Irakli Kupradze, member of the Lelo–Strong Georgia party, has responded to Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s interpellation in Parliament.
According to Kupradze, Kobakhidze must answer several critical questions about the Eagle Hills project during the plenary session.
“In Georgia’s illegitimate Parliament, the illegitimate Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze is staging a propaganda show that serves only the subjective, private interests of the anti-Georgian Dream party and Ivanishvili. This interpellation procedure, summoning Kobakhidze on behalf of Georgian Dream, serves Ivanishvili and Kobakhidze by allowing them to use Parliament’s highest platform for propaganda purposes. Why? To attempt once again to cloud and pollute the minds of Georgian citizens with propaganda regarding these Arab projects.
It is an established fact that over recent months, the anti-Georgian Dream party and Ivanishvili have tried to present this project as nationally significant, when in reality it betrays national interests and harms Georgia’s population. We want to remind Georgian citizens once more that the anti-Georgian, anti-national Dream party intends to hand over 9 million square metres of our finest territories to an Arab company. This has nothing whatsoever to do with investment; it is giving away Georgia’s wealth without any rational justification or consideration of national interests.
We will observe that Irakli Kobakhidze will not address a single critical question. The fifteen questions registered for the interpellation process are expected to be posed by anti-Georgian GD members in a manner that allows Kobakhidze to respond with propaganda rather than substantive answers.
However, several critical questions must be answered:
The contract that Ivanishvili and Kobakhidze have kept secret must be disclosed immediately. This concerns the transfer of 9 million square metres of Georgian land to an Arab company without specific conditions. This contract lacks credibility. We are uncertain whether the labour rights and employment opportunities of Georgian citizens have been infringed. What environmental regulations exist? How will this private property be alienated?
Countless questions remain: Why was no public auction held, when auctions have been conducted for all other significant projects in Georgia, with offers made publicly to various companies? Why weren’t Georgian companies allowed to participate in such an important project? Why did Ivanishvili and Kobakhidze unconditionally surrender 9 million square metres of prime territory, in Tbilisi’s Lisi Lake area (equivalent to Mtskheta’s size) and in Batumi’s Gonio coast (equivalent to Sighnaghi’s size), to a foreign Arab company?
Where is the USD 1.2 billion that should appear as investment in some account or as equity participation? This represents the two-thirds share the Arab company received. The Georgian state intends to contribute land worth USD 1 billion as its one-third share, but where is the USD 1.2 billion the Arab company is supposed to invest? It doesn’t exist.
How is it possible that no development plan exists? There are no building permits or environmental protection approvals, yet sales have already commenced for the construction of these so-called Arab cities.
Here we face yet another scandal: instead of investing USD 1.2 billion, the Arab company is once again attempting to turn a non-existent investment into profit through pre-sales to Georgian or foreign citizens. This is a deception, primarily aimed at misleading supporters of Georgian Dream, with Ivanishvili and Kobakhidze at the forefront.
Therefore, our main demand is for the immediate disclosure of the contract and the conditions that Ivanishvili signed. Talk from a government where every official, from the Prime Minister to the Audit Service, is accused of corruption, claiming that the state’s and citizens’ interests are protected, is not credible to me. Georgian Dream, mired in corruption, does not deserve the trust of Georgian citizens regarding secretive contracts for projects of such significance,” stated Irakli Kupradze.
