Opposition criticizes Economy Minister’s speech in Parliament

Lawmakers from the opposition party European Georgia slammed Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Giorgi Kobulia for his speech at the sitting of Committee on Sector Economy and Economic Policy on Wednesday.

The opposition lawmakers believe that the economic priorities of Kobulia are not realistic and cannot contribute to the country’s speedy development.

The main priority named by Kobulia was the reduction of poverty by creating new jobs. He noted that the unemployment rate slowly reduces in Georgia but is still high and remains as the main reason for poverty.

“Around 50-70 thousand jobs should be created annually including 2025 in order to reduce unemployment and eliminate poverty,” he explained.

Kobulia also spoke about the development of export potential, adding it needs to be increased.

“If we do not develop export potential, Georgia's economy will have serious problems,” he noted.

The minister also called newly launched pension system a “very unprecedented and very useful reform,” saying the money from pension fund would be invested in “reliable securities.”

"Such pension system does not exist anywhere. In many countries, the state does not pay an additional 2% in the pension fund and the money is only paid by the employer. We went further and the state adds 2% to all the population’s pension funds,” he said.

European Georgia member Otar Kakhidze criticized the pension reform, said that investment of people’s money in securities is risky. He explained that many developed countries lost pension fund money when they tried to invest it.

“Your government cannot maintain a normal pace of economic development and it could not solve the poverty problem either. How can we be sure that you will invest our money rationally?” Kakhidze addressed Kobulia.

European Georgia member Giga Bokeria criticized the minister for his statement that Georgia will accelerate its development pace.

“I think that even in 100 years we won't reach the level of the European Countries. The fact that Georgia leads other countries of the region is not satisfactory. We need to keep up with the developed and wealthy countries,” the MP stressed.

However, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) MP, Gia Zhorzholiani noted that the priorities, listed by the Economy Minister were good and clear.

“The goals and priorities of the ministry are clear. They cover various directions like jobs, export and investments based on innovations and technology,” he added.