Disagreement between Tbilisi City Hall and Government Damaged Tbilisi Residents

Elene Chumburidze

Because of disagreement between Tbilisi City Hall and government of Georgia about 600 000 residents of Tbilisi could not enjoy social allowances. Tbilisi City Hall assigned responsibility of managing expenditures of social allowances to central budget. The latter declared this responsibility illegal and called upon the City Hall to implement its responsibility which it had taken before.

On October 19, 2012 former prime-minister of Georgia Vano Merabishvili passed decree to divert responsibility of medical insurance for different category citizens, financial aid for socially vulnerable citizens and for the implementation of various social programs from Tbilisi City Hall to the Ministry of Healthcare. On October 31, the new government with the signature of prime-minister Bidzina Ivanishvili annulled the October 19 decree because they declared it illegal.

The result of this process was alarming: Tbilisi residents will not be able to enjoy social allowances for uncertain period of time. One of those families, who became victims of these decisions, is a family living in a one-flat room in Temka settlement, who applied to Human Rights Center for help. There is a pregnant woman in the family who used medical insurance of GPI Holding so far and it was valid till December 31, 2012. However, now, the program stopped and as she told humanrights.ge, she will have to cover all expenses for antenatal care herself regardless the fact that nobody works in their family.

Tbilisi mayor Gigi Ugulava said in his interview with GHN: “Ground of our decision was to carry out social and healthcare policy which would make various social allowance and medical services offered by the state equally available for every citizen of Georgia and it was first step to establish common standard of similar services in the country.”

Minister of Finances Nodar Khaduri declared this decision illegal during his visit in TV-Program Politmetri (02.11.12) of the TV-Company Maestro. He said 2012 budget does not say anything about relevant programs. Nodar Khaduri imposes responsibility of current situation on Vano Merabishvili: “There is budget law, which prohibits imposing additional responsibilities if there is no source to implement them. Prime-minister Vano Merabishvili did not have right to impose these expenses on state budget. On October 20, Tbilisi city council held session in hurry and decided that funds allocated for social welfare, healthcare, and transport subsidies to be moved to other articles of budget from Tbilisi budget. Two days later, City Hall wrote to insurance companies that they were ceasing agreements early in term because they did not have money to fund program. Now I will tell you that they did have money; more precisely they should have had money because this money was spent on other purposes. They decided to punish Tbilisi residents who did not vote for the National Movement and voted for Georgian Dream,” Nodar Khaduri said.

Minister of Finance thinks there is one solution - Tbilisi City Hall will return to October 18 status quo.

Head of public relation department at the insurance company GPI Holding Tinatin Stambolishvili told humanrights.ge that working of insurances policies was stopped. She said they do not have information when it will be renewed.