Non-governmental organizations have set up a coalition made up of four NGOs (Association Green Alternative, Young Lawyers’ Association, Economic Policy Research Center, Transparency International Georgia). The initiative and support has come from the Open Society Georgia Foundation (OSGF).
The Coalition For Free Business will look into the factors getting in the way of the formation of a fair and free business environment in Georgia.
“Although Georgia is a leading state in terms of the reforms made for improving a business environment and supporting business, according to the World Bank, the government has obviously increased its pressure on business recently. This has given rise to the idea of setting up a coalition. We would like to contribute to the formation of a competitive business environment and come up with recommendations on the basis of monitoring in order to deal with shortcomings”, said Irina Lashkhi of OSGF.
In the monitoring process, the Coalition For Free Business will look into the following issues: (1) cases of elite corruption, if applicable (2), the facts of pressure on business/private companies; (3) owners of those companies that win state tenders most often; (4) the way the tax system and control system work in Georgia and the practice of fight against economic crime (including the court practice) etc.
The monitoring results will be gradually published and will be ultimately made available in the form of one published work.