Saakashvili is trying to demonstrate that a minister is a professional politician
The Georgian Minister of Economics, Vera Kobalia, is one of the most interesting figures in the government of Mikhail Saakashvili. Born in 1981 in Sukhumi, Veronika Kobalia was expelled from Abkhazia with her family and fled to Canada. In 2004 she graduated from the University of British Columbia from the department of business administration and informatics.
Mikhail Saakashvili explained his decision to appoint the 29-year-old businesswoman Minister of Economics: "Hundreds of thousands of refugees from Abkhazia should be aware that expulsion from their native land does not end their lives - they have a chance to achieve great things in this new life, to be happy and successful." However, the decision of Saakashvili has been heavily criticized in Georgia and Kobalia is considered by many as incompetent.
The disappointment with Kobalia is not surprising. The “open sky” policy for foreign airlines initiated by Kobalia opened new investment opportunities for low-cost airlines. Naturally, the Georgian people chose in favour of lower prices, leaving domestic airlines without profit and unsatisfied with the actions of the new Minister of Economics. And this is just one of many examples of her successful policy.
In previous years, the same position was occupied by people with several decades' work experience. However, the average salary amounted to $20 per month and pensions to $7, while the local economy depended on the power of oligarchs. The new 29-year-old minister has managed to increase the budget from $500 million to $4million and pushed the country into the world's top corruption-fighting countries.
George Kalatozishvili, Tbilisi. Exclusively for VK.
