TBILISI, DFWatch–Transparency International Georgia has raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest involving a local mayor and a series of state contracts worth over 7 million GEL (about 2.3 million USD).
The contracts were awarded to a company owned by the father of the mayor’s former business partner and close friend. The company in question, Apho Ltd., is the leading recipient of public procurement deals from the municipality of Senaki, a town in western Georgia.
Since 2021, under the mayoral tenure of Vakhtang Gadelia, Apho has won 20 tenders and 14 direct (non-competitive) contracts from Senaki City Hall, totaling more than 7 million GEL.
TI Georgia notes that Gadelia and Giorgi Afaqidze, the son of Apho’s owner, previously co-owned a construction company. Although Gadelia officially relinquished his stake in 2019, Afaqidze has continued to win public tenders through both Apho and another company he owns, which supplies window blinds to public agencies.
In several of Apho’s tender wins, there were either no competitors or rival bidders were disqualified. Afaqidze has also made political donations to the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party, contributing 60,000 GEL in 2020.
TI Georgia, a frequent critic of the GD government, has called for the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Prosecutor’s Office to examine whether any of the procurement deals involved undue influence or signs of corruption.
