The laws restricting foreign grants have caused significant damage to Georgia’s non-governmental sector, while it remains unclear what they have delivered in return, Tengiz Shergelashvili, founder of the Georgia Development Platform, told BMGTV. He said reduced donor funding, the closure of USAID and inconsistent government policies have directly affected the country’s development.
Shergelashvili, who served as First Deputy Minister of Regional Development and Infrastructure between 2012-2016, said his organization no longer has the resources it previously had to continue analytical work. He said the organization currently operates largely through its own efforts and occasional crowdfunding, while its goal remains to provide politically unaffiliated, objective and data-based analysis.
According to Shergelashvili, the registration of his organization in the so-called register of organizations pursuing the interests of a foreign power produced no tangible results. He said the grant restrictions ultimately harmed the wider NGO sector and affected cooperation with international donors, including USAID, GIZ and UNDP, many of whose projects had previously been implemented in close coordination with government institutions. He also noted that municipalities had been particularly affected by the reduction in donor resources.
Shergelashvili also criticized the government’s decision to abolish the Grants Management Agency, which was established around 1.5 years ago. He said the move was inconsistent, noting that the agency’s leadership had been discussing ambitious plans just a year earlier. According to Shergelashvili, NGOs continue to play an important role in providing social, healthcare and other services, including through public contracts, and he said he does not know what prompted the government to reverse its position.
