a trace. On the part of the state, there is no mechanism for supervision and monitoring of processes. However, Bitcoin factories can be useful in terms of attracting international investors if the state prohibits the mass production of bitcoins for everyone except those who invest in the production of wind and solar energy. Bilateral mutually beneficial relations, on the one hand, will make it possible to ‘highlight’ the production of bitcoins, and then it will be possible to control this production by the state. On the other hand, it will create a major incentive for energy investment. Finally, significantly reduce the tariff for electricity.

4. Bureaucracy designed for the people, nullifying unreasonable expenses

Today, the public sector is the main brake on economic growth. One additional job in the public sector, where people are employed on party or related grounds, leads to the fact that we lose 2-3 jobs in the private sector. Most public services should be provided in the private sector based on transparent outsourced tenders. A large part of public services should be transferred to digital management. This means less dependence on bureaucratic decisions and faster business processes. For example, a person can pass through a border post without even taking their passport out of their pocket and not even seeing the border guard at all.

The need for many permits should be completely abolished. In recent years, permits have been introduced in many areas, which are used for corruption and privileges for members of the ruling clan. We need a small and efficient bureaucracy that will serve the people, and not vice versa… As a result of a large-scale reform of the bureaucracy, the salary of those who really and honestly serve the country should be increased. Dramatically reduce the cost of bureaucratic services (cars, fuel, telephone, furniture, etc.). Transferring people from the public sector to the private sector should be painless, it is quite possible to save a large part of their salary for up to one year in the job search process.

5. Single tax principle

Georgia should be a country with low taxes and efficient bureaucracy. One of them is how much of the economy we spend on taxes to the budget; the other is how much taxes we pay. Georgia should publicly declare that it has set a course for a country with one tax. Tax rules in Georgia should be easy to manage and understand for everyone, leaving no room for interpretation. The principle of one tax means that 80-90% of tax disputes will simply cease to exist, all sorts of misunderstandings and endless business disputes in various councils, courts, and arbitrations will be resolved. In addition, the principle of a single tax will greatly facilitate the accounting process for companies, which is a very heavy burden for modern organisations. At one time, the National Movement left only six taxes out of twenty-one, but this brought an increase in income and ease of doing business, now we need more bold steps. Now the simplification of tax administration is no less important than the reduction of tax pressure, which allows businesses to feel protected.

6. Infrastructure and transport

Georgia should become the logistics centre of the region. This requires bold infrastructure projects. First, the practice of embezzlement of hundreds of millions of lari during infrastructure work and pseudo-tenders should be stopped. Large-scale infrastructure projects should be implemented, such as the Telavi-Tbilisi-Kutaisi-Zugdidi high-speed railway. The distance between any two points in Georgia should not exceed three hours. Georgia should have an international hub airport that will receive transit flights from the already very crowded Istanbul airport. I do not imagine either Tbilisi or Batumi airports as such. The centre of the hub should be the geographical centre of Georgia - Kutaisi, and the main, powerful, multi-terminal airport should be built there.

The mentioned high-speed railway should pass through the Kutaisi airport, the train from which will arrive in Tbilisi, Batumi, Zugdidi, Lazika/Anaklia in an hour. This requires active government intervention, the implementation of a high-speed railway project, and negotiations with international airlines. It is very important to have small airports in all important cities, especially in mountain resort centres. These airports must be served by small aircraft and helicopters. This is, first, extremely important for tourism. Infrastructure is the easiest and fastest way to attract investment from international funds. Obviously, if the use of these investments will be efficient and devoid of corruption.

7. Lazika

Even today, at least $10 billion in investments can be attracted to Georgia. Even though the port of Lazika will not be able to operate at the first stage with such a load as it was possible 9-10 years ago, the idea of ​​building a large new city on the Black Sea coast of Georgia is more relevant than ever. Moreover, this project is a magic key that will open the door to prosperity for hundreds of thousands of Georgians and unload other major cities. The country's second largest city, which will become its financial capital, should appear in Western Georgia. This will allow us to resettle Georgians not in Poland or Turkey, but to create a large new logistics, tourism, financial and industrial centre within the country, where people will have a large income. The example of Dubai, Singapore, Miami, and Batumi clearly shows that in a mobile and globalised world there is a great demand for modern urban centres, where there will be modern infrastructure, modern services, freedom and at the same time security, the rule of law, opportunities for medical services. and education.

The emphasis should not be on the fact that successful Georgians abroad buy apartments here, but… transfer[ing] their business here. There should be favourable conditions for the creation of corporations, as well as taxation, lending, and other areas. In a maximum of 10 years, it will be possible to create 200,000 jobs in the city and in projects around it. What is very important, Lazika will certainly be the fastest and most effective way to de-occupy Georgia.

8. Agriculture

The natural environment of Georgia is unique. The Caucasus and Georgia are distinguished by their biodiversity. In Georgia, we can find almost all kinds of geographical environment and landscape - from subtropics to desert. Agriculture in Georgia really has great potential. The main role of the government in agriculture is to introduce new technologies, as well as new crops and varieties. The investment in this is definitely worth it. We should not fill agriculture with subsidised drugs. On the one hand, we must teach the peasants to get better and better crops and, on the other hand, surpluses. It is necessary to bring agricultural management skills, modern technologies, and the latest knowledge to the country.

