The Office of the State Minister for Regional Policy will not be established within the Government of Georgia. The post of State Minister was intended for Mamuka Mdinaradze, but on August 27 he announced his departure from politics.
According to Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, the parliament will soon review legislative amendments planned for the structure of the Cabinet of Ministers. The government will withdraw the current bill to introduce substantial revisions. In particular, the new post of State Minister will not be created, and the ministries of regional development and infrastructure are highly likely to be merged.
The initial draft envisioned the abolition of the Office of the State Minister for the Coordination of Law Enforcement Agencies, which was headed by Mdinaradze. At the same time, it was planned to create a new agency responsible for coordinating regional policy.
The ruling party explains that the function of coordinating law enforcement and security agencies, entrusted to Mamuka Mdinaradze by decision of the Prime Minister, was successfully fulfilled, and today this system “functions smoothly.” According to Papuashvili, the creation of a similar coordinating position for regional affairs was directly linked to “the political weight of Mamuka Mdinaradze and his personal resources.” However, after Mdinaradze decided to leave politics, the necessity of introducing this position was removed from the agenda for Georgian Dream.
“In a political team, it is fundamentally important to have figures possessing the necessary political experience and capacity to coordinate various structures. Since Mamuka Mdinaradze decided to leave politics, the decision to establish this specific post has also changed,” Papuashvili explained.