Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
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Looed: thanks for the information/research. Let's hope the media penetration is ensuring that the issue is being seen by the electorate.
ODR - another point is is that most channels will re-post content on Youtube and FB as well as their own platforms. So I don't think the Youtube figure is always a significant indicator. Even if the exposure is relatively small, its aimed at a target audience.
ODR - you can look at this article. This is what is says about the two stations that often host Zaza -
"Although two new channels were formed soon after Rustavi 2 stopped broadcasting, experts warn that they remain partisan and have failed to boost media plurality.
In July 2019, Rustavi 2’s ownership was passed to its former owner businessman Kibar Khalvashi, who insisted that the station had been seized from him by former president Mikheil Saakashvilis’s government. A five-year dispute over the ownership of Rustavi 2 was concluded after the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) also upheld this decision.
Nonetheless, it was widely believed in Georgia that the case was politically motivated and that the government wished to get rid of its leading critical media.
Both new stations – Matvari TV and Formula TV - employ former Rustavi 2 journalists and are funded by businessmen who oppose the current government or are linked to the previous administration.
Nika Gvaramia, the former director of Rustavi 2, now runs Mtavari and himself owns 51 per cent of the station. Gvaramia had held senior positions in Saakashvili’s government, including minister of justice and of education, before being appointed Rustavi 2 director in 2012, soon after the Georgian Dream election win.
One of Formula TV’s owners is Davit Kezerashvili, a former minister of defence during Saakashvili’s government."
https://iwpr.net/global-voices/georgias-polarised-media-landscape
A poster shared this some time ago which also discusses the media -
https://freedomhouse.org/country/georgia/freedom-world/2020
It's all very well doing these interviews; and Zaza did seem remarkably relaxed, but are the voting Georgian population seeing them? The population of Georgia is over 3.7m. How many will have watched the interview on the TV; presumably the channel is a minority one. There are 4,300 views on YouTube. Most of those are probably RR ;), but, joking aside, the concern is what the penetration (and so effectiveness) of these interviews is. It would be good to get a measured view of someone who knows Georgian media.
GLA
Thanks Looed. Very interesting, DA was a bit fond of his own voice but seemed to strike a chord with a very relaxed Zaza. I really hope this type of media exposure gets right up Ivanishvili's nose.
As RR would say " Go Zaza, may the force be with you."
Thanks Looed. Yes, DA was certainly on something when he hosted that show lol. The fight goes on.
Pt.7 (and final part)
DA - After Gakharia, hold a rally in front of the Ministry of Revenue. This is not right. Do not treat Americans like that. Thanks, Zaza. You are decent and patriotic about your initiative and your work. Gas and oil fields are really there. I dare to tell the Ministry of Economy to shut up. You will end badly. I am glad, Zaza, that you are my guest. do not be afraid. Georgians are always on the side of ones who are oppressed. I think we are doing the right thing. No one around us should be oppressed. I am glad that you are my guest and I am sure you will not be oppressed in the coming days. I recommend informing the US Ambassador what time you are going to hold a rally near Gakharia's residence (laughing). Let's hold one democratic rally. Glad you are my guest and thank you for visiting us. Mr. Zaza Mamulaishvili was our guest.
Zaza - Thank you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jog4Vzicue8
Pt.6
DA - This is good for Georgia. Do not always think about your pocket. This is salvation for us. Tariff will be reduced. Gas is very cheap in Azerbaijan, it is 2 times more expensive with us if I am not mistaken.
Zaza - Georgia is the only country in the world whose government claims that there is no gas or oil reserves in Georgia, despite the fact that we have made about half billion investment and have an approval of 2 independent American companies about the gas and old reserves in Georgia. There is no such phenomenon in any other country.
DA - Our government is lying, Mr. Zaza. I know this and believe me for God`s sake. Exploration works should to be carried out in Poti as well. I would start in your place.
