The Resonance
The Business part of the Resonance covers the issue of the obligations given by the International Monetary Fund to Georgian government and that of the budget sequester. The IMF will debate the matter of re-establishing its program in Georgia in Washington DC on 17 October. Tbilisi has not fulfilled all the obligations, which are essential for the Board of Directors of the Fund to debate the matter of re-establishing the program in Georgia. Tbilisi was to fulfill 12 obligations by the end of September 2001, but now its number has been decreased to four.
The four obligations are the following: fulfillment of macroeconomic parameters coordinated with the IMF; sequester of the budget; passing the draft-law on the norms of activities of tax and customs staff; and amendments in the bank law.
Giorgi Isakadze, the President’s assistant in fiscal and financial matters, states that according to the figures of the State Chancellery, the budget should be sequestered by 300-320 million GEL. The Finance Ministry, on the other hand, intends to present the project of 206-220 million GEL budget sequester to the Parliament. The Resonance notes the fact in the headline “Figures of the Finance Ministry and the State Chancellery Vary with 100 Million GEL”.
The IMF is an indicator for both international donors and investors. Thus Georgia lost millions of GEL because of the absence of the IMF program in the country, Isakadze told the paper.