GD Government Creates State Grant Agency Amid Controversial Legal Changes
The Georgian Dream government has established a new agency, the State Grant Management Agency, according to a decree signed by Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on April 15. The agency, classified as a Legal Entity of Public Law (LEPL), is tasked with distributing state-funded grants to civil society organizations.
On April 22, Kobakhidze appointed Tamar Zodelava as chairperson of the newly formed agency. Oversight of the agency falls directly under the government, and the prime minister holds the authority to appoint and dismiss its chairman, according to the decree. Prior to her appointment, Zodelava served as regional project manager for the German Society for International Cooperation, or GIZ. She was also a project advisor for the Council of Europe and a project manager for the Eastern Partnership Regional Fund for Public Administration Reform. From 2007 to 2015, current Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili also worked at GIZ as a group leader.
Changing Grant Environment
The development should be seen in the context of the government’s recent steps towards restricting grants from Western donors and replace them with state grants to desirable organizations. The creation of the State Grant Management Agency comes on the heels of controversial amendments passed by the GD Parliament on April 16 to the country’s Law on Grants. The changes, driven by the ruling Georgian Dream party and signed into law by GD-elected President Mikheil Kavelashvili, require foreign donors to obtain government approval before awarding grants to local organizations. The law took effect immediately.
Under the new legislation, donors must secure approval either from the government or a designated authority before disbursing funds. According to the law, receiving a grant without such consent is prohibited. Violations are punishable by fines amounting to double the value of the unauthorized grant.
Civil society groups have denounced the changes as part of a broader attempt by the Georgian Dream government to suppress dissent. NGO Representatives called the amendments “an act of persecution against the Georgian people,” accusing the government of “leaving citizens defenseless before the ruling party’s punitive system by banning international support and solidarity.”
In a recent development, pro-government propaganda mouthpieces, including Imedi and PosTV targeted the French Embassy’s decision to award a grant to the Soviet Past Research Laboratory (SovLab), a Georgian civil society organization that studies Georgia’s Soviet past, on April 15, just one day before the new grant law was enacted.
SovLab has a history of being subjected to attacks from the Georgian Dream government and GD officials, including GD parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili.
In a Facebook post, the Embassy said the organization had been selected as a winner of the Embassy’s 2025 civil society grant competition. The SovLab project aims to create new tourist routes in Gori and Kutaisi (two cities in Georgia) that explore Georgia’s Soviet-era history, highlighting resistance to totalitarian rule and democratic movements before Soviet occupation.
The grant drew criticism from Georgian Dream lawmakers, who pointed to the alleged political affiliations of the organization’s members, some of whom have ties to the opposition United National Movement. Lawmakers claimed such grants are being used for political purposes.
Also Read:
- 17/04/2025 – International Reactions to GD-Approved Law Requiring Executive Approval for Foreign Grants
- 15/04/2025 – Transparency International: Grant Law Amendments a Threat to Civil Society
- 07/04/2025 – Georgian Dream Speaker Slams UK Election Grant as Political Interference
- 20/02/2025 – GD Parliament Adopts Changes to the Law on Grants
- 19/10/2024 – SovLab Initiates Memorandum on Creation of Institute of National Memory of Georgia
- 17/01/2024 – SovLab Says Government Hinders Access to Soviet Archives
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