How can we plan something long-term in such an environment, when we see repression before our eyes, the use of disproportionate force, the spread of hatred and intolerance, all this is working?! - Resan Kikava, Executive Director of ExpoGeorgia, said this on TV-program "Business Morning".
According to him, the economy and business are managed by mood, so when people do not have a positive attitude towards the future, business can no longer think about long-term planning.
“Everyone is in survival mode and thinking of something. There is also a lot of fear, because our political culture is not at the level where people have the opportunity to freely express their opinions. Everyone knows this very well, many are also shying away from it, and the facts are like this, for example, the arrest of Mamuka [Khazaradze] and Badri [Japaridze] or other disproportionate actions, which are a very bad and wrong political move, as well as a very bad legal precedent and are very bad, if not catastrophic, for the investment environment - such actions only further stir up fear and negative sentiment regarding the future,” he noted.
He also said that despite this, there are still companies that are still trying to maintain a positive dynamic.
“I am very proud of the many Georgian companies that are trying to do everything they can to reduce the pressure on business from the environment and they are trying to preserve jobs and positive dynamics in some way. There are companies that manage to do this... It is thanks to their own efforts that we are still maintaining something in the economy and that everything has not completely collapsed,” said Resan Kikava.
The CEO of ExpoGeorgia also spoke about expectations and noted that we will gradually become more like a Russian-type state.
"The expectation is exactly the same, that we will slowly move towards a state that will become more and more like a Russian-type state, and accordingly, all those successes, whether institutional or otherwise, will be secondary and will no longer be relevant. This is visible in everything. Among them, it is visible in political and personnel decisions, and absolutely everything is clear in this regard. We are now in a mode where we do not notice, the country is being completely taken over. We are in a mode of not seeing. Yes, it happened, but we do not recognize it... You stand there on Rustaveli and talk to your friends, and because these friends are adequate, you think that everything is normal. It is not normal, unfortunately.
There will be progressive negativity. Ultimately, we are moving towards a state that is characteristic of the content of today's Russian political culture," he added.
