“We are talking about a considerably large sum, approximately 50 million, that would need to be spent every year. A simple question must be posed here: can the money be spent rationally and yield proper results, or would we simply be enriching the pharmaceutical mafia? That question must be answered, where does the truth lie?” declared Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze in response to a question posed regarding children suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Kobakhidze stated that the government is prepared to discuss the matter with all parties concerned.

“We are prepared to speak with everyone, including, first and foremost, with the Patriarch on all subjects, and on this particular subject specifically. Today, we have a clear position on this matter. If someone convinces us otherwise, naturally, anything is possible. First and foremost, any position that the Church or the Patriarch may hold on any matter is of significance to us. We are prepared, among other things, to deliberate once more on this specific issue. Whether it’s 50 or 60 million, this isn’t money we’re personally handing over from our own pockets. This is the people’s money; it is the accumulated contributions of taxpayers. It follows, therefore, that the only thing that ought to restrain us when speaking of the pragmatic spending of funds is our responsibility to the Georgian people, to the taxpayers.

The simplest course of action for us would have been to take the 50 million and spend it. That would have been the easiest path, and politically, the most advantageous one for us. But on the other side of the scales stands our responsibility to the Georgian people: that the government spend rationally the funds mobilised in the budget based on the people’s contributions. This is the people’s money. Neither I personally nor any members of the government are spending our own funds. This is the people’s money, funds collected through the contributions of ordinary citizens. We are speaking of a considerably large sum, approximately 50 million, which would need to be spent every year. A simple question must be posed here: can the money be spent rationally and yield proper results, or would we simply be enriching the pharmaceutical mafia?

That question must be answered: where does the truth lie? In other words, is it possible, with so large a sum, to achieve tangible results? This is the people’s money, not ours. Personally, I stand to lose nothing; on the contrary, disbursing this money would have been politically advantageous for us. The point is that this is the people’s money. If we become convinced that this sum, a very considerable sum, can yield tangible results, then there is nothing more to discuss. But if we are left with the feeling that this money could in reality serve only and exclusively to enrich the pharmaceutical mafia, then in that case, precisely out of a sense of responsibility, it will be very difficult for us to take the corresponding decision,” said the Prime Minister.