Why 2 532 Families Refused to Receive Allowances?

Gela Mtivlishvili, Kakheti

According to statistic data from the website of the Social Agency, in 2010, 1 904 families in Kakheti region refused to receive social allowances; in January, February, March and April of 2011, 628 families declined the allowances in the same region. Kakheti regional coordination center of the Social Agency keeps the list of the families in secret.

Lawyer of the non-governmental organization Center for Civil Activities Lia Khuroshvili petitioned to the person responsible for the public information at the Social Agency on May 10. “Please, provide us with the information why socially disabled families refused to receive allowances and send the list of those families.”

After the 10-day-term, estimated by the law for releasing the public information, expired on May 30, head of the Kakheti Coordination Center of the Social Agency Levan Akhalauri sent letter dated with May 19 where he refused the lawyer to release public information.

“The Agency makes information public only about beneficiary families. Consequently, the information about the families, who could receive allowances but declined it, is not public. It is issue of privacy and the public agency shall ensure inviolability of personal information,” the letter from the Agency reads.

As for the clarifications about the refusal of the families to receive allowances, Levan Akhalauri wrote, that in accordance to the law, a family can decline an allowance based on his/her initiative without additional explanations.

He added that the law envisages only two reasons why families can decide to receive or decline the allowance. “Since a family cannot receive other allowances – like IDP allowance – after they accept the allowance for socially disabled family, the family shall choose one of two alternatives: to receive family/IDP allowance or allowance for socially disabled family. I would like to clarify that if a family chooses IDP allowance, it does not deprive the family from the possibility to request the allowance for socially disabled family in future. The family can apply to the Social Agency for the allowance after the family or a family member loses the previous allowance. In similar case, the family will receive the allowance one month after apply to the Agency,” said Akhalauri.

Akhalauri claims the IDPs and beneficiaries of family allowances refuse to get allowances for socially disabled families.

Lia Khuroshvili, lawyer of the Center for Civil Activities: “Maybe, not every IDP and other beneficiaries know that if they receive social allowance, they will lose the IDP allowance and family allowance; so they appeal to the Social Agencies for the social allowance; though I doubt there are so many IDP families registered in Kakheti region. Besides that, when a social agent fills in a family declaration, s/he has to indicate in the document whether the family member is an IDP or beneficiary of other aid. In similar case, the agents warn applicants that they might lose the previous allowance. Mostly, IDP families make decisions immediately. Our findings also prove that beneficiaries of other allowances also make decisions immediately. A person might lose a social allowance within a month, while the family allowance is permanent aid. So, families mostly choose the latter. Before 2007, only lonely people could receive family allowances. IDP allowances are also permanent, unless they return to Abkhazia or to Shida Kartli. So, the IDPs prefer to get their IDP allowances. It is incredible that so many people appeal to the Social Agency for the allowance and then refuse to get the aid. We requested the list of those beneficiaries because there are some doubts about this issue; nevertheless, they refused to give the list.”

Eka Nakevkhrishvili, specialist of social department at the Gurjaani district administration: “Almost every IDP family is involved in the Poverty Reduction State Program and receives social allowances. They mostly declined the IDP allowances last year and applied for the social aid.”  

According to official data, social allowance for the head of family is 30 GEL per month and 24 GEL for other family members; family allowance is 22 GEL for each member of the family; IDP allowance is also 22 GEL.

According to the verified information, 425 IDP families live in Kakheti. 1 420 beneficiaries get allowances by June 1 according to official data– the Agency does not have data according to families.

If 1 420 beneficiaries are families, then number of beneficiary families together with IDPs amounts to 1 845. However, statistic data of the Social Agency states that from January 1, 2010 to April of 2011, rating points of 2 532 families did not exceed 57 000 points and could not receive allowances only because they refused to get it. The Poverty Reduction State Program has been implemented since 2005 and the number of families, who refused to receive the allowance, is higher.