UNM opposition accuses Georgian Dream of planning mandatory car insurance as a “new corrupt tax”

United National Movement (UNM) governing council member Lasha Parulava has accused the Georgian Dream government of planning to introduce mandatory insurance for vehicle owners, calling it a “new corrupt tax” and alleging a deal between the insurance business and what he described as “banking oligarchy” linked to the ruling party.

“We were being told that prices would become cheaper, that the 86% share and markup would disappear. But what did we get? Prices did not decrease; instead, they increased by almost 40% from January to August,” Parulava said.

He added that instead of taking responsibility for what he described as the government’s failure, Georgian Dream and Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze were planning to impose another financial burden on vehicle owners through mandatory insurance.

“This is a corrupt agreement between the insurance business, sheltered by the banking oligarchy, and Georgian Dream, the cost of which will once again have to be paid by vehicle owners,” he said.

Parulava also compared the proposed mandatory insurance scheme with practices that existed in Georgia before the Rose Revolution, saying that “Shevardnadze’s insurance” was returning.

He called for the process to be halted and for the mandatory insurance bill to be removed from the government’s legislative agenda. He also criticized the current system of mandatory vehicle technical inspections, describing both measures as serving to “rob the people.”

Parulava said the UNM would abolish the mandatory insurance requirement at the first opportunity.

He also said the party would halve the excise tax on fuel in an effort to reduce fuel prices.