PM Ally Claims Georgia’s State Procurements Are Held Illegally
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Thursday, December 14
(TBILISI) -- Giorgi Gachechiladze, one of the most vocal opponents of the opposition United National Movement party, claims that all state procurements are held illegally. with most tenders won by the companies tied to former Sport’s Minister Tariel Khechikashvili.
“About 70 percent of the tenders announced by the government are won by three companies directly associated with Khechikashvili,” lawyers for Citroen Georgia told the media recently.
Gachechiladze, who is a close friend of Georgia’s Prime Minister Giorgi Kvirikashvili said during a press conference on Tuesday that he wrote a message to the prime minister’s office last summer and pleaded with Kvirikashvili to look into the illegal bidding process for government procurements.
Kvirikashvili did not respond to the request, but later sent an individual from his office who told Gachechiladze to repeat his accusation in a court of law.
Gachechiladze called on the State Competition Agency to investigate past tenders won by companied tied to Khechikashvili, an oligarch and prominent member of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Kvirikashvili rejected Gachechiladze’s claims, saying they were groundless.
