Parliamentary Committee to Hear Govt Ministers on Economy

Ministers in economy-related portfolios will appear before a parliamentary committee on Thursday afternoon to brief lawmakers about government’s plans amid depreciating currency and economic slowdown.

They, however, like MPs from the Georgian Dream ruling coalition, are not expected to show up at a special parliamentary session, convened for March 13 by President Giorgi Margvelashvili upon the request from opposition UNM and Free Democrats parties to discuss economic situation.

When late last month UNM first asked the President to hold the special session of the parliament, the request was declined; President Margvelashvili cited the need to give the government more time at least till March 5 to present its detailed plan. The session, as envisaged by the law, was anyway convened on February 28, but not held because of lack of quorum as lawmakers from the GD parliamentary majority boycotted it. After a failure to hold special session, UNM announced about protest rally in Tbilisi center for March 21 to demand government’s resignation. After president’s office said last week that the government failed to meet its deadline of March 5 to present a detailed plan, Margvelashvili accepted UNM’s request and convened parliament’s special session for March 13.
 
Echoing government and GD ruling coalition MPs’ negative stance towards holding of an extraordinary parliamentary session, parliament speaker Davit Usupashvili said at a news conference on March 11 that the opposition wants to create sense of “emergency” and “alarm” by insisting on holding of parliament special session.

“It is obvious that their [referring to opposition] goal is not a discussion of the proposed topic itself, but discussing it in an extraordinary, emergency and alarming mode; to secure president’s involvement in the discussion of this issue and to saturate media space as much as possible with debates on this issue,” Usupashvili said.

Citing various formalities, Usupashvili also said that wording of President’s decree on convening special session of the parliament, was making it unclear how procedurally discussions should take place. He also said that the right to convene extraordinary parliamentary session should not be misused. 

Usupashvili also said that Parliament chamber in Kutaisi will be ready to host a special session on March 13, but no one should be surprised if GD lawmakers do not appear.

“Holding of a special session is a legal-political mechanism and parliament members also make political decision by whether attending or not this session,” he said.  

Usupashvili said that the opposition has the right to misuse its right of requesting special parliamentary session.

“They even have the right to resort to destructive actions in frames of the law… But at the same time they should not be surprised if the parliamentary majority takes a right decision and will not get itself dragged into this pointless noise, which is the most damaging for currency and economy,” Usupashvili said.

Referring to planned parliamentary committee meeting with the participation of government members, Usupashvili said that the GD is ready to discuss economic situation “in a business-like mode.”

“But we will not yield to attempts by our political opponents to create this mode of emergency,” he said.

Parliamentary committee on economic policy will hold its session in the Parliament building in Tbilisi on Thursday. Although UNM lawmakers boycott committee meetings in Tbilisi because of their protest in partial relocation of Parliament from Kutaisi to Tbilisi, they said that they will be present at the session on March 13.

UNM and Free Democrats have slammed Usupashvili for his opposition to holding of parliament’s special session.

Davit Bakradze, leader of UNM parliamentary minority group, said that Usupashvili tried to justify “irresponsible” decision of government and GD lawmakers to snub the special session.

“I want to call on the authorities and the government to show responsibility, to come to the session and we promise that we are ready to listen in a very business-like, calm and constructive atmosphere, whether the government has any plan to help the country out of the crisis,” MP Davit Bakradze said, adding that “panic” is sown not by debates, but by “hiding from, running away and turning one’s back to the public.” 

MP Nino Goguadze of opposition Free Democrats party said that regrettably Davit Usupashvili, who “still remains a person, who is capable of defending Parliament, as of an independent institution, regrettably presented himself today as a member of the parliamentary majority group and not as chairman of the parliament.”