External debt increased to 32 billion - experts talk about mistakes

With the depreciation of the GEL and the economic crisis, the external debt is growing - this year the amount of state debt increases to 32 billion GEL, which is unprecedented in the history of the country. Economic experts say the government made mistakes by spending extra money on social incentives because of the corona virus crisis.

"You should always have the resources to mobilize funds if you really need it. What happened, for example, even during this crisis, do not forget that before the government borrowed money, the national debt was constantly rising. It is immoral, people who came to power by rigging elections take loans and these debts are imposed on us for future generations to pay," – said Giga Bedineishvili, a financier.

Giorgi Kepuladze, the founder of "Society and Banks", says that using the money for social assistance has a very short-term effect on foreign liabilities.

"Today, I do not think anyone remembers that in September, for example, they gave 200 GEL assistance to the children from  rich families, including a one-time assistance, which, in my opinion, mainly served to mobilize pre-election votes for the Georgian Dream," said Giorgi Kepuladze.

Experts say that it is important for the GDP of the country to grow as it borrows so we can repay them. If in 2012 the ratio of the state debt to GDP was 30%, by the end of 2019 that figure rose to 41%. According to today's data, that figure has exceeded 60%.

In response to all this, "Georgian Dream" again names a pandemic. Irakli Kobakhidze, one of the members of the ruling team, said today that "the reason is simple and it is unfortunate that even the opposition can speculate on such issues."