Tbilisi Mayor says he does not intend to leave his post
By Tea Mariamidze
Tuesday, October 13
“I am not going to resign because the opposition demands it; I was chosen by the people and it is not up to the opposition whether the Mayor is effective or ineffective,” stated the Mayor of Tbilisi, Davit Narmania, in his exclusive interview to the newspaper Kviris Palitra.
It should be noted that the opposition party, the United National Movement (UNM), has been continuously demanding the dismissal of Tbilisi's Mayor, calling him “unproductive and inefficient”. The main reason for their demand is the frequent reshuffling in the Mayor’s Office, and at this time five posts of the Head of Municipal Departments, as well as the post of Governor of Vake, remain vacant.
According to the opposition, soon this list will grow, as the posts of Head of Tbilisi Ecology Service Bidzina Giorgobiani and Deputy Mayor, Giorgi Solomonia, may also become vacant.
Narmania says that the reshuffle in his office is a normal process and the vacant positions will be soon occupied by qualified staff. He said that the officials decided to resign themselves as they struggled to cope with the demanding work in the Mayor's Office.
“The Mayor’s Office is a living organism and therefore periodic changes are natural. Such changes have been made before and may happen in the future; the controversy which has been raised around the issue is absolutely groundless. Works are going on in the usual way,” said the Mayor.
Narmania was also asked about delayed and ongoing repair works in the capital. According to him, only two projects have been suspended, because of the delays from the contractor company side. However, he could not even name five completed projects by him.
“Not a single project is stopped or hindered. This theme is also artificially raised by our opponents, and has no connection with reality,” he said.
The Mayor also spoke about the problems with City Park, a company responsible for parking procedures in the capital since 2007, and noted that his office has sent related documentation to the Prosecutor’s office, which in his opinion, “contains evidence of crimes committed by City Park.”
Narmania expects that soon the changes in the contract between City Park and his Office will take place.
According to him, the activities of the company outdoor.ge have also been studied and the company will no longer have right to issue permissions about placing advertisements in the capital.
The Mayor says that he takes into considerations the criticism and notes towards him and always tries to be more innovative.
