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What is Going on in Public Broadcasting Company

August 1, 2005

What is Going on in Public Broadcasting Company

The issue of making state channel into public broadcasting television has become the topic of debate and confrontation after the rose revolution. Later it has become known that the director of “Public Television”, Zaza Shengelia, left the position by his on will. The reason according to him is that he has exhausted his potentialities. On July 19, 2005, Georgian Young Lawyers Association started so called campaign – “Georgian government under the hot sun”; the fist part of which referred to the events occurred after the reorganization process in public television. The members of the monitoring council revealed lots of illegality and stated Zaza Shengelia’s responsibility for illegal actions. Young Lawyers Association held monitoring regarding the abovementioned fact and presented the results of many violations found in the company. However, it was not final results, but they will be presented in January or February.

On March 22, 2004, with the initiative of Georgian president, public monitoring commission for the Georgian TV and radio broadcasting company was created, on basis of which directors were obliged to ensure the implementation of all the recommendations. According to the first recommendation, Georgian TV and radio broadcasting company should have presented the detailed financial plan that was allocated from Georgian state budget in 2004. Young Lawyers Association got interested in this plan, however many details have been left unclear for them. According to the statement of the company members, purchasing method in television in 2004 was always due to the agreement with one person. In fourth quarter of 2004, Georgian television and radio broadcasting company has spent their budget in restaurants and bars. However, the financial documentation has remained vague for Young Lawyers Association.

Young Lawyers Association got interested in the issues, defined by the presidential decree – in holding institutional and functional changes. The Monitoring Commission was supposed to elaborate recommendations for this procedure and the implementation of them was Zaza Shengelia’s responsibility. It seamed that the most important purpose of this decree was the optimization of Human Resources e.i. public control should have been strengthened on the deeds of executive government for making everything more transparent. 

As the representative of Young Lawyers Association Tamuna Kordzaia stated, absolute monarchy and illegal actions were taking place in public television. It was evident even by creating the commission for taking applications for the vacancies, whose chairman was elected by the director of the television. Furthermore, functional changes didn’t happen in the company: “None of structural element had its written statement; no one knew according what they should act. Also, the competition on television programs was held, where the chairman had the right of two votes. The Law on purchasing makes it clear that members of commission not only have no right to participate in the competition but also they should write a statement saying that they have no interest towards the competitors. But in this case, the members of commission could even present their statements on radio program.”

The vaguest thing is the act of the Chamber of Controls. “The Chamber of Control absolutely formally performed its duties, but in reality many questions were left without answer”- stated Tamuna Kordzaia. It is also significant that in 2002 until now this is the third revision for GeorgianTV and radio broadcasting company by the Chamber of Control but all of them ended without any real results.

The ex-director of “Public Television” Zaza Shengelaia, avoids to answer any concrete questions and generally gives overall evaluation of the situation.

Keti Kuratashvili

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