GD Cabinet Meets After Summer Break as Kobakhidze Touts Progress on Economy, Crime
After a three-month summer break, Georgian Dream ministers reconvened on Monday, as their head, GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, announced a large cash prize for the national basketball team for its latest victory and touted progress on all fronts of governance, including the ruling party’s declared fight against drugs, illegal foreigners, organized crime, and corruption, among others.
The September 8 cabinet meeting came a day after Georgia’s national basketball team defeated France to advance to the EuroBasket quarterfinals. Kobakhidze described the win as “historic” and announced a GEL 3 million (about USD 1.1 million) prize for the national team, promising the same cash reward for each future game they may win in the competition.
Economy, Civil Service ‘Optimization’
Regarding economic growth, Kobakhidze cited the official 8% GDP growth rate in January–July, saying the figure is “the highest not only in the wider region, but also at the European level.” Citing the International Monetary Fund’s upgraded forecast of 7.2% growth for Georgia, Kobakhidze said he expects the country to outpace the projection “with the existing rate.” He also praised the lari’s strength against the dollar and noted that the National Bank had replenished foreign reserves by more than USD 1.3 billion between March and July, which he described as a “record-breaking figure.”
Speaking on government savings, Irakli Kobakhidze touched on the recent reorganization of ministries, including foreign affairs and defense, where civil servants were dismissed in what is widely seen as politically motivated purges by the ruling party targeting its critics. GD Prime Minister spoke about the so-called reorganizations in terms of fiscal efficiency, noting that they saved more than GEL 2 million at the Foreign Ministry and more than GEL 6 million at the Defense Ministry, calling the results “impressive.”
“Not only will all this [reorganization] not weaken the relevant ministries,” Kobakhidze said, “but on the contrary, this optimization will support them in further improving the quality of their efficiency.”
Drugs, Organized Crime, Illegal Migration, Corruption
Kobakhidze also addressed public safety, citing statistics on drug-related and organized crime, the expulsion of foreign citizens, and corruption, areas where the GD has declared an “uncompromising” fight. He praised the Interior Ministry for its “very effective” work over the past few months.
Regarding drugs, Kobakhidze said 156 people were charged with trafficking in the past three months and 226 were arrested for possession, adding that “drug availability has fallen eightfold.”
“We had alarming tendencies in drug consumption and distribution,” Kobakhidze said, “And we needed to take decisive measures to curb those tendencies.” He promised the fight against drugs would remain one of GD’s “top priorities.”
According to him, 57 people were charged in the past three months for ties to the so-called “Thieves’ World” criminal network, compared with “only two” prosecuted in the same period last year.
As for illegal gun possession and carrying, he said 384 cases were recorded in the past three months. “This, too, was an absolutely wrong practice,” he said. “To use the jargon, everything was let slide.”
Kobakhidze then turned to illegal migration, noting that in the past three months the Interior Ministry expelled “almost as many migrants as in the entire previous year.”
“As for the overall crime situation, the trend of declining crime continues,” he said, claiming a 30 percent decline in fraud, a 17 percent fall in robbery, and a 34 percent reduction in extortion.
Kobakhidze said the crime clearance rate stands at 63 percent, which he said is “one of the highest in Europe.”
Thanking law enforcement for their “heroism” and “patriotism,” Kobakhidze extended special gratitude to Interior Minister Geka Geladze and announced that the GD-elected president, Mikheil Kavelashvili, would award him and his first deputy the rank of police major general.
Also Read:
- 22/08/2025 – MIA: Over 1,400 Arrested in Two Months on Drug Charges
- 16/07/2025 – Kobakhidze Claims ‘Corrupt’ Ex-GD Members Feed Information to Opposition
- 03/07/2025 – GD Bans Drug Replacement Therapy, Psychotropic Imports for Private Sector
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