Georgian PM says says ruling party Honorary Chair Bidzina Ivanishvili gave clear direction on tackling corruption

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze on Monday said that it took his government team a year and five months to address what he described as fundamental problems within the governance system, following an instruction from Georgian Dream Honorary Chair Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze said Bidzina Ivanishvili had made a key reference to corruption at a Georgian Dream party congress, which he said the government subsequently treated as a major priority.

“After I took office as Prime Minister, there was a very clear indication from Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili regarding corruption. It took me, together with the team and under Bidzina Ivanishvili’s leadership, a year and five months to eliminate the problems related to the governance system”, Kobakhidze said.

He added that the team had worked to address accumulated problems and ultimately “completely rid the system” of what he described as fundamental shortcomings.

“I will not make any further comment on this. Everyone should take care of their own problems. We identified specific problems, and it took me a year and five months to eliminate the fundamental problems that existed in the governance system”, the PM said.

According to Kobakhidze, Ivanishvili’s remarks at the party congress served as a clear political directive for the ruling team.

“The team did this, and there was a directive from Bidzina Ivanishvili in this regard, a direct indication at the party congress. We took it as the main line and followed that line through to the end. Within a year and five months, we managed to completely cleanse the system of the problems that had accumulated”, he said.

Kobakhidze also stressed that the resources available to a government leader differ from those available to a parliamentarian, noting that even from the position of Prime Minister, addressing the issues had taken considerable time.

“When you are in parliament, you have one set of resources, and when you directly manage the system, you have another. Even while serving as head of government, it took our team a year and five months, under Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili’s direction, to completely free the system from fundamental problems”, Kobakhidze noted.

He emphasised Ivanishvili’s role in identifying corruption as a key issue, noting that the party congress had taken place about a month before his appointment as prime minister.

“I emphasise who was the author of the main indication. Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili spoke at the party congress and made one of the most important indications, which was related to corruption. One month later, I took office as Prime Minister, and under Bidzina Ivanishvili’s leadership, the team managed to fundamentally rid the system of the problems that had accumulated”, Kobakhidze said.

He concluded that even at the highest level of government, it had taken a year and five months to address the problems and bring about what he described as a complete cleanup of the system.