Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, when asked where former Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili is now and whether he has had any communication with him, explained that he does not know where the former Prime Minister is now.
“I maybe had communication 2 weeks ago and then he went somewhere. How am I supposed to know [where he is]? I don’t know – this is the only answer I have,” the Prime Minister said.
In addition, according to Kobakhidze, starting from February, when he took up the position of the Prime Minister, “numerous personnel changes have been made at the level of ministers, deputy ministers and lower, which, among other things, served to insure corruption risks.”
According to the Prime Minister, the fight against corruption is not just about arresting someone.
“Since February, when I took office as Prime Minister, numerous personnel changes have been made in vulnerable areas. There have been many changes, both among ministers and deputy ministers and at lower levels. There have been personnel changes at various levels, which, among other things, served to insure against corruption risks. In addition, I would like to remind you once again that since February 8, all government decisions, all legal acts have been completely open and public. This is another important insurance measure that has been taken in the fight against corruption. The practice of direct sales has been completely eliminated. This was also an anti-corruption measure. Also, we have annual savings of 700 million in state-owned enterprises alone, railways, energy and others, not only through personnel optimization, but also through cost optimization,” the Prime Minister said.
According to Irakli Kobakhidze, in the process of fighting corruption, the government is following the very important statement that Bidzina Ivanishvili made 2 years ago.
“In all directions, we are not only fighting corruption, but also taking preventive measures. Among them, we are taking measures in personnel and in all directions, not only to investigate alleged actions committed in the past, but, first of all, to prevent corruption crimes from occurring today and tomorrow. We are doing everything for this. Bidzina Ivanishvili’s advice on combating corruption is extremely valuable to us, and we will be glad to receive advice in this direction in the future. We are not only investigating past crimes, but, first of all, we will ensure that corruption is not present in government structures, in the government system today and tomorrow. This is ensured by transparency, specific personnel decisions, specific reforms that have been implemented, not only in state enterprises, but directly in the system of ministries. All this, ultimately, ensures the achievement of our goal. The goal is very ambitious, it is not an easy goal, an ambitious goal – we want to be among the top three in Europe in terms of low corruption. This is a promise that the team makes to the Georgian society, and we will follow through on this promise,” Kobakhidze said.
Irakli Kobakhidze: I maybe had communication with Irakli Gharibashvili 2 weeks ago and then he went somewhere, how am I supposed to know where he is?
