Minister of Finance refuses invitation to attend parliamentary sitting
By Nika Gamtsemlidze
Wednesday, February 26
Minister of Finance of Georgia Ivane Machavariani did not attend the sitting of the Parliamentary Committee on Sector Economy and Economic Policy.
Committee chairman Roman Kakulia informed colleagues, including members of the faction Independent MPs who had questions with the minister, that he had again communicated with the minister in the morning and tried to convince him that the decision should be made in favor of the regulations and he should have attended the committee meeting.
Levan Koberidze, deputy chairman of the faction Independent MPs. emphasized that the Finance Minister had once agreed to postpone the committee hearing. Koberidze said Machavariani cannot distinguish between the 'minister's hour' and the faction's summoning for a committee hearing.
Koberidze appealed to the majority of the Georgian Dream to raise the issue of political responsibility of both the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Health, as Ekaterine Tikaradze also refused to attend the committee hearing in February.
Georgia's Finance Minister Ivane Machavariani denies that he has avoided coming to parliament, saying he is among those cabinet members who have been in parliament the most.
According to Vano Machavariani, on February 20, at the plenary session of the Parliament in the format of Minister's Hour, he spoke about the topics, about which he was invited to talk about in the committee.
The finance minister suggests that some use Parliament's rules for other purposes: “It is a fact that it is not accountable. It's about arranging something and making the circus as many as they want.”
The Georgian Young Lawyers' Association (GYLA) believes that Finance Minister Ivane Machavariani has violated the constitution by not visiting the parliamentary committee, which can be the basis for his impeachment.
To start impeachment, support of at least 1/3 (50 members) of the full parliament is required. According to GYLA, the matter will be referred to the Constitutional Court, and if the court identifies a violation of the law, 76 votes will be required to dismiss the minister.
