Owners of GAA and Georgian Manganese disseminate their statement on appointment of a special manager in the company.
Representatives of the company claim that thousands of jobs in Georgia are jeopardized as well as the rule of law is. Moreover, owners of the company state that their urge towards cooperation with the government has been undermined.
“Our company is the largest employer in the country and, until recently, we had positive relations with the government of Georgia. Since the day of its foundation, Georgian Manganese has invested hundreds of millions of dollars and created thousands of jobs in Georgia.
Regrettably, taking into consideration the latest developments, this urge towards cooperation with the government has been undermined and we have become victims of decisions, which are incompliant with the principles of the legislation of Georgia, international law and international business society. Thousands of jobs in Georgia are at risk, as is the rule of law, international reputation of Georgia and row material supply of USA for still production, which is extremely important for the national security of USA. We hope that we will be able to cooperate with the government of Georgia in order to find solutions for this stalemate, so that Georgian Manganese can quickly and effectively complete its works”, – is said in the statement.
Georgian American Alloys (GAA) is an American company, which is the 100% owner of the Georgian affiliated company Georgian Manganese (GM). Georgian Manganese is the biggest private enterprise in Georgia, with 5500 employees. Georgian Manganese has invested hundreds of millions of dollars for capital expenditures and modernization of infrastructure of the enterprise.
On the 11th of May, the Ministry of Environment and Nature Protection of Georgia appointed a special manager to Georgian Manganese. At the Ministry, we were told that the company was still performing with grave violations of environmental legislation. The company had been fined 160 mln USD, which fine was appealed against in the court. Moreover, a few years ago, Georgian Manganese applied to the government of Georgia for a permission to make a 25 mln USD investment in construction of a new ore-dressing and processing plant in Chiatura, which would allow to fully avoid environmental damage. However, according to the representatives of the company, for several years the government deliberately blocked this investment project initiated by the company, preferring to further take the advantage of the violations and impose unfair fines.
