Daji Kovziridze, an MP from the “For Georgia” party and a member of the government’s newly created “Price Commission,” says the commission is nothing more than a political performance designed by the ruling Georgian Dream party to appear caring toward the public.
Speaking on BMGTV, Kovziridze gave a detailed account of why, in his view, the commission will not lead to lower prices on food, medicine, or fuel.
According to him, the atmosphere inside commission meetings reveals the close alignment between major business groups and the ruling party. Kovziridze argues it is unrealistic to expect Georgian Dream to force price cuts on the very business groups that finance them.
“When we ask tough questions about why prices are not falling, we see a very telling picture: on one side sit major business representatives, and on the other side sit millionaire MPs who pretend to be discussing the price of eggs,” he said. “The moment you ask a direct question, these left and right ‘millionaires’ unite. Their close ties and friendships are so obvious in that setting that anyone paying attention can see it clearly.”
Kovziridze argued that the Price Commission is not about helping consumers, but rather about shifting business influence from Irakli Garibashvili’s circle to Irakli Kobakhidze’s team.
He also claimed that the price formation chain contains a “hidden link” not reflected in official documents, suggesting that some large businesses finance the ruling party’s so-called “black fund.”
“In addition to the official donations big retailers make to the ruling party during elections, there is a black fund where they bring additional money,” Kovziridze alleged. “This hidden link is what ultimately increases the financial burden on consumers. Even Kakha Kaladze admitted that big business supports them, so how can we expect Georgian Dream to adopt laws that reduce the income of the very people who fund them?”
Kovziridze cited market monopolization as another major factor keeping prices high. In the supermarket sector, he said, only a few large players dominate the market, making it impossible for the government to pressure them into lowering prices.
“In the producer–distributor–retail chain, the real power lies with the retailers,” he said. “You can have gold bars, but if you can’t sell them, they are worthless. The supermarket shelf is the ultimate point of power. The same dynamic exists in the pharmaceutical market.”