Zaza - Here, you mentioned Poti and I will add it as well. Just a few weeks ago, before we talked about Gazprom and Russia-Georgia relations, the Georgian government decided to give a gas exploration license to a company, 80% of which is related to Gazprom, and which is on the list of US sanctions, because of North Stream 2 pipeline. Here, in the whole world they chose exactly that company? Is this a coincidence? They selected the company that is under American sanctions and 80% of its business is related to Gazprom.
DA - I think they are going to carry out search operations in Ochamchire district as well. Something is unclear. Ms. Turnava, I thought you were Megrelian, it turns out you were from Guria. By the way, is this true what Mr. Zaza is saying?
Zaza - If she is frm Guria, then I change my position.(laughing)
DA - Are you from Guria?
Zaza - Yes
DA - Ok, then let`s blame Gakharia for this (laughing). Tell us. Is this true what this man is talking about? Are you crazy? You are playing with fire.
Zaza - We had to include Ms. Tikaradze in this case.
DA - I'm glad you are my guest, Mr. Zaza. You have a clear position and as a professional you fight heroically for your “Frontera”. I recommend you to organize a rally near Gakharia's house. I will gladly hold the flag and stand beside you. Because it can not be unjustly converted. What kind of behavior is this that you can not pay the employees?
Zaza - Hundreds of people were left unemployed on the streets. Those people have no income and how should they live? They depended on our project and its revenue.
Pt.5
Zaza - And it has an impact because it gives you gas. We have no other choice, Russia is a better choice. Therefore, the government of Azerbaijan is well aware of this. They manage their business very smartly, based on their interest. We do not manage our business wisely in our interest, otherwise they manage perfectly. For them Georgia is the place where they can sell low-quality fuel. And, because of this they have enormous political influence. Naturally, Georgia's energy independence is not in the interest of Azerbaijan, nor is it in the interest of Russia, nor is it in the interest of Iran. Because Iran also has a long-standing interest in getting its gas into Georgia and ...
DA - Their gas is expensive, Zaza. You know, and so do I. $ 310 costs 1000 cubic meters. I think that, by the way, the caloric content of this Azerbaijani gas is also low. If you have done research, what is the calorific value of gas?
Zaza - Our gas, which we get today, is much more caloric than the gas of Azerbaijan.
DA - Is it 85?
Zaza - Yes, it`s more.
DA - Really? Do not drive me crazy. The one which we import is 74 or 76.
Zaza - One of the reasons for this is that some components, such as plows and propane, are eliminated and reduced in calories. They clean it by selling it separately. But our gas, geologically speaking, Mr. David, if we go to the Caspian Sea, the same sediment, these rocks there are deeper than 6500 meters and then rise with us at about 4000-5000 meters. And, Mr. David, you can not distinguish, the quality is so similar to each other.
DA - And, by the way, it was even in the 70s that it was said that very high octane gasoline would come out and there was very little sulfur. That was the most important thing.
Zaza - Yes, it does not have bad impurities at all. And, interesting what do you know? Because it is in the Caspian Sea at a depth of 6500 meters, it has about 200-300 meters of water on top. Our gas will always be more profitable economically. Because drilling depth of shallower wells is much lower. And, it will be much cheaper to supply this gas to Europe than to the Azerbaijanis. It's something of a vicious circle. As if everyone needs but no one wants. Because we, for example, thought that as soon as we had the result everyone would be happy in power, all the conditions would be created for us to increase gas production. But the opposite story turned out.
Pt.4
DA - Zaza, you are an amazingly interesting person. You can easily outtalk a lot of Political scientists. We can recall form the past some cases when Denikin burned us with horns and then returned us Sochi. There was a discussion about Sochi and we got in the end. I think that the same thing will happen to Mr. Putin. By the way, I have been talking with Ms. Khatuna for about 10 minutes about Gagra. How old are you, Zaza?
Zaza - I was born in 1964.
