Lelo Leader Mamuka Khazaradze Accuses Irakli Gharibashvili of Obstructing the Anaklia Project
By Liza Mchedlidze
Monday, June 3, 2024
Lelo leader Mamuka Khazaradze accused former Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili of blocking the Anaklia project and labeled him as a "budget thief" and "corrupt". The opposition leader wrote that it was Gharibashvili and Ivanishvili who deprived the Georgian people of the prospects that the Anaklia project was offering in partnership with the European Union and the USA.
Khazaradze emphasized the significance of the Anaklia port project within Lelo's agenda, stating that its construction is a priority for the party. He accused Gharibashvili and Bidzina Ivanishvili of obstructing the project, insinuating that their actions are motivated by a desire to hinder Georgia's alignment with the West. Khazaradze further criticized the decision to hand over the project to a Chinese company sanctioned by the United States for corruption, labor rights violations, and project abandonment.
"You have taken away the prospects of the Georgian people, the hundreds of thousands of jobs that the Anaklia project, in partnership with the European Union and the United States, was providing. If it weren't for your attack on us and the project, the first ship would have arrived in Anaklia in 2020, and Georgia would be a different country.
This is what I have been working on for years, and that is exactly why the construction of the Anaklia port is a priority in the Lelo program. However, your Russian Dream blocked this project with evil intentions because your boss Putin does not want a modern port built in partnership with the West in Georgia.
That's why you handed over this project to a Chinese company that has been exposed for corruption, labor rights violations, and project abandonment. I promise, you will be held accountable for all crimes with the full strictness of the law, and for betraying the country, our people, and the future, will respond strictly!" Khazaradze wrote.
