Ex-minister of Economy is ready to inform MPs about his activities

Former Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Giorgi Kobulia, who was dismissed in mid-April, expressed readiness to report about his activities during his term to the parliament.

Kobulia stressed that the main reasons of his dismissal were “poor management” and “slow pace of making decisions”, however, he says if the legislators are interested, he can go to the parliament and report them about the activities which, as he believes, were beneficial for the country.

“If anyone is interested in what I did as a minister, I am ready to present the report, for example, to the parliament. If they are not interested in, I do not ask anything from anyone,” the ex-minister said.

Last week, Kobulia said he was asked to write a statement of resignation and he refused, after which he was dismissed.

He noted that from the beginning he could feel the difference of the views between him and the executive team and he was trying till the end to convince the authorities somehow that his views were beneficial for the country, but he failed to do so.

Roman Kakulia, chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Sector Economy and Economic Policy, says that it is a good idea to listen to Kobulia.

“When Kobulia last time presented his report to the parliament, he had his vision, and he was following it. If he has anything new to say, there is nothing bad about it. He has such a right,” Kakulia told reporters.

However, opposition party European Georgia believes the developments around Kobulia are “comical.”

Party member Gigi Ugulava says the situation reminded him of the French film "The Toy" and compared character billionaire Blenac to the founder and chair of the ruling party Georgian Dream (GD) Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is referred as the informal ruler of the country quite often.

“No one will remember about Kobulia soon; the main problem is Ivanishvili who rules the country and has “puppets.” The only way to get rid of this person is elections,” Ugulava stressed.

Analyst Ramaz Sakvarelidze says when the views of the minister and the Prime Minister do not match the minister quits not the PM, adding dismissed people often make similar statements that Kobulia did.

The expert says the similar situation was when ex-PM Giorgi Kvirikashvili quit last summer, who also named the difference in the views as the main reason for his resignation.

“I think that in case of Kobulia, there were some other reasons too, which led to his dismissal,” Sakvarelidze noted.

Kobulia served as the minister from July 12, 2018, to April 18, 2019.