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„People’s” Market Is Being Sold out

August 7, 2007

bazarb.jpgScandalous market in Gori is being sold out without asking anything to its previous owner, Jemal Tsiklauri. Current director of the market, Anzor Kachkachishvili also confirms the fact.

“Where did you learn that market is going to be sold out? Why are you curious about it?! You should know that it is not settled yet …I will call patrol police and kick you out from here. Whose interests are you protecting? If you are interested you should apply to the Agency for Enterprise Management. You, guy, call the police, and they will kick them out from here…?!” Anzor Kachkachishvili welcomed the journalist for the Human Rights Center (HRIDC) with similar words.

In 2004 Shida Kartli Gubernator, Mikheil Kareli seized the market from Jemal Tsiklauri who was later imprisoned. Kareli visited the former owner of the market several times in the prison and categorically demanded to transfer the market to the state. Tsiklarui could not stand imprisonment more than six months and signed the contract.

Despite that Tsiklauri is not going to give in and states that everybody will be punished who was involved in the situation.

“If the market is sold out it will be another illicit action. Just imagine, when they seized the market from me, district governor, Soso Mumladze stated in his speech on TV that the market was returned to people…Now they are selling it out again. Doesn’t it belong to people anymore? As far as I know many people were going to take part in the auction but finally they refused because there are all documents that can prove that Mikheil Kareli seized the market under threat,” said Jemal Tsiklauri.

In January of 2004, when Irakli Okruashvili was Regional Gubernator, his deputies-Mikheil Kareli and Aluda Jokhadze raided the Gori Market. Mikheil Kareli was shouting at the director of the market in front of TV Cameras. The reason for argument was “citizen” Aluda Jokhadze who was deceived by trader when buying meat at the market. Instead of ten kilos he was given nine kilos of meat.

Mikheil Kareli took the scale on which the meat was weighed and put in Okruashvili’s quarter. They held briefing regarding the fact and Kareli demanded to launch criminal case against Jemal Tsiklauri.

Soon Aluda Jokhadze applied to the police and demanded law enforcers to react on his appeal and to investigate how honestly the director of the market paid taxes to the budget.  As a result Jemal Tsiklauri was arrested for having hidden taxes from the budget. However, as soon as Tsiklauri transferred the market on the Administration, he was released.

Soon Aluda Jokhadze was appointed to the position of the Shida Kartli Deputy Gubernator; then he was the head of the Shida Kartli Financial Police Department. Later, when Okruashvili was Internal Ministry, Jokhadze worked as a high ranking official at the Ministry. At the moment, Aluda Jokhadze is detained by the Internal Ministry for swindle and is waiting for the verdict.

Human Rights Center found out that the revenues from the People’s Market were not transferred to the state budget. The contract on transferring the market to state was signed by Nukri Papunashvili who was Deputy District Governor.

At the meeting on July 21 2004 the Administrative Board enacted the resolution # 153; they discussed the question on “Establishment the State Enterprise, “Shopping Center Ltd.” The meeting decided that “Shopping Center Ltd” must be established on the basis of “Liakhvi Ltd”, which was granted by Tsiklauri to the state for free and is not registered as Municipality property yet. In addition to that the state will have 100% share in it.

Although the Administrative Board enacted the resolution, they did not get in touch with the Property Management and Privatization Department at all. Officials from the board set up the state enterprise without having asked anything to either Agency or Department of State Property Management. Moreover, the administration of the just-established Shopping Center and District Governor, Soso Mumladze, wrote in the statute of the Ltd that “revenues of the market must be reflected in public balance and financial reports that shall be introduced to the Gori District Administration by the market administration.” According to the statute, the local government is seriously interested in the revenues of the market, while only Tax Inspection is responsible to control the expenditures of the market. The resolution officially stated that the revenues received from the enterprise activities must be controlled by the district administration.

The administrative board was in this misunderstanding until February 8 2005. The Tax Inspection did not know where the revenues from the Gori Shopping Center were going during eight months. On February 8 2005 the head of the Property Management Department demanded to register the Shopping Center in Gori Department once more. Consequently the statute of the enterprise was changed and the Tax Inspection started to control the revenues. Anyway, nobody could find the revenues of previous eight months.

Total statute budget of enterprises that were established on the base of state properties in Gori District do not exceed 25 million lari. In 2004-2005 no dividends were transferred to state budget.

As for the repeated privatization of the market, Nukri Abalaki, the head of the Gori Department for Privatization and Economy, stated that the Ministry of Economics will carry out the auction of the market on August 9. “They do not involve us in those activities,” said Abalaki.

Saba Tsitsikashvili, Gori

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