FROM THE EDITOR

Dr. Emzar Djgerenaia

Story of a Georgian wasp and economic space or Georgia for sale

Thank God, it has got warm . Not so long ago I was in the country. I lay down under a tree ready to think about a bright future of humankind. I just could not miss such wonderful weather! But, alas, suddenly my air space was intruded by a wasp and like a scampish mother-in-law (or like one journalist on one of the TV channels) it started to disturb my comfort without remorse. I expected such aggression from anyone but a wasp, as I had a clear idea of the species after a certain international parliamentary scandal. What scandal? Several years ago Italians decided to purchase our nation’s pride, strategically important “honey factory” ? they wanted to buy the world’s known and recognized beautiful honeybees. As the matter concerned a strategic unit, it was submitted for ratification to the previous parliament, and there began heated debates (at that time our parliament gathered with its full compement to discuss purchase and sale issues and appointments). In other cases, for instance, during the discussions of main directions of monetary policy the session hall was so empty that once an office-cleaner thought it was a day off and started sweeping and cleaning. But what can one do? It was not their fault that the matter was too difficult and complicated for them. From the didactic point of view, consideration of such topics is unacceptable in elementary grades. But let us not forget the wasp. The Italians were ready to take into account the strategic importance of our bees and pay 3 dollars for each bee, but Georgian deputies did not agree on less than 5 dollars (no one had thought of the poor bee before the Italians did; the species was on the verge of extinction). However, since Italians wanted to pay for it and Georgians do not like selling anything (we can easily give anything as a gift, scatter it to the winds, change for accumulated debts like Jerusalem Cross monastery; we can lose something out of inattentiveness or give it to good fellows for nothing, we can do anything but sell). The debate was spiced with Mexican pepper and Megrelian adjika. As a result, parliamentary debates around the issue were moer severe than the Basiani battle. Deputies said that our bee cost 5 dollars, and Italians suddenly became stubborn like Kakhetians (The people of one of Georgian regions Kakheti, are known for their stubborness). An international scandal broke out ? oh, our bee, pride of our nation, what forms, what manners and industry! ? shouted some deputies. Georgia is being sold, – exclaimed others. Yet, at that time deputies’ statements were quite understandable from economic point of view as a bee, being main production force, might be sold; it has wings, it can fly away to the Apennine peninsula and suddenly, get out of your economic space. The wealth produced by it, its honey, will be enjoyed by some Italians. And we? No, we cannot leave our country in misery. The way out was found by Khuta Mamladze, a wise deputy. He did not offend either Georgians or Italians. He offered to sell to the Italians not bees but no less wonderful and strategically important Georgian wasps for three dollars. Yet, you know that our wasps are known to be most poisonous. Honey is too sweet and it might cause diabetes in Italians, but poison of wasps is said to be useful, and what else do we have to do in the parliament but to care for the Italians’ health. Thus, the Georgian pride, national strategic wasp was sold to the Italians. From the viewpoint of economic science, this sale was much peculiar and significant as in this case a wasp goes or flies away from our economic space, and that is why I did not expect a wasp here. I was surprised to see its appearance and aggressiveness this summer in a comfortable fir-grove, in the area saturated with Georgian strategic air. I was not surprised at the aggressiveness of the wasp, but rather at the aggressiveness of Georgians who started talking on Russian economic landing and on the ways of selling our strategic units ? ports and railways, electric power plants or residences ? to them. Russians are ready to invest in Georgia and use to our benefit the wealth they derived from oil. They wish to earn money and create wealth in Georgia as Georgia, being a state, has the right to re-distribute profits (wealth) from any business activity to the benefit of Georgians and Georgia. Yet what shall we do with Georgians who wished to buy the units? If they want to buy them, we should make a buyer register the units as joint stock companies so that they become quoted on the market. Any Georgian or his offspring will buy shares and become a proprietor. They will buy as much as they can afford. So what’s bitten them? They wish to have it free of charge, conserve it or sell as scrap-metal, spend on debts or scatter to the winds with good fellows, as it was done before, a special group of Georgian experts was formed to study the possibility of selling Poti or Batumi ports or Georgian Railroad out of Georgian economic space. Hypothetically, there is one chance ? like the Brainsick (Characters of G. Shengelia film “Brainsicks”), Russians can equip ports and railroads with wings or engine and fly them to their motherland – Kerch or Murmansk (He who has mother-in-law from Poti should get ready for taking visas). And what if they come like the wasp and flop down somewhere to my fir-grove or to Kakheti? God forbid! Suddenly, I imagined on my head the port that fled from the Georgian economic space and came back like a wasp. I got worried. There it will begin: why the port is here, does it have visa, why it came here at this time. My reflections were interrupted by the sting of the bothersome wasp. Oh, I was taken away by my thoughts. You do not imagine how pleased I was to find out that I was bitten by a wasp and that there was a wasp, but no port over my head. Money and capital are said to have no motherland. It is not clear why the origin of Russian money is so important. I am not Apollo. Nor am I an apologist of Russia. I am only a chubby economist, but what has bitten us, Georgians. If somebody buys our property at real price and invests money in it, the budget will have gains from the investment. We will have peace, territorial integrity and workplaces. What else do we need? Opponents might say that it is practical, but hypothetically, they may fly away and leave our economic space?! If you wish hypothetically and virtually, you may come to me, we may lie down and idle around, and fed and drunk, reflect on the bright future of humankind. This wasp was good, it still came back!