Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and several other ministers and government officials paid an unexpected visit to the Opiza customs terminal in Tbilisi on 21 February. The president listened to complaints from people waiting for customs clearance and harshly criticized Customs Department head Zurab Antelidze for failing to simplify customs procedures, as he was ordered to do in April 2006.
President Saakashvili fired Antelidze on the spot and told Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli: "This man is dismissed from his job. Look at him. Is this man capable of fixing this, Zurab? Just look at him. We first gave him a stern warning one year ago. And are these people, these customs officers, capable of fixing this? Fire everyone immediately. Hire new people, give them a minimum salary of 1,000 lari, give them precise instructions and tell them that I must never again see people being given so much trouble here."
Includes BBC Monitoring material
Press Office
of the President of Georgia