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Tbilisi TV-Tower Sold at 110 000 GEL

August 2, 2011

Eka Kevanishvili, Radio “Liberty”

Only one buyer participated in the online auction, where the new manager of the Tbilisi TV-Tower was to be declared. The name of the buyer is not known yet though the company has already paid initial requested bid 10 000 GEL on July 22 and fixed 110 000 GEL for the purchase of the property.The company did not have a rival on the last day of the auction – August 1 either and got hold of 100% of the state property owned by Alfa-Com, Ltd for 4-year-long management.

The property on the online auction was represented as Upper Plateau of Punikoliuri, Tbilisi; it unifies Tbilisi TV-Tower and several entities attached to the TV-Tower throughout Georgia and everything was sold for 110 000 GEL.

On August 1, an hour before the online auction finished, representatives of media, non-governmental organizations and opposition political parties protested the sale of the TV-Tower in front of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development again; their slogan was Stop Vera! –the addressee of their slogan was the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Vera Kobalia. Kobalia’s institution has not replied to the official letter of the Coalition “Media for Advocacy” where the civil society requested to stop the online auction and to launch public discussion about the sale of the Tbilisi TV-Tower. Lawyer Natia Kapanadze from the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association asked the questions in the name of the Coalition member organizations which are most interesting for the society:

1. Detailed description of the Alfa-Com’s property which will be put on the auction for future management.
2. the reasons for assigning the “Alfa-Com” to other company for management;
3. Will the current conditions for the access to technical infrastructure of the Alfa Com be changed? What about tariff conditions?
4. The desirable outcome, which is planned after assigning the Alfa Com to different company for management;
5. Description of the desirable buyer which will be most acceptable for the maintenance of the Alfa-Com’s activity profile;
6. Detailed description of the financial obligations of the future buyer;
7. Reasonable time for the implementation of the online auction’s requirements.

On August 1, the newly established parliamentary fraction “Unity for Justice” hold a special session about the sale of the Tbilisi TV-Tower but their request to invite either the minister of economy or any other high-ranking official of the same ministry was not responded from the ministry at all. So, the Fraction members expressed only their assumptions and did not hear any counter-arguments. The Fraction member Petre Mamradze said he believes that by selling the TV-Tower the government continues the oppression on media.

“The regime is getting hold of the management of broadcasting and it is noteworthy that they do not give anything to any favorite company but directly appoints the manager like it happened in case of the TV-Company “Imedi” and its director Giorgi Arveladze who previously was the head of President’s Administration, minister and always implemented orders of the president. The same will happen now; a person will appear in this field who will implement the orders about increase of tariff or other instructions without any hesitation. If anybody protests it, the government will justify itself and state that cannot interfere in the activities of private company.”

When speaking about the dangers related with the sale of the TV-Tower, media representatives underscore those mechanisms which might got in the hands of a new manager and the increased tariff is not the only danger in it. Head of the TV-Company Kavkasia Nino Jangirashvili, who tried to participate in the auction – though she alleges that nobody provided her with the information about auction conditions and the lot –, said it is corruptive deal which will have a very logic finish.

“I will tell you what will happen in near future: this company, who will be a new manager of the TV-Tower, will make a multiplex and tell us why we need our programs and frequencies while there is a company which already has a multiplex and we should hire from it … The law will be easily get suitable for the reality and this reality will be very hard and we will have no other way but accept all their conditions. We will no longer have frequencies, we will have to hire this multiplex from the company owned by Saakashvili’s friends and it will continue for dozens years. So, in addition to the oppression on free media, they also plan to get hold of the property with the income of several millions.”

Hereby, I would like to note what property we are talking about. As the public knows, the Ltd. Alfa Com (former TV Radio Center) managed 36 TV masts throughout whole country including the one located in Tbilisi funicular. Through these masts, the TV, radio, telephone and other communication signals have been transferred and served more than 30 radio and 16 TV companies.

Alfa Com will be transferred under the term of four-year management right. The investment money would be 12 million dollars. According to the Ministry of Economics, the debtor arrear of Alfa Com is 6 988 202 GEL, the creditor – 2 917 158. 59 GEL.

As for the possible increase of the tariff by the new manager, Nino Jangirashvili states:

“I am sure new company will reconsider the tariffs. The obligation that a TV Radio Center had will not pass onto the new owner – any lawyer can confirm this – and another thing is that even if the condition that the tariff must be expense oriented remains, we cannot control the expenses of private companies. They can say that their expenses are high and therefore they need to increase the tariff.”

The head of the TV Company Caucasia plans to submit complaint against the outcomes of the auction to the court in the nearest future.

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