We have called a special government meeting to discuss the energy crisis affecting most of the country's regions.
We should not feed our society with lies, as it had been the case for years. While we did not start the energy crisis, we must end it. I need a detailed programme of how to pull Georgia out of the swamp it had been in for many years. I have discussed this issue with Zurab Noghaideli. Supplying electricity for most of the day to Tbilisi, Batumi and one or two other cities, while the rest of Georgia is in darkness, can't be viewed as a great achievement.
The time for idle promises is over. It seems that we need to build new plants. We should tell our society, every family, when the whole of Georgia will have electricity. Georgia must get out of this darkness. Otherwise, it would make no sense at all to talk about the prospects for economic development.
The main task of this government, set by me, is to resolve the energy issue in the space of a few months. This is what this government meeting is devoted to. We will probably be briefed by the fuel and energy minister.
I am glad that Gia Natsvlishvili and other MPs are attending the government meeting.
I would like to particularly emphasize the decision of the parliament to downsize it by 150 seats. It is the issue that the previous government could not solve.
It is our achievement to have a very good Minister of Justice, Vice Premier and the Chairman of the Supreme Court.
Today, two very good judges have started working at the Supreme Court. The Parliament supported both of them. None of them has been chosen on the basis of their political affiliation. The main criteria were honesty and professionalism.
I'm glad that despite hot debates the parliament seriously and with big sense of responsibility deals with implementation of the important reforms for the country.
The government has the spokesperson, Ms. Leila Avidzba, so I would like to ask you to draw up, in cooperation with her, a letter of information, which should be sent to every Georgian family. This letter should explain to everyone what is going on. Gossip leads to more mistrust among the public. Every family should receive a newsletter explaining what is planned, where we are going to start, what we should do, and what we are going to do to resolve this situation.
In contrast to the previous authorities, we must be able to tell our people the truth. It is a fact that the entire energy system lies in ruins. The credits of 550m dollars received by Georgia [under the previous government] would have been enough to build, for example, the Khudoni hydroelectric power plant, if other projects had been set aside, and that would have completely resolved the problem. But they [the previous government] not only squandered this money but also left behind some dubious debts, Mafia-like debts to various neighbours of ours. I'm asking the Finance Ministry to examine this in detail.
Let's hold serious negotiations, because I have suddenly discovered, after one year of my presidency, that we owe some debts to neighbouring countries in addition to the money, which our previous government squandered. This is unbelievable, I'm sure that these [debts] have been plucked out of thin air, because there is no sign of any effect of this money on the country. So, if this money is on someone's offshore accounts in Cayman Islands or in Switzerland, let's initiate [criminal] cases and let's get it back. No one could hide away that much money just outside Tbilisi, this money has to be somewhere. I'm also instructing the prosecutor's office and other responsible bodies to investigate this.
The truth, which the authorities did not tell the people during these years, is very simple: lighting up the whole of Georgia by using the existing capacity is impossible. So, Georgia was doomed to be in darkness during all these years. Now we must finally tell this to the people - that all our existing hydroelectric plants, thermal plants, small hydroelectric plants and all the capacity of transmission lines for importing electricity is still not enough to ensure that every Georgian family has electricity. Everyone should know this.
To resolve this problem, we need new power plants and new transmission lines. Therefore, our main task is to build new thermal power plants, because, frankly, at present we will not be able to build a hydropower plant. Even if there is an investor willing to finance the Khudoni [hydroelectric plant] project, it would take five or six years to complete, but the public will not be able to put up with living in darkness for another five or six years. So, the only thing we could do fast is build a thermal power plant, a gas-turbine power plant.
Why couldn't we do this before? Because, first, Georgia had no alternative source of gas supply. This source will emerge next year from Azerbaijan. Second, Georgia had no money to buy anything, the money was squandered. Where will we get this money? We will get it from privatization. Why? Because privatization revenues should be spent on long-term projects instead of wasting it or spending it on temporary relief payments. Privatization revenues should be invested in the energy sector as a matter of priority. We will need to invest about 150m dollars, taking into account that some debts will have long grace periods.
