Local Budget Covers Debts Accumulated by Football Club

Nino Mshvidobadze, Guria

Local budget funded football club Guria with 400 000 lari this year. In addition to that, the FC debt of 340 000 lari is covered from the local budget. At the last session of the Lanchkhuti municipal board’s bureau, participants made decision to take a bank credit of 94 000 lari to pay salary arrears of football players; the interests of the credit will be paid from the budget too.

“The budget shall pay this debt today. So, we are looking for a donor. The football team of the highest league needs much more funding. We want to relieve local budget from this obligation and find donor to fund the club,” said interim district governor Zaza Urushadze.

Chairman of Lanchkhuti municipal board Amiran Gigineishvili also commented on covering the football club’s bank credits from the budget.

“It is absolutely lawful decision because we agreed the issue with the Minister of Finance.”

Lawyer of the Union for Democratic Development of Georgia Irakli Papava believes that paying bank credit from the local budget does not contradict the law.

“Organic Law on Self-Governance states that self-governmental unit is entitled to discuss necessity and reasonability of establishment of non-profit (non-commercial) private legal entities, as well as their establishment and funding; in other words it is self-governmental unit’s exclusive right. In this particular case, it will not be correct to speak about law violation because it did not happen,” Papava said. 

In parallel to it, head of Ozurgeti office of the Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association Tamaz Trapaidze thinks budget shall allocate funds to cover bank credit only in urgent cases.

“Apparently, the football club had agreed the loan issue with the municipal board; however the local government had to discuss whether it was urgent necessity to take the loan from the bank because the budget is filled in with the tax paid by population.”

Humanrights.ge has learned that on June 27, Lanchkhuti district budget of 2013 was amended and reserve fund of the district administration was reduced at 20 000 lari. The deducted sum was forwarded towards Football Club Guria as subsidy.