President Volodymyr Zelensky expects from Mikheil Saakashvili, whom he appointed as the head of the National Reform Council, results in deregulation and improvement of customs.
“I expect the results of Saakashvili’s work not on the second day after his appointment, but in the coming months they should be. The results are about deregulation in business and customs reform,” said Zelensky at a briefing during a working trip to the Carpathian Mountains, as cited by Ukrinform.
According to Zelensky, Saakashvili during the presidency in Georgia was able to overcome corruption and modernize the country’s customs.
“We talked a lot about it. He said that, at one time, he put new people at customs, then dismissed everyone. After a while he put others and had to dismiss them again. Well, customs reform is such a complicated undertaking. I want him to do it,” he said.
“The second point is that he has quite strong investment ties with many countries. When they built Batumi, they attracted various investors who built a large chain of hotels there. He has experience,” the Ukrainian President said.
Zelensky also said that he was interested in Saakashvili’s help on pension reform, which is necessary in Ukraine.
“He has a lot to do, a lot of reforms,” said Zelensky.
This is the second time that Saakashvili gets position in the Ukrainian government. Five years ago, he was appointed head of the Odessa region, but a year and a half later he resigned and went into opposition to President Petro Poroshenko. His tumultuous political activities, during which he once had to run on the roof to escape detention, ended with him being deported from Ukraine and stripped of citizenship in 2017.
In May 2019, President Vladimir Zelensky returned Saakashvili’s Ukrainian citizenship, and the next day Saakashvili returned to Ukraine.
(C)UAWIRE 2020
“He has a lot to do, a lot of reforms,” said Zelensky. Who is the President of Ukraine, Zelensky or Saakashvili?
Zenny does nothing. He let Sacha do all his work for him!
He is totally incompetent, so let Saakashvili do the real work.
That is what I’m afraid of.
And if Sacha makes some results…………………he will be fired for being competent. As is going Ukraine for 10 years.
Ministers must do their work, not having success with it, or even produce good results………..fired!
I see Zelensky’s work as a fight against windmills. But, not only that. This president has, thus far, been so incompetent that he attacks the windmills in the wrong direction – away from them.
After seeing, reading and hearing literally countless facts, things and aspects of Ukraine’s political problems, I have been forced to conclude that without another Maidan and in particular without ridding the nation of its oligarchs, who are nothing but ball-and-chains for the country, there will be no real change. A Saakashvili or even ten of them won’t help any.
Careful what you wish for facts! We were all against Zel and in fact he’s turned out pretty much as expected. However, he has a mandate and he won fair and square, so it is up to the electorate to make their choice in 4 years. Another Maidan would alienate those very few countries that support them and organisations such as IMF and even worse could encourage another invasion and further savagery from the putinazis.
Personally I would favour a Poro dictatorship until the putinazi squatters have been evicted, but that would be highly unpopular!