Page 5 - GEORptMay20
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1.0 Executive summary
As most governments around the world struggle to contain the spread of COVID-19, Georgia has received steady praise from all corners for its handling of the pandemic. The government consulted key decisions with public health experts and epidemiologists early in the process. Out of concern for its citizens and healthcare system, Georgia halted international flights in March, sealed its borders and introduced severe lockdown measures on most of the population, including a near-total ban on mobility (including a one week car ban and a city lockdown of five largest cities) and commercial activity.
The country received an honourable mention alongside Taiwan and Iceland as one of the global leaders in the pandemic fight, partly credited to the swift government response and partly to societal resilience to crises.
As of April 28, the country had only around 500 active coronavirus cases and six deaths, against nearly 2000 in Armenia and over 1500 in Azerbaijan with over 20 deaths in each country.
While the government’s general policy may save the country from the most devastating impact of the pandemic in public health terms, the domestic political developments suggest that Georgian democracy is in for a difficult year with its democratic opposition and political pluralism under severe pressure.
The long-awaited agreement on electoral reform, reached in March by the government and main opposition forces and facilitated by the US and EU, was an important milestone in achieving greater political pluralism and stability in the runup to the upcoming parliamentary election, which, for the moment, remains scheduled for October 2020.
Regardless of how the pandemic and lockdown will play out in the upcoming weeks and months, the current state of emergency is in force at least until May 22 (likely to be extended) and there is no chance for normality to return to Georgia before the summer. This is too late for all political forces to fully participate in the campaign according to the October schedule.
Georgia is expecting $1.5bn in financing from International Financial Institutions (IFIs) by the end of 2020, according to Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia. This includes a staff-level agreement on IMF financing tranche of $200mn under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) plus $375mn of proposed financing augmentation to help finance health and macroeconomic stabilisation measures, meet urgent balance of payments needs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and catalyse support from the international community.
The World Bank is to provide $80mn in financial support to Georgia under its Fast Track COVID-19 Facility to help with efforts by the country’s government to mitigate and address the health and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, the international financial institution said in a press release. The project is part of the World Bank’s broader support for Georgia and it is the first in a series of three lending operations to be rolled out over the coming three months.
5 GEORGIA Country Report May 2020 www.intellinews.com
