Report 2008
The Reforms and Beyond
Published for
UNDP Georgia
COPY
EDITOR OF THIS UNDP report:
Bryan
Adrian, Tbilisi, 2008 for UNDP Georgia
For
full report go to
to
contact Bryan Adrian
Quiller-For-Hire https://quiller-for-hire.blogspot.com/
Copyright © 2008 United Nations Development Programme
9 Eristavi Street, 0179 Tbilisi, Georgia
ISBN 978-9941-0-0571-8
Editing: Caitlin Ryan
Cover and layout:
Dimitri Modrekelize, Contour Ltd.
Printing:
Calamus Graphics Studio
Team for the preparation of Georgia Human
Development Report 2008
COPY EDITOR of this UNDP
report, Bryan Adrian, Tbilisi, 2008, for UNDP Georgia. For full report go to
https://web.archive.org/web/20160131114710/http:/planipolis.iiep.unesco.org/upload/Georgia/Georgia-NHDR-2008.pdf
to contact Bryan Adrian Quiller-For-Hire https://quiller-for-hire.blogspot.com/
Project coordinator
Viktor Baramia
Lead author
George Welton
Co-authors
Tinatin Zurabishvili and Natalia Nozadze
Research assistant
George Kiziria
Authors of background papers
Givi Kutidze, Eka Avaliani, Lasha Gotsiridze, Giorgi Berulava, Tato Urjumelashvili,
Shorena Abesadze, Tinatin Zurabishvili, Vakhtang Megrelishvili, Keti Kinkladze, Nino
Kizikurashvili, Giorgi Meladze.
Human development advisors
Andrey Ivanov and Shahrbanou Tadjbakhsh
Indicators computation:
Nodar Kapanadze and Mihail Peleah
Georgia Human Development Report 2008
The UNDP
National Human Development
Report comes at
an important time in Georgia’s
relentless pursuit of
enhanced economic devel-
opment for all. The
beginning of this administra-
tion’s second term is
an ideal time for reflection
on what we have
achieved and what we still need
to do. As a
long-term supporter of Georgian re-
forms, UNDP is
ideally placed to engage with us
in this
reflection, combining insider knowledge
and outsider
objectivity.
Any discussion
about how to proceed should
also include a wide
range of opinions, local and
international, from inside
the government and
from wider society.
The National Human De-
velopment Report has
helped incorporate these
voices to offer a
broad-ranging and independent
assessment that should be
invaluable in framing
the policy
discussions.
The title of the
Report is indicative. It is not just
a testimony to
the remarkable reforms that have
taken place in
Georgia over the last four and a
half years. Even
more important, it looks at the
reform process in a
long-term perspective, be-
yond an account of
what has been done. It is also
a timely reminder
of our shortcomings and the
work we still have
to do, of the inevitable gaps
and the possible
ways of addressing them.
In reflecting on
the past, the Report is a testi-
mony to our many
successes. Since the Rose
Revolution the
Government finances have been
secured through a
consistently supply-side ap-
proach resulting in
low, flat taxes which we strive
to reduce further
and restrictions on doing busi-
ness have been
removed. As a result, the Govern-
ment has been able
to repair roads, irrigation,
electricity and water
supply, to improve the in-
frastructure of education
and healthcare and to
attract investment that
has grown the economy
and created jobs.
The people are freed from the
blight of corruption.
They can rely on the police
to protect their
security and deal with Govern-
ments without paying
bribes.
However, as we
enter the second phase of the
reforms we need to be
forward-looking. The
Report reminds
us that the objective of these
reforms has always been
Human Development
in the fullest
sense. We do not only seek to pro-
duce a wealthy
society. We want our society to be
democratic and
participatory, educated, healthy
and secure. The
first round of reforms have taken
us on the path
towards these goals and provided
the general
framework for future improvements,
which can only be
brought about if we continue
with our unwavering
commitment to further en-
hance the economic
liberties in Georgia and its
openness to foreign
investment.
The first task
of the new Government is to ensure
that every part of
Georgian society feels the full
benefits of what we have
achieved and has the
opportunity to realize his
or her full potential.
We have already
initiated targeted social assist-
ance, higher
pensions as well as a basic package of
universal healthcare
provisions. This has offered
protections for the most
vulnerable and is alle-
viating extreme
poverty. While we will expand
these programs in the
next few years, broaden-
ing of the
opportunities created by the reforms
needs to go further
than social assistance.
The Human
Development Report, therefore, of-
fers useful insights
as we reflect on where to go
from here. Since the
Rose Revolution, Georgia
has benefitted
enormously from its close collab-
oration with the
international community. The
Human
Development Report is an extension of
that collaboration.
We hope it will encourage
an inclusive
policy debate on how we build on
current successes to
create a just, prosperous and
secure future for
everyone in the country.
Vladimer Gurgenidze
Prime Minister
COPY EDITOR OF THIS UNDP report: Bryan Adrian, Tbilisi, 2008 for UNDP Georgia
For full report
go to
to
contact Bryan Adrian
Quiller-For-Hire https://quiller-for-hire.blogspot.com/