Environment Minister Resigns
Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, Elguja Khokrishvili, filed resignation on April 28 citing family reasons.
He is the second cabinet member to step down in a week; minister for regional development and infrastructure was replaced on April 21.
Khokrishvili’s resignation is the sixth change in the cabinet since the current government, led by PM Irakli Garibashvili, won parliament’s confidence vote in July, 2014.
Appointment of new environment minister, whom the PM has yet to name, will not require approval of the Parliament.
Confidence vote from the Parliament is only needed when one-third of 20-member cabinet is replaced, meaning that one more change in the current government will lead to its resignation.
Announcing about his resignation, Khokrishvili said in a written statement that it was an honor for him to be part of a team, which made “fundamental changes” and although “achieving of desirable goals still requires lot of work and effort” it’s now “important for me to be with my family, which lives abroad.”