DA - Wow, that`s great. I know village Kolkhida very well. I rode a bike there a lot. Turns out that Khatuna was from the same village. I said to her that the Russian will have to return it to us. You were with me, if I am not mistaken, 2 months ago and you then said that, in fact, you have created something like a map and you have calculated large reserves of gas. Now, it does not really suit Russia we have a gas. The same story is for Azerbaijan. We import about 2 billion from Azerbaijan if I am not mistaken, and in case we discover the gas reserves, they will be in tough situation. This is why it`s important for us and it`s time for us to have our own gas reserves. Let`s build the gas turbines and our winter will be secured. We have a big deficit and buy it from Russia in high prices.
Zaza - Now, you touch on something that is very important. There is a 2018 World Bank study of 2016 and 2018, which was done for the Georgian government, where it is directly and unequivocally stated that instead of building large hydropower plants in Georgia, it is more profitable, safer to build gas turbines. Therefore, in one case, if it costs 8-9 tetris for electricity in case of kw/h of gas at today's prices, in the case of these large hydropower plants it will be 20 tetri. Therefore, the country must go in a completely different direction.
DA - Why don’t you make it? If you extract about 500 million it will be relief for the country.
Zaza - Here is the answer, part of the answer is in the July 27 letter sent by the Americans to Pompeo, where they say that there is a fact of alleged corruption in power. That's exactly why.
DA - Or they want to get rid of you and sell the gas themselves.
Zaza - Azerbaijan has a huge political influence on us today.
DA - I'm surprised and they should not have such an influence on us.
Pt.3
Zaza -How can a doctor do his job in these conditions? This is very hard and responsible work. The doctor should not have to worry about his income because they have very stresful profession and need to worry about the health tof their patients. This should be done by the government to ensure that the economy works, companies invest in the country, jobs are created, money goes to the state treasury, then doctors, teachers, schools and higher education are funded so that the most talented young people we have can get a good education and to live with dignity. It will not turn out differently. No one can invent this new system. But unfortunately, all the energy is directed to how a person maintains power, no matter what chair he sits on. By the way, one of the most important things Americans have done is to legislate that you should not hold the chair for more than 8 years. Everyone is used to it and knows that when they come, they have to go.
DA - 4 years is no enough for them. They want it forever. See today, Zaza, what they did in Belarus? Did you hear that Wagner's people were arrested? Elections are there and Russia has deployed troops. They are crazy.
Zaza - They are in a very difficult situation, Mr. David. As you mentioned, it is really tied to our story, to Georgia's energy independence, and to the United States. You mentioned it before. We have a very big reason for optimism and now I will tell you why. As never before, Russia's economic reality has changed. Gazprom had a market capitalization of $ 380 billion in 2007 and was projected to reach $ 1 trillion by 2020. Now it is 50. Already the issue is such that a person does not know if he will go bankrupt at all. This means that Gazprom, which had a huge financial resource - the whole of Europe depended on its gas and paid the country's money for it. Already revenues have declined, costs have increased. After the next 5-10 years, the prospect that oil will again become $ 175 a barrel and gas another $ 500 per cubic meter it will no longer be. There is no such prediction. And, at the same time, what started it? American gas has entered Europe, while Western European countries are already consuming it, the Baltic countries have fled altogether, they are already on American gas. But what is the main thing? Russia has already changed everything. One thing is for sure. When did Russia always make concessions? When did the Baltic states join NATO? When Russia had no money. When did he leave Afghanistan? When the money ran out and it was very tight. When did the Soviet Union disintegrate? When they ran out of money and did not have it. When the money runs out you have to go to either Western Europe or America to borrow money. That's where it all begins. They will have to make some concessions in exchange for cash loans, and if we act wisely in the next 5-10 years our reality in relation to the lost and occupied territories can change very drastically.
