Georgian PM: any funding related to politics must be transparent

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Friday said that any funding directly or indirectly linked to politics must be transparent to the public, emphasising that a lack of transparency raises serious questions.

In his remarks, Kobakhidze noted that it was primarily NGOs that avoid financial transparency, which he described as clear evidence that there may be aspects of their funding they seek to conceal.

“These explanations should first and foremost be heard by the public - why they are hiding their funding from Georgian society. You remember that their main message was about stigmatisation. They claimed they did not want to register as agents of foreign influence, yet they ended up registering as a foreign power itself. This shows how false their messages were regarding stigmatisation and, in general, regarding the transparency law”, he said.

The Prime Minister argued that public accountability was essential when financial resources are connected to political processes.

“Any funding that is directly or indirectly connected to politics must be transparent to society. It is precisely these organisations that evade this, which is undeniable proof that there is something in this funding they want to hide”, he concluded.