To this end, it would be important to review tax regimes, especially in terms of encouraging economic unions. It is extremely important to develop the processing and storage infrastructure in the regions so that the product can go outside the country in a processed form, which will significantly increase income. A completely different and innovative government program is needed to bring wine to new markets. It is necessary to have a real system of agricultural insurance. Today, unfortunately, such insurance policies do not exist, or they work very poorly, because of which people employed in rural areas suffer and find themselves completely unprotected and face force majeure (due to hail and other climatic problems).

In addition, we must try to reduce the number of intermediaries in agriculture so that the peasants themselves can open small factories or buy equipment in order to create their own final products that will be exported at a higher price than the raw materials themselves. This will make it easy to sell products at a much more affordable price. Export is important, but we must remember that our agricultural sector cannot meet the needs of our country. With the right economic policy, branding and popularisation of Georgian cuisine, our unique, high-quality organic product can be completely absorbed by the local market, even with a two- or three-fold increase in today's productivity.

9. Georgian "Silicon Valley"

I consider "Georgian E" the most important project - the creation of the so-called "Silicon Valley" in any city in Georgia. This was done at one time by Belarus, and today Belarusian specialists in the field of programming and network services are leaders all over the world. They are no longer equal to the Indians, who have been leaders in this segment for the past decades. We should take any Georgian city, preferably closer to the capital, like Rustavi, and declare it a zero-tax zone. Sell ​​abandoned and destroyed plants and factories with investment obligations at a symbolic price. The Belarusians I mentioned are now leaving their homeland and are mainly in Batumi and Tbilisi.

Unfortunately, the authorities from the Georgian Dream party are persecuting them in every possible way instead of using their huge potential. For their companies and companies from other countries, the Georgian “Silicon Valley” should become a safe and comfortable paradise. In response, let's give Georgian youth jobs, improve their skills, and reach the world level. Georgian students should not be involved in Forex scams but should work in legal high-tech companies with high salaries and the highest professional standards. A profile university of the highest class should be built here, where world-class specialists are trained. For example, Estonian youth, who invented Skype, should be right for Georgia, and not youth from third countries involved in Forex fraudulent schemes. The money generated by new technologies will bring new knowledge, many thousands of high-paying jobs, and new perspectives.

Georgia also has great potential in terms of military production. If production is restored, the demand for these products will only grow, and the geography of markets will expand more and more. We need to return to the global popularisation of Georgian design, brands, as we have the potential in this direction both in industrial and fashion design.

Overcoming poverty and unemployment is not really a myth. We can live in our homeland with dignity and happiness. And we absolutely must do it.

Saakashvili wants to send Georgian armoured vehicles to Ukraine

Imprisoned former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili shared on Facebook his armament plans for possible Russian actions against Ukraine.

“What would I do in Ukraine in the first place instead of this disgrace:

1. I would send the Prime Minister not only to Kiev, but also to Western capitals and Turkey to mobilise aid.

2. I would give some Didgori armoured vehicles, and a plane loaded with ammunition for free (as Lithuania did in 2008).

3. I would like to announce an offer for 1,000 small children of Ukrainian soldiers to rest in our resorts.

4. I would join the Union of Three - London, Warsaw, Kyiv.

5. I would like to warn the whole world that Russia is going to annex our occupied territories along with the territories of Ukraine,” Saakashvili wrote.

Saakashvili said he was in danger of death

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, speaking on February 4 at a meeting in the Tbilisi City Court, said that he was seriously ill and could die. The broadcast from the courtroom was conducted by the Georgian Public Television.

The meeting was held regarding his case in which the ex-president is accused of illegally crossing the state border of Georgia. He, as in previous meetings, used the opportunity to speak to the public.

“For five weeks now, doctors have not been allowed to see me - at a time when I [was very weak], [had] serious problems associated with hypertension, severe anaemia and, based on this, many other [issues]. At the same time, you know perfectly well that my condition is deteriorating, I have already lost consciousness several times,” the politician said.

Saakashvili demanded that he be given "adequate" treatment in prison, otherwise, in his opinion, a "lethal" incident may occur. According to the ex-president, "independent" doctors from a non-governmental organisation are not allowed to see him because of the order of the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, the richest man in the country, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

The ex-president also said that he would be able to prove in the international court that he experienced "torture" and "inhuman treatment" in prison.

Saakashvili on Putin at the trial

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was allegedly preparing "provocations" against Ukraine and Georgia.

The court is considering a case in which the politician is accused of illegally crossing the Georgian border. But he uses the time given to him for political statements.

“I think that Putin has already lost the possibility of a war in Ukraine, but he is preparing for provocations: for the recognition of Donetsk and Lugansk. At the same time, he is preparing to annex the so-called South Ossetia,” Saakashvili added.

The ex-president said that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, would supposedly help in this. Saakashvili called on the people of Georgia to "raise their voice" to prevent this from happening. Previously, he repeatedly blamed the Russian leader for his problems.

It is worth noting that earlier Saakashvili's supporters and lawyers stated that he had a severe mental illness. They call for sending the ex-president to a special clinic.