The ruling majority of the Parliament of Georgia plans to convene a meeting of the United National Movement of Georgia to organize discussions over the failure of the 100 New Hospital program Block Georgia, a Georgian-Czech company, planned to implement as part of the Hospital Sector Development state program, Mikheil Machavariani, the parliament’s vice speaker, stated at the ahead of schedule plenary session on January 15. Machavariani assigned corresponding tasks to Petre Tsiskarishvili, the leader of the ruling majority.
The Health Ministry and the Government of Georgia, in whole, are responsible for the program failure, Machavariani said. If the issue is hindered, the Prime Minister and the Health Minister will have to provide corresponding explanations, he added.
MP Magda Anikashvili from the Christian-Democrat faction put forward the issue on the January 15 plenary session and requested to keep the promise the Government of Georgia made in December 2009.
The question is of revision of the privatization terms with Block Georgia. Alexandre Kvitashvili, the Georgian Health Minister, made the statement in December 2009 at the meeting of the Counter-Crisis Board.
Penalty sanctions may be imposed on Block Georgia for having failed to meet the schedule of the implementation of the Hospital Sector Development Project. The company may be completely removed from the project.
At the end of 2009 Georgian Prime Minister Nikoloz Gilauri cast doubt that Czech Exports Bank (CEI) would open a credit line of 120m EUR to Block Georgia.
The Government of Georgia handed over several tens of hospitals to Block Georgia in 2007. Under the agreement between the Government of Georgia and Block Georgia, the construction of hospitals was to be completed by 2011, but the Economic Development Ministry extended the deadline for a year.