We should start construction by the end of April, or early May at the latest. But the plant we are going to build will be enough to supply power only to households. However, if we want our economy to grow, we should build new transmission lines because we will need more energy imports from various countries. In addition, if we create a normal market, we should also build more hydropower plants. Israel, for instance, is as small as Georgia but it consumes four times as much electricity, which means that its economy is highly developed.
We have to take into consideration the interests of Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Armenia, Central Asia and Iran while building new plants.
Our energy independence is very important. By the way, I don't understand the hullabaloo caused by the possible sale of the gas trunk pipeline [carrying gas from Russia to Georgia], because I want to say that the Georgian government will not do anything that would make Georgia dependent on some monopolistic scheme. Currently there is no decision being prepared on this issue, although we are of course considering all commercial options and offers in all directions. However, we are doing so by taking into account Georgia's interests and Georgia's energy independence. No one should be able to blackmail us by saying: If you do something, you will find your power supply cut.
We are already being blackmailed today. If the [Abkhaz] separatists were not taking more than 200 MW from Inguri [hydropower plant], there would be no energy deficit in Georgia. If the Georgian government was in control of at least Gali District [in Abkhazia], there would be no energy deficit in Georgia. I'm saying this straightforwardly. Of course I'm not going to threaten anyone, this is not our style, our intentions are very peaceful. However, I also would not advise anyone to stage any acts of provocation or blackmail us with respect to electricity, because this is a very critical issue for Georgia. We are going to resolve this issues peacefully, including issues related to technical and commercial aspects.
Everyone should know that everyone will be held responsible. I truly appreciate that the Energy Ministry is no longer corrupt, in the sense that all we have achieved so far has been possible because of a reduction in corruption. We have not built new plants during the past year. To tell you the truth, we did not have money to build them. But now your work will be assessed not by whether or not you are stealing money yourself, your work will be assessed by your ability to create something. Not stealing is not enough to keep one's post. If someone is stealing, that person will be sent where Mr. Mirtskhulava [former energy minister] is now [in jail].
By the way, the practice of paying money back and getting out of prison will end soon. We are going to introduce a new law. According to that law, no one will be able to buy freedom or even a suspended sentence by simply compensating the damage, even if they pay 10bn. We should gradually become a normal country. We will force them [corrupt officials] to pay money, whatever we can get from them, but they will also serve sentences, as it is in most countries.
Everyone should understand that the government does no longer steal money. But we need an efficient government. Energy sector is the main criteria for evaluating the effectiveness and the performance of the government. This year we start rehabilitation of infrastructure and building roads. Three things will develop economy in Georgia - infrastructure, energy sector and honest government.
No government can make economy work, but in terms of good laws, it must create solid basis for the economic stability of the country.
There are lots of interesting projects concerning tourism industry in Ajara, Borjomi and Bakuriani. As number of projects increases demand for the electricity increases as well. We should tell the truth to the people even if the situation is going to get even worse.
Our biggest asset is public trust. It is better to tell them that unless they pay they would not get electricity rather than give them idle promises. We should do everything to keep the electricity fare as it is. As a society we should acknowledge that we have to pay for the consumed electricity.
We have nether oil nor gas nor any inherited large sum of money. Quite the contrary, everything is robbed and destroyed. We are a society that has to maintain itself by its own means.
Eventually we have managed to face the reality and set the deadline for the solution of the problem. We all carry a responsibility to meet this deadline.
I ask Zurab Noghaideli to take this issue under his personal control. Energy sector should develop and Georgia should come out of darkness.
After the deadline is over there should not be a single house in a blackout. It is possible to achieve it. Things should become better in every quarter. I ask everybody to start negotiations in every direction, explain everything to people by means of televisions and press so that to keep the public informed on the ongoing events.
We are the government elected by these people. They should know what we are doing to solve the existing problems in Georgia.
This translation is published with permission from BBC Monitoring, Reading, UK
Communications Office
of the President of Georgia