According to Kobakhidze, the amount discussed - whether 50 or 60 million - is not money taken from personal funds but public money collected from taxpayers.

“This is the people’s money. The only thing that can restrain us is responsibility toward the Georgian people,” he said, responding to journalists’ questions about financing medication for children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

He added that it might be politically easier to allocate the funds, but the government must ensure rational spending and avoid what he described as enriching a “pharmaceutical mafia.”

“We are ready to talk with everyone, first of all with the Patriarch and the Church on all issues, including this one. We have a specific position today, but if someone convinces us otherwise, everything is possible. We are always ready to discuss any position that the Church or the Patriarch may have.

As for the money, whether it is 50 or 60 million, this is not money from our personal pockets. This is public money, taxpayers’ contributions. Therefore, the only thing that can restrain us when it comes to spending is responsibility toward the Georgian people and taxpayers. The easiest thing for us would be to take these 50 million and spend it - that would be the simplest and most politically advantageous decision. But there is another side: responsibility toward the people to spend budget funds rationally.

We must ask whether this money will be spent effectively and produce real results, or whether it will simply enrich the pharmaceutical mafia. If we are convinced it will bring tangible results, then of course there is no question. But if we feel it will only enrich pharmaceutical intermediaries, then it becomes difficult to make such a decision.

There have been cases in Georgia where easy solutions were chosen under public pressure, and tens of millions were spent without results. I do not want to specify which areas. If the government continues this way, the pharmaceutical mafia may introduce new demands, potentially reaching even one billion lari, without producing results.

The government must ensure that every tetri from the budget is spent rationally and not on enriching the pharmaceutical mafia,” Kobakhidze said.

Regarding a possible meeting with the parents of children, Kobakhidze said it would be better for consultations to continue within the Ministry of Health, where the necessary expertise exists.