Pt.2
DA (contd) - There was a very good girl there, her name was Sophie. She showed the compassion and made her to write the application and after paying 10 GEL the driving license was still active for her. If you can do such things, get rid of it all. Why should the post office send your fines? It's supposed to be nothing, but it's something. This is not right. The state must motivate the people towards harmonization. This is unconstitutional. Zaza, we say a lot of things that no one should get used to. I understand Azerbaijan is 100-150 years behind. We are individualists. With us, personal freedom and self-respect is not an ordinary but a superior feeling. People should not be treated like that. Especially since you are an American investor. You, as a citizen, and not the director of an American company, don`t you think that something is not working as it should be working?
Zaza -Of course. Now, the example that you gave, it happens to everyone, to me, to you, it`s very typical. But do you know the main problem? Our government is not thing about creating the evnronment for its citizens, where they will be living happily. Everyone has the right to be happy and to strive for it. The government also exists because it has to help people in this. Now, this is one part of what you said, but ...
DA - For a second, I remembered something good. I'm so sorry. Here, I want to tell the patrol workers. Me and my producer were sitting and watching some American documentary film which was aired in 1934. This American himself was so eager to say what interesting rules they have in Italy. In Milan there was established the day of the patrol officer and anybody who considers someone as a good police officer, they make gifts for them. 2 Policemen won the prizes – one got 160 gifts and another got 180. Maybe we could come up with the same idea somehow. Something needs to be changed, Mr. Zaza. We are the same age and do you like this? I don’t like it at all.
Zaza - How can a person like this? This is when a person does not have the opportunity to work with dignity and have a decent income. When young people do not have the opportunity to get a decent and good education and then build their careers so that they have a decent income. When everyone has a fear of the future ...
DA - [Speaking about some irrelevant things] Is this an education? It is the shame. What university did you graduate from?
Zaza - Medical university
DA - Really? In my early ages, there was Ilia Vekua, Dato hkhikvishvili. This is not right. Generally, education is stuck in the swamp. Nor do they pay attention. Doctors have 400-500 GEL, they do not even have a salary of 200 $. What kind of life is this?
WARNING!!!! - this is what our translator says about the interviewer - "The interviews of this journalist are total mess. He is talking about one thing, then suddenly continues talking about another, then third and then returns to the initial topic. Besides, he does not always finish the sentences, he starts the second sentence in the middle of the first sentence, while I am struggling to connect these two sentences with each other. That`s crazy!!"
I started out trying to cut and paste the irrelevant bits but had to give up. With that, here's Pt.1
Davit Akubardia (DA) - So, people, Mr. Zaza Mamualishvili is the General Director of Frontera. Mr. Zaza does not receive a salary like me and many employees depend, so to speak, on the humanitarian assistance of relatives. You are not right. Why did you impose the seizure on Mr. Zaza? I really do not understand. You are not normal, otherwise how can you? This is a foreign firm. You are officially imposing a seasure. I am not talking about the 25-30 million that you have to return. Why do you seize it? By the way something very interesting happened. I received a lot of fines. It turns out that the mail did not work during the corona virus. I dare say this now, I was also telling the previous minister not to do this nonsense. Are you a driver? I am a driver, I am driving for a long time, I have never had an accident and I have not had a quarrel with anyone. Believe me, I am a normal, ordinary driver. During this coronavirus, there was a lot of nonsense that they did. By the way, I had several American citizens here, Georgians, from Imereti. There were very good boys, truck drivers. They said that if you cross the whole America you won’t encounter so many cameras than you have here. This camera fine was previously brought by the patrol officer. The patrol police officers themselves told me that the Ministry of Internal Affairs had signed a contract with the post office. This Georgian Post is an incomprehensible organization. Looks like they are close relative to Bidzina. Patrol fines are distributed by mail. This is not right. Today I was in the patrol police, begging. Very good people work there. I said that I will give you my phone and as soon as the camera fixes me, send me an SMS about it. Today I went to find out this story and saw the wonders. Ms. Khatuna Khurtsilava was there, she was a very good woman. She has not received the fine of 10 GEL. This fine was accumulated and the patrol confiscated the car, terminating the right to drive the car for 6 months. She did not know about this. In a words, I witnessed the fact that this woman was explaining to these policemen that she had not